The cuisine of Monemvasia, Vatika and Zarakas is distinguished by the simplicity in which the dishes are prepared in order to highlight the natural goodness of the ingredients.

Locals have become used to the freshest products and avoid heavy sauces that mask the natural aromas of vegetables, meat and seafood.

So the recipes are simple, easy to follow, healthy and above all, delicious!

In the righthand column are just some of the recipes Laconians have been using for centuries.

Send your own recipe to tourism @ monemvasia.gr

Chicken Soup

you will need:

1 country chicken,
2 eggs,
1 onion,
juice of 1 lemon,
8 spoonfuls of rice,
salt and pepper
Instructions:

Cut the chicken into portions and boil well in water with a whole onion. At the end add 1 teaspoon of salt and some pepper. When the chicken is cooked remove it from the stock and place it in an ovenproof dish.

Whisk some lemon juice with olive oil, a little oregano, salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the chicken and put it under the grill to brown.

Strain 8 cups of the chicken stock, add 8 spoonfuls of rice and boil well. Add salt if necessary.

Beat the egg whites in a bowl until frothy, add the lemon juice and egg yolks slowly while beating. Take some of the soup and add it to eggs, beating continuously. Remove the soup from the stove, add the egg mixture and stir well. Serve the soup hot.

Preserved olives (Kalamata)

You will need:

Kalamata olives, salt, vinegar, olive oil

 

Instructions:

Take 30kg of Kalamata olives, rinse them well and make incisions in them with a razor blade or with the purpose-made tool, rinse them again, put them in a barrel and cover them with water.

Leave them there for 10 days, changing the water every day. On the last day, add 3 kg of coarse salt to the water. (There is enough salt if you put an egg in the water and it floats.) Leave the olives there for 5 days or for as long as you want to preserve them.

If you wish to put them in jars, take them out of the salt water, put them in a big basin, add vinegar (about 3 bottles) and leave them there for a day. Remove them, place them in jars and cover them with olive oil.