Traditional Cuisine of Amorgos

Η Amorgos is a relatively large and elongated Cycladic island. The geophysical configuration created units of habitats, the Downside, The Inside and Pano Meria, while Great Army was the road that connected Chora with Pano Meria. Today, after the opening of the Chora-Aegiali road in 1991, Megali Strata became a unique walking path.

The life in most villages it was harsh and ascetic in the inhospitable and stone-filled landscape of the area. With these stones the inhabitants built the terraces to make their crops - "precipice fields" the so-called "htia" or the "Eight" - true architectural monuments. Then with the stones they formed yards that surrounded the buildings that would host the offspring, the animals and themselves. Despite the small population, the island has to show special products and especially delicacies, which give it a special gastronomic identity.

In the mountainous parts, there are beehives that produce honey mainly thyme and flower honey, from bees which, according to studies that have not yet been completed, seem to belong to a local breed. They are cultivated in the plains olives - Koroneiki, manaki, chondrolia varieties - (the large olive grove is located in Aegiali and produces 30.000 kilos of oil), vines, barley and wheat and some fruits (figs, citrus fruits, sour apples).

Η roasted raki, is the typical drink of Amorgos and from what I learned the best is made at Monastery of Hozoviotissa by the abbot father Spyridona Denaxa. And of course it is offered together with donuts in the little house of the Monastery.

Roasted raki is served to households for the welcome. Its history began many years ago, when the women of Amorgos were looking for a way to participate in the social life of the island, but without drinking the strong raki that the men drank. So they made a raki liqueur with the addition of honey and various aromatic herbs and spices. It is called "baked" for two reasons, because the honey caramel is baked slowly and because the drink itself is "baked" over time.

Fifteen thousand sheep and goats legally live on Amorgos and around a thousand graze wild in the mountains. From these will come the meat for the famous potato and of course the cheeses, the mizithra, the anthotyri, the dry but also the local kopanisti.

The kids in front of you on the road, pass carefree and one wanted to be a little annoyed by the presence of strangers and especially the cars!

The mountains of Amorgos, are full of herbs, oregano special, argania, sage (alisfakia), rosemary, flisk, thyme (achlimbaria) and mallow used for kettles (drinks). Some people are involved in the collection and standardization of these herbs, such as Alexandros Kaloutas which in the summer of 2017 had its reward when in the first Great Taste Awards 2017 competition, his unit Aegean Herbs participated for the first time with wild oregano and sage and got both a star!

The dozens of windmills that exist on the island are reminiscent of the relationship of the Amorgians with wheat and bakery. Many people still make their own flour, especially at festivals where hundreds of 3kg and 5kg are made loaves from wheat barley, while in honor of St. Paul they make a bread on the day of the feast also from wheat barley, which is then made into rusks, the so-called dashes. 

While Santorini fava is born from lathouri, the Amorgian comes from katsuni (Pisum sativum), which is a variety of peas, which is why it is also called "katsouni" or "cooking".

The fava is eaten hot alone, or accompanied by onion, oil. capers and lemon so they call it "married", but also made with fennel and onion, it goes into the pan and becomes a crispy favokeftes.

The potato, the typical dish of Amorgos, is made from goat meat in a pot with potatoes. It is served in most restaurants and taverns of the island, but everyone knows that the best potato is made in festival of Agia Paraskevi in Downside of Amorgos, because it is simmered all night in a cauldron.

On the eve of the feast they are served over four thousand servings to the faithful gathered in the monastery. At the same festival but also at other festivals around dawn they serve another dish - for drinkers and overnight mainly - the vinegar (gut soup reminiscent of tripe).

The roast of the Brilliant  (goat or lamb stuffed with rice, roasted entrails and herbs-dill, rosemary), is the traditional dish of Amorgos that was eaten on Easter day and in recent years can be enjoyed in taverns of the island.

Ο Amorgian kavourmas It is prepared as follows: Marinate the pork cut into small pieces with the spices (mainly cinnamon) and the oil for two-three hours. Fry the meat with pork fat (some do it in the same pan and others separately). Finally, fat and meat are put in a common container and kept cool or refrigerated. Then the kavourmas is added to the omelette… and a libidinal dish is prepared. You will definitely find kavourma in winter and summer "In the Tower" in Arkesini!

The humble cheese pies of Amorgos are made in the pan and I met them at Moscow Mendrinou-Despotidou, a veteran cook, when I was invited to her house to watch her as she prepared an order of 500 cheesecakes for the needs of an event.

On the island along with the cheese pies there is a wide variety of green pies with crispy leaf and filling of celery, onions, fennel and mint!

The dry melt are the traditional sweets of Amorgos - common in other Cycladic islands - are a variation of the adjacent (dough without egg), ornately folded like blooming flowers, and served with cinnamon and roasted sesame for Christmas and Easter treats, at baptisms.

The Amorgian pastel stands out from the other islands of the Cyclades because they make it softer and put a small dose of cumin. For both sweets in the past - at a time when the islands were self-sufficient in food - when the family had a child of the marriage, they cultivated 1-2 years before the joyful event, Sesame seeds with which they would make the wedding pastels and xerotigans.

Ο Vangelis Mendrinos is the great cook, his absolute personality of the festival of Agia Paraskevi in Downside of Amorgos. May this festival - the largest of the Cyclades - to be the result of the voluntary work of hundreds of believers, but Mr. Vangelis does not stop without many drumbeats, to be the heart of the festival.

Because he is simply the one who makes the commands to satisfy the 4 thousand believers, but also the 300 "servants" (the volunteers) who have been preparing for the festival for a week. And it has a record in serving: in twenty minutes, serve 600 potato dishes from the cauldron!

In two words one could claim that Amorgos has an interest gastronomic material, which day by day comes to the surface in Taverns. I would single out it first tavern in Pyrgos in Arkesini, Georgalinis in Vroutsi with its roasts, the Transistor and Parvas cafe in Chora, the Mouragio in Katapola  with its fish, the Nikos in Lagada, the port of Kyra-Katina in Aegiali and Panorama in Tholaria, honoring local products and local recipes.

With the body of these pioneers and with some coordinated ones  strategic and practical moves Amorgos - despite its size - could develop into a very interesting one gastronomic destination.

Someone will ask me I did not mention fish… But if you go to Amorgos, with such delicious meat, you will not ask for fish… and especially in summer… which is a waste! Nevertheless, some 30 arias are fishing around and saving the fishing price of the island.