DISCOVER THE TRADITIONAL CUISINE OF CORFU

During a holiday in Corfu island, no one can miss to taste the most famous Greek dishes and some traditional food of Kerkyra.

Bourdeto - Scorpion Fish in a Spicy Sauce

Bourdeto or Bourdetto is the most famous fish dish of Corfu. It is made with different sorts of fish (scorpion fish is said to be the best) cooked in a spicy tomato sauce, with or without potatoes.

Chop 1/2 kg of onions fine and fry them in a pan with a cup of olive oil. Add one teaspoon of hot red pepper, two teaspoons of sweet red pepper, 1/2 kg of fresh grated ripe tomatoes and some salt. Let the sauce boil for about 15 minutes.

Turn the fire down and add 1 kg of potatoes, cut in pieces about 2 cm thick. Boil for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes start getting soft. (Potatoes are optional, you can also just cook the fish in sauce) Add 1 kg of fresh fish (preferably scorpion fish, “scorpios”, but almost any fish can be cooked this way). Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the oil separates from the sauce.

Do not stir the pan, only shake it in a circle. Otherwise the fish will break into pieces

Pastitsatha - Rooster with Pasta

This is the original recipe I learned from my grandmother, Irini. Go heavy on the onions and the oil, this is NOT a light dish!

Take 1 kg of rooster or beef, cut it in portions and fry it in a pan in olive oil until it is golden brown. Take the meat out of the pan.

In the same oil, fry 3 big, finely chopped onions. Add a small quantity of water and allow it to evaporate to make the onions soft and mushy. Repeat 2-3 times.

When the onions are golden brown, put the meat back in the pan, add some water (optionally also some wine), 4-5 cloves, 3-4 laurel leaves, a stick of cinnamon and let it simmer until the meat is tender.

Add a couple of spoonfuls of tomato paste, salt and pepper and let the sauce boil down until the oil becomes visible.

Serve with any kind of pasta, but preferably penne or thick, hollow spaghetti and grated hard cheese.

Instead of boiling in water (and wine) and adding tomato paste at the end, you can instead use 4-5 fresh grated tomatoes but then it will take longer until the meat is tender.

Sofrito - Fried Beef in a White Wine Sauce

Sofrito is one of the most famous and unique dishes of Corfu. It is made with beef, cooked in a wine sauce with lots of garlic and lots of parsley, and served with rice or mashed potatoes.

Cut 1 kg of beef into slices. Add salt and pepper and cover with flour. The flour will serve as the basis of the sauce.

Fry the slices of meat in a pan in olive oil until they are golden brown. Take them out of the pan.

Fry in the same pan 8-10 finely chopped cloves of garlic and 1 finely chopped bunch of parsley for 3-4 minutes.

Add 2 glasses of white wine and a little vinegar and with a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pan to dissolve the rests of the flour.

Add the slices of meat and a little water and simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce thickens. Be careful because the sauce will start sticking at the bottom of the pan. Scrape carefully with a wooden spoon.

Serve with rice and/or mashed potatoes.

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