Cretan Vegetable Recipes Cretans are well-known for their rich and spicy dishes. This article focuses on a few recipes that make up this fascinating cuisine.
The following Cretan vegetable recipes are not difficult to make, and they taste great no matter which ingredients you use.
5 Amazing Cretan Vegetable Recipes
1. Mixed Vegetables in a Tomato Sauce
This simple and tasty recipe can be cooked at home, but it is also perfect for restaurants because you probably wouldn’t want to open the fridge and see the same old, old veggies every night.
Here, they are very fresh, which makes all the difference. The tomato sauce suits many different things, including fried fish or meatballs.
Ingredients:
- 1 large onion, chopped or sliced
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 200 gr. tomato paste
- 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Sauté the onion in olive oil or butter until soft.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Add your favorite vegetables, cook for 15 minutes and serve with fish or meatballs.
2. Cretan Stuffed Tomatoes
Have you ever wondered what makes a tomato taste so much better than the tomatoes that we can get anywhere in the world?
Well, it’s simply that this Mediterranean fruit is fertilized by the sun and sea salt and deliciously grown in Crete.
But just because it is a Cretan tomato doesn’t mean that it can only be eaten with bread on the side.
Many people don’t like tomatoes without any other vegetables to flavor them up. Here’s a great recipe for cauliflower and onion, with a bit of Cretan tomato.
Ingredients:
- 1 large onion, chopped or sliced
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- ¼ cup olive oil or butter
- ½ tsp oregano (optional)
- ¼ tsp thyme (optional)
- ¼ tsp dill (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Chop up your tomato, onion, garlic, and sauté in the oil or butter until soft (about 5-10 minutes).
3. Stir in the diced tomatoes, oregano, thyme, and dill mix well and let it simmer on low heat for 20 minutes while preparing the cauliflower.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the cauliflower until soft (3-5 minutes). Drain thoroughly. Set aside.
5. Take your tomato sauce off the heat, add the cauliflower, mix well, and put it into a baking dish.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with cheese and keep warm until ready to serve.
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3. Cretan Raisins
Cretan raisins are very famous in Greece because of their unique taste and an incredible variety of colors (they are not just golden yellow like the rest of the raisins).
They are just as popular outside of Greece, and you can eat them straight or add them to your favorite recipes to give them a sweet and rich taste.
Ingredients:
- 500 gr. water
- 500 gr. sugar (1kg if you want it sweeter)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
Method:
1. Bring water, sugar, and lemon juice to boil over medium heat, stir well until the sugar dissolves completely, and remove from heat. Leave to cool completely before adding the raisins.
2. Allow to cool overnight, and the next day strains them using a cheesecloth, wringing out as much liquid as possible.
4. Eggplant with Feta
This is a straightforward and healthy recipe with a very different taste than what you would typically find in a restaurant. It is simply because it consists of eggplant instead of meat or potatoes.
Ingredients:
- 3-4 eggplants, sliced into 1/2″ rounds
- 1 large onion, chopped or sliced
- ½ cup olive oil or butter
- 200 gr. feta cheese, crumbled (more if you want it cheesier)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Chop up your onion and fry it in olive oil or butter until soft. Add the salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Remove from heat.
3. Place a layer of eggplant slices on the bottom of a casserole dish, and layer with the onions, feta, salt, and pepper. Repeat as often as you’d like.
5. Eggplants with Pine Nuts
This is one of the most famous dishes in Crete that isn’t very difficult to make at all. It’s also perfect for you, but it tastes so good that you can eat it every day without ever getting bored.
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
- 2 tsp ground cumin (optional)
- 2 eggplants, sliced into 1/2″ rounds
- 1 cup pine nuts (pignolia) or walnuts
- ¼ cup milk or cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Fry the eggplant slices in olive oil or butter until soft.
2. Add the cumin and mix well.
3. Mix in the walnuts and pine nuts, add salt and pepper to taste and cook as you would a baked potato, standing on a plate that is greased with oil or butter.
4. Towards the end, pour the milk or cream over them, cover, and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.
Conclusion
Eating the same old boring vegetable every day seems like a terrible idea, and actually being able to cook something full of flavors is a dream of many foodies.
However, you don’t have to wait for a restaurant trip abroad to create unique and exciting recipes. You can do it at home with your favorite veggies!
These Cretan vegetable recipes are great examples that can be tried at home any time of the year.