Greek cooking holiday on Crete 2012

Greek cooking holiday on Crete 2012: A week’s holiday on Crete combining Cretan cooking with enjoying the nature of Crete. Workshop Cooking on Crete, cooking with olive oil, cooking lessons on Crete, outside cooking on Crete. On this page we will give a detailed description of our cooking lessons in Crete Greece. Cooking lessons on Crete: our workshop “cooking on Crete” is a complete week’s holiday, which 5 of the days will be spent cooking. During our cooking course on Crete we will take you shopping for ingredients (twice we will go to the markets; other ingredients will be bought locally). We instruct and advise while you prepare typical Greek foods yourself! The workshop will take place outside most of the time, but if the weather is not so nice, we can will move indoors. We organize about 10 to 12 workshops, “cooking on Crete”, every year.

Cooking and accommodation: you are able to make a reservation for this workshop including accommodation. Also included are breakfast, lunch, dinner and transportation. We offer you accommodation suitable for 1 to 6 persons. If you would like to join our workshop “cooking on Crete”, you are able to make a reservation individually or with a group. It is also possible to make a reservation for a group’s holiday, but for example only 1 or 2 guests will join our workshop. We offer various other excursions and activities for your friends or family, for example: hiking, cycling, jeep safaris, diving or relaxing on the beach. The reason why our cooking course lasts 5 days and not 7 days is because a lot of our guests also like to do other activities after the 5 days of cooking. You can make a reservation for our workshop “cooking on Crete” summer and winter. It is also possible to make a reservation for a two week holiday, you are then able to follow our cooking course and stay another week at the same accommodation.

Our breakfast buffet is available from 9.00 AM. The breakfast buffet offers you: coffee, tea, orange juice, tomato juice, pineapple juice, apple juice, grapefruit juice, bread, crackers, cornflakes, muesli, yoghurt, honey, ham, cheese, jam, boiled eggs and fruit. You are able to enjoy from our breakfast buffet as much as you like from.

Our workshop “cooking on Crete” is also very suitable for vegetarians; we will happily adjust our menu upon your wishes. The Greek kitchen offers a large variety of vegetarian dishes.

We always try to organize our workshop for smaller groups, so that everybody receives personal attention. No more than 12 persons may attend each cooking course. Our cooking course is available in 4 different languages: English, Dutch, French and German. We like to mention that we try not to present our workshop in too many languages at the same time, typically two languages for each workshop, to avoid confusion.

Program workshop “cooking on Crete” (01) First day: Arrival and welcome meeting: because of different times of arrivals of our guests, we will wait until everybody is present before beginning the meeting. You can enjoy a nice glass of Greek wine and our Greek “meze” (a buffet full of different Greek dishes) while we welcome you to Crete and explain to you more about our workshop. If you are on holiday with family or friends, they are also invited to enjoy our Greek “meze”

(02) Second day: Breakfast at 9.00 AM. After breakfast we will go shopping for ingredients. On our first cooking day we will go to the mountains. We prepare our dishes at on a lovely location, between the olive fields looking over beautiful landscapes. In this area you can pick a lot of sage. Sage is a herb which is often used with: red meats, stuffings, sauces, sausage, cheese, tea, apple juice and large white beans. It is also used to get rid of grey hair! Many Greeks make tea from it because of the detoxing effect it has on your liver! In this area you are also able to find the herb oregano, delicious with meat and vegetables or pasta. We will start cooking around 1.00 PM. Today we will taste on location the self-made dishes, with the option of wine, fruit juices, or water. Around 4.00 PM we will return to Zorbas with our dishes packed in tupperware. Around 8.30 PM we will have dinner and enjoy our first “cooking creations”

(03) Third day cooking on Crete: Breakfast at 9.00 AM. After breakfast we will go shopping at the big gypsy market in Heraklion, leaving Zorbas around 10.00 AM. Here you will find lots of different vegetables and herbs. It is an excursion on it’s own to walk around this Greek gypsy market. After our visit to the market we continue our shopping at the harbor of Heraklion, where we will buy fresh fish. In the afternoon we will return to Gournes and start preparing our dishes. Today we will cook at your accommodation and will use our stone oven and grill. We will have lunch at our accommodation and taste our dishes upfront, to make sure our menu will be perfect for the evening dinner. This evening we will present the local guests with our self-made menu. Dinner will start around 9.00 PM. (wood ovens in Greece.)

