Monday, May 19, 2008

Kefalonian Meat Pie

The food in Kefalonia is a bit limited - not much fruit, veg or fish but plenty of good meat. The local pie was the highlight for me, packed with chunks of slow-cooked meat and nicely spiced rice with a crisp pastry top. I shall have a crack it myself soon but in the meantime, here's a real Greek recipe.

8 comments:

Mondo said...

Have you tried Stefado/Stifado? Most places can knock out a decent version.

Fiona Beckett said...

Lucky old you going to Kefalonia. Beautiful place. Somewhere I have a recipe for Kephalonian meat pie. Will dig it out and send it to you!

Anonymous said...

What do you mean the food in Kefalonian is limited. We are an island so the main diet is fresh fish. We have lemon trees, oranges, cherries, figs and olives growing in every garden. Try coming to Kefalonia again, but this time open your eyes to what we have to offer and don't be so "limited" in your choice of menu.

Anonymous said...

Good Job! :)

Anonymous said...

Have to agree with anonyomous. I suspect you meant that food on offer at hotels and tourist places are a bit limited, especially if you can't speak greek and decipher the vegetable options on the menu.

Since moving to Kef I have never eaten so many varieties of fresh fruits and veg. Lemons, oranges, pomegranates, figs, olives, horta (you must ask for this when in a taverna - they often have it but don't bother putting it on the menu as they assume only the locals will ask for it),locally grown potatoes, plums,cherries, quinces - the list goes on and on. We actually ate chestnuts and walnuts and almonds straight from the tree this year!!

Some of the veg dishes here that are amazing - aubergines in any recipe, fried courgette (zucchinni)cakes, ghemista - stuffed tomatoes, courgettes, and aubergine cooked together and absolutely fantastic. Stuffed artichoke hearts - oh yes I'd forgotten about the fresh artichokes. Couple all these amazing veg with the wild oregano, sage, dill, and other herbs which grow in the hedgerows and frankly I can't imagine a more fruitful place than Kef.
In fact Kefalonia was famous in ancient times for its fruit and vegetables which were highly prized on the mainland and across the 'civilized' world.

Jill said...

I'm with your anonymous commenter.

This is easily done so please don't think I'm judging you but sometimes as tourists we extrapolate out our limited experience and used that as a basis for ideas about a place we may not know well.

I've just got back from Kefalonia myself and was delighted with the wide variety of fresh produce available. Kefalonians are known for their longevity and after eating there I understood why. Fresh leafy greens, tomatoes bursting with flavour, juicy aubergines and courgettes, citrus, grapes, figs, nuts, the freshest fish imaginable and local goat and lamb. Olives, capers, olive oil and wonderful honey and yogurt. Really the Kefalonian diet is a great example of how healthy it is to eat locally produced food that has not been processed.

Drphoto said...

Our tour guide recommended the Kefalonian meat pie and it was gorgeous. Can anyone identify the unusual taste (which is apparently a result of a herb grown on the island)?

Drphoto said...

Our tour guide recommended the Kefalonian meat pie and it was gorgeous. Can anyone identify the unusual taste (which is apparently a result of a herb grown on the island)?