An Introduction to the Food of Crete

Greek Food May Not Be What You Think It Is

My first time in a restaurant in Crete I discovered that most Cretan food is not the heavy moussaka, gyro or souvlaki on the menu at my “Greek” restaurant back home.  A classic heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, the food you will eat on your trip to Crete is made of fresh, simple ingredients, mostly vegetables and fruits, and is frequently consumed with bread and olive oil. 

In fact, about 50 years ago the Rockefeller Foundation was invited by the Greek government to study how "the knowledge and skills of industrialized countries might best serve and least injure an underdeveloped area such as Crete. "  Surprisingly, the findings included the fact that the healthy Greek – especially Cretan – diet would be an improvement for the diets of the industrialized nations.

Put a Taste of Crete into Your Diet at Home

Following are some of the ways you can increase the Cretan content in - and the health of - your diet:

·         Use More Olive Oil: use on salads and in place of other fats, such as butter, in cooking.  You will find a bottle of olive oil on tables in every restaurant and home in Crete.

·         Eat Dark, Leafy Greens: for lutein and fiber. Don’t overcook and select local fresh greens, or frozen.  Boiled greens (“horta”) are served at most meals, and are often picked fresh instead of being bought. Cretans think nothing of roaming along roadsides or into desolate-looking fields to pick their own greens and herbs.

·         Load up on Grains: not “multi-grain” or “wheat” – look for whole grains at the top of the ingredient list.  Try “paximadi”, a barley rusk (twice-baked bread) from Crete – it is a perfect part of the Mediterranean diet and is used at breakfast, lunch and dinner and most famously as the base for Dakos (recipe below).

·         Stay Local: local produce hasn’t had the travel time to lose its health benefits, and you can support your local farmers at the same time.  Most of the food sold and eaten in Crete is grown on the island, if not in the backyard. Many rural families have their own gardens, if not also olive, orange and lemon orchards and a few chickens, goats and/or sheep.

Try Some Cretan Food Before Your Trip to Crete

Dakos  (in Greek: ντάκος, pronounced DAH-kohs) is very easy to make. It is an appetizer served with ouzo or beer in most restaurants in Crete, but it is just as good for breakfast, a light lunch or dinner.  You can buy traditional Cretan paximadi in a Greek bakery or the international food section of a large grocery store.  In a pinch, you could also use whole-grain “Swedish toast” found in the cracker section of most supermarkets. If you cannot find myzithra cheese, crumbled feta will do.

Ingredients:

8 paximadi

1/4 cup of olive oil

4 large, ripe tomatoes

oregano

 salt

freshly ground pepper

8 ounces of soft myzithra cheese

Preparation:

Sprinkle the paximadi with cold water to soften, but do not dampen.  Spoon the olive oil equally over the paximadi and set aside. Peel the tomato and chop in food processor bowl, or simply grate it using the large-hole side of a grater (the skin will fall away as you grate). Spoon the grated tomato over the paximadi and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Top with cheese and then oregano, and serve.