(04) Fourth day cooking curse on Crete: Breakfast at 9.00 AM. After breakfast, around 10.30 AM, we will visit the village of Peza, to learn more about the different kinds of wine produced in Crete. You will also learn more about how olive oil is made on Crete. We will visit the museum about wine and olive making and feel free to buy some of the natural products in the gift shop. After our visit to Peza, we will return to Gournes. Today we will explain to you the many uses of olive oil. We will use olive oil together with herbs, garlic, peppers, sage, , soup, meat dishes, fish and lemon to make dressings or sauces. Our lunch will include our freshly made sauces together with pasta and toast. For our evening dinner we will grill fish served, of course, with our dressings and sauces. Dinner will be at 8.00 PM

(05) Fifth day on Crete: Today is a free day; you can enjoy your breakfast between 9.00 AM and 12.00 PM. It is always possible to eat dinner at Zorbas, but you may want to explore and visit one of the Greek taverns in the area. We offer several possibilities of how to spend your “free” day”, for example: rent a car and explore Crete by car (we can advise you on fun tours), take public transportation to Knossos , or the archeological museum, go cycling, hiking, rent a motorcycle, scooter or quad tours, jeep safaris (lots of nature and culture), diving, snorkeling, visit a pottery, take a bus tour to Lassithi, fishing, horse riding, visit a water park, visit the Crete aquarium or just take the day off to relax on the beach (within 5 minutes walking distance). Some of these excursions have to be booked upfront

(06) Sixth day on Crete: Breakfast at 9.00 AM. Around 10.00 AM, after breakfast, we will drive to the local market to do our shopping for the day. We will drive up to the olive fields where we will then prepare our lunch and dinner. At this location you are able to enjoy the beautiful scenery and landscapes. Today we will pick a lot of herbs which we will need for our dishes. We will prepare vegetable dishes in combination with olive oil and herbs. If you collect more herbs than needed, feel free to take them home! Dinner will be served at 8.30 PM. During our evening meal we will taste different Greek wines and chesses. Wine is always a personal choice; you are also able to order wines to take home with you as a souvenir

(07) Seventh day : Breakfast at 9.00 AM. After breakfast, around 10.00 AM, we will visit our local butcher and fish market to do our shopping for the day. We will start cooking when we return to our accommodation. Today everybody is invited to enjoy all our dishes we learned to prepare during your cooking course. We will also use our stone oven and grill for the specialties, using olive oil. Dinner will be at 9.00 PM. During the afternoon we will evaluate our workshop “cooking on Crete”

(08)today will be the departure day for our guests who are going home. For the ones who haven’t had enough of Crete, feel free to stay for another week! There is always plenty to do for another week’s holiday! We will bring our guests to the airport of Heraklion for their departure.

Key points of our cooking workshop “cooking on Crete”: Learning about different kinds of olive oil in Crete, Greece: cooking with olive oil, different kind of olives, what to consider when buying olive oil, oil dressings, making sauces with olive oil, baking and grilling with olive oil, olive oil in pasta, basic knowledge of olive oil, a visit to the olive factory of Peza.

Herbs on Crete, Greece: using herbs in the Greek kitchen, picking and recognizing herbs, buying herbs, herbs as medicine, herbs as ingredient in various dishes: meat, fish, pasta and soup.

Greek wines: which Greek wine suits best with different Greek dishes, Greek wine tasting, a visit to the wine factory of Peza, basic knowledge of Greek wines and retsina.

Greek fruit: while cooking in the olive fields and beautiful nature of Crete you will see a lot of different fruits. We are going to use these fruits during our cooking