Santorini Dishes. As I have largely concentrated on ‘Corfiot Cuisine’ through my own experiences of visiting this beautiful island in the past, I’ve had to dig deep and research about the cuisine of other parts of Greece and its islands.
As you know theirs a lot of similarities between the traditional cuisines of each Greek island, but it’s then given a local tweak into making it their own. One of the islands that I’ve always wanted to visit is Santorini, with its beautiful scenery and romantic setting. Whitewashed buildings with blue domed roofs only add to its charm.
The traditional cuisine in Santorini has stayed largely untouched, unlike some of the other islands which had its food influenced by other cultures and countries through invasion and so forth.
Light, simple but flavoursome recipes using local ingredients make the cuisine of Santorini stand out. None more so than a couple of dishes that I’ve recreated for you. Fave is one of Santorini’s most iconic dishes. Now maybe one of you lovely people could tell me why the ‘Fave’ is made with yellow split peas instead of well….Fava beans……..have I somehow missed something or got my research wrong on my culinary journey of the Greek Islands?
Well, all I know is that the taste of this puréed or mashed in my case, recipe is beautifully flavoured with little sharp juicy capers, balancing out the creamy taste of the split peas.
Fava is always mostly used as a side dish and it’s the same here as I’ve tried the best I can to recreate another traditional Santorini dish that dates back many years, called Apochti.
I’ve used a fillet of pork that i salted and placed in vinegar. I seasoned the pork, with my own mixture of black pepper and
cinnamon. I hope you enjoy this Englishman’s take on two beautiful dishes.
SANTORINI DISHES
Apochti served with Fave
Ingredients: Fave
Yellow split beans
600ml water
1 medium-sized red onion cut into four
2 carrots
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
Greek olive oil for drizzling
Capers and chopped spring onions for decoration
Method
Rinse the split peas under running cold water, put in a large saucepan and cover them with double the amount of water.
Bring to a boil and skim the foam. Add the quartered onion and carrots and lower to a simmer. Cook gently for 40-60 minutes, until the peas are soft and easy to mush with a fork.
You can puree them with a fork, or use a food processor. Return to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the olive oil last and serve with finely chopped onion, and capers and add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Ingredients : Apochti
Pork fillet
100ml vinegar
Cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tbsp of oil.
Method
Trim the pork fillet, losing the sinew. This makes the fillet look more presentable. Rub the salt and ground cinnamon into the pork and place into a sealed container. Leave for a couple of hours. Then add the pepper, vinegar and 1 cinnamon stick and then seal the container and place in the fridge for at least four hours.
Once this is done, remove the pork and place it onto some absorbent kitchen paper to remove the access liquid. The fillet should be firm to touch. In a large frying pan heat up the oil and sear the meat on high heat until golden and a slight crust has formed. Place into a preheated electric fan oven at 180c until thoroughly cooked through. Remove from the oven and cover with some aluminium foil to rest.
Once this is done slice your pork fillet and serve with the fave.
