Crete

We arrived to the island of Crete at Aghios Nikolaos and walked around the charming village, until lunch time. I had two names of places where to eat, having in mind I am always looking for where the locals eat fresh and without any tourist pretentiousness. I decided to go Stavrakakis taverna so I got a taxi and drove about 4 miles to Exo Lakonia a little village. We arrived to the place up the hill, a small house with a beautiful bongaville facade and few tables at the front and the inside. At the front door was a wall menu all in Greek. So we just asked to bring all the vegetarian dishes to try them all.

Fishing boats arrive daily with fresh fish at the village.

With local people from the neighborhood at Stavrakakis taverna in Exo Lakonia, Panagia, I wanted to take a picture of them and they asked me to be in the picture too.

The art of making the authentic Greek coffee by the real Manolis Stavrakakis.

Organic home produced family tavern, we had all vegetarian meal, everything super fresh and with a home made taste.

Zucchini blossoms stuffed with rice, this dolmades were beautifully made and very delicious. This something I have to do at home. The wine ring you see next to it was something you couldn’t stop eating.

For dessert we had figs and kumquats in syrup with a homemade liqueur served from that green bottle. I didn’t know what it was but it was like a kind of Ouzo, Tsikoudia or Raki. A perfect digestive after the meal.

A home made meal, that was exactly what I wanted. Just to feel like I was eating at a someone else’s home. Totally local food.

An now at home nostalgic for the fabulous Greek trip, I have been eating inspired in all my greek memories. I bought these two wonderful books which now I adore, “Vefa’s Kitchen” by Vefa Alexiadou an authority on Greek food, called the bible of authentic Greek cooking and “Food from Many Greek kitchen” by Tessa Kiros, a beautiful book with inspiring pictures: a celebration of colors and capturing moments.

And from Tessa Kiros comes this recipe of wine rings made with wine and olive oil.
This is the third time I’ve made them, they are addictive like the ones I tried in crete. Once you try it you can’t stop eating them.

Love having it with a strong coffee!

Krassokouloura

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I used all spice instead)
6 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup white wine  (I added 2 more spoons)
salt
I added 1 spoon of fennel seeds,next time I will try adding sesame seeds instead.

Preparation:
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl stir with a wooden spoon, add the wine and olive oil and combine. Continue mixing with your hands until you get a soft and uniform dough. Knead well for few minutes and divide the dough into oval balls (makes about 20). Let it rest uncovered for about 5 minutes. By hand roll each out into a rope about 10 inches long, join the ends and pat one end over the other to close.

On a lined baking sheet, bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until crisp and golden.

Quick & easy to make! Keep them in a tin to last.