The taste of the Cretan sea

Passport & Plate - Seafood by the sea

Greece | Wednesday, February 25, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
The Cretan sea breeze
A pinch of sun-dried sea salt from your skin
A fish leapt from the ocean
The sound of the waves
The drizzle of olive oil, from olives hand-picked last winter
The smile of the moon
Sun-dried tomatoes that actually taste of sunshine
Wicker chairs on the rusted earth
The envious purr of a Grecian cat
A strong Greek coffee to burn your tongue

 

How to prepare this recipe
Shop at the village market on Sunday morning. Sit in the cobbled streets of the mountain villages and hear the recipes whispered between the old widows who sit out in black with the cats and their coffee. Lick the salt off your skin as you dry in the sun on the rocks by the deep blue ocean. Peg your octopus out to dry on the line. Sit so close to the sea you could almost pluck the fish you want that’s swimming around. Go to the mountains, the tomatoes are better there.

 

The story behind this recipe
Each summer I make it my mission to return to the Greek isle of Crete. Each year I almost forget what it’s like to stand in the maze of olive groves, watch the currents of wind make silvery waves in the olive leaves and let myself be deafened by the relentless chirp of the crickets. The ocean’s horizon envelops you. The mountain villages are places to get lost in. The tavernas by the sea have chairs so close you could topple into the water if you nodded off while waiting to spot a sea turtle.
Here when you taste the chicken, you know it was the rooster you heard echoing through the valley that morning. When you order the fish, you know it was caught by the olive-skinned grandfather on his little boat at daybreak.
I’ve swum with local fishermen and spotted octopus for them to harpoon. I’ve sampled the local olive oil and thick Greek honey from the village lands. I've seen the Donkeys turning their mills.
With every bite of a Greek dish- the Dakos, the Dolmades or the Moussaka- you can taste the land and smell the sea and know the story behind each colour on your plate. The story is in the food.