Traditional Cuisine of Kefalonia

Pies, greens and meat characterize the traditional cuisine of Kefalonia, with recipes that you may not find elsewhere.

While we have all heard it Kefalonian meat pie, few know that local housewives make it from three separate types of meat (pork, tragio and beef), few know its variations (in Lixouri they put plums) and even fewer know how many other pies are made in Kefalonia. The main ones are the artichoke pie, from refined artichoke hearts, cheese pies from the unique cheeses of the island, green pies and cod pie from salted cod or kofisopita (kofisi, salted fish)

The people of Kefalonia also love the hot garlic (made from potatoes) with which they usually accompany the fried cod and the boiled zucchini, which on the island are called babies!

The wild grasses or wild cabbages (celery, zucchini, lapata, kaukalithres) together with spinach, leeks, onions deep fry them and make the cigarettes, a very beloved delicacy.

In meat There is a wide variety of meats and dishes: hare with red sauce, rooster hare with thick spaghetti, baked rooster with potatoes, rabbit vinegar, braised tripe, beef prokado (a technique where we implant in meat garlic and some garlic) , such as pasticcio with goat or lamb or pork with potatoes and quinces.

The classics sweets of Kefalonia they are handkerchiefs (from mandorla which in Italian means almond) made from caramelized almonds. Other more unknown is secret pie made from must, semolina and almonds, the pastocydon (quince paste with almonds), and Christmas pudding (stale bread, milk, raisins, eggs, dried fruit, almonds, brandy, lemon zest).

Although an island that is not as well known for its gastronomy as Santorini or Crete, Kefalonia was lucky to have a housewife Niovi Fotinatou-Kampitsi who, having a passion for gastronomy and tradition, published -in parallel with her relevant articles- two excellent publications (Kefalonian recipes - Recipes from the chancel of Niovi) that reveal all the wealth of Kefalonian Cuisine.