Traditional Cuisine of the Small Cyclades

The inhabitants of the Small Cyclades deal with fishing - in fact, the people of Koufonisi have a fleet of large boats (33) and are considered great fishermen - and here you will find spartan, fresh fish and seafood that are fished from the surrounding fishing grounds. Other residents are still involved with Agriculture and have small boxes of fruits and vegetables (beans, green beans, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes), figs, prickly pears and grapes. Schinoussa since 2010 has systematically re-cultivated split peas with great success.

In uncultivated areas, thyme is offered to bees for exemplary production ash, while cheesed in family cheese dairies, cheeses from sheep and goats (mizithra, xinomyzithra, kopanisti, anthotyro and hard cheese while in Donoussa you can find axialomyzithra, a cheese from coagulated yogurt). From the neighboring, deserted Kero come the sought after ibex of Keros which feed on a unique weed full of "milk", which makes their meat delicious and juicy, cooked in the wood oven.

The braised potato with goat meat and potatoes are especially popular at festivals and fairs. In the Small Cyclades, but also in Astypalia and Amorgos, the goat is eaten stuffed with chopped liver, onions, mint, dill and rosemary. It is a custom in the Small Cyclades, but more generally in the islands of the N. Aegean, where at Easter the lamb on the spit is not used, but roasted with filling in the wood oven. So in Andros Lampriatis (Lambri's lamb) has cheese and many eggs in the filling, in Naxos the filling is called patouta and has the aromatic herbs of the time. This dish is common all year round, especially on holidays and you often find it in taverns.

The cheese pies (pies in the pan with mizithra and mint), green pies (with fennel and celery) and giaprakia is very popular. The excellent local honey (especially of Heraklion) pours over the crunchy xerotigana, participates honeycombs (sweet cheese pies) and creates the delicious pastels housed in fragrant lemon leaves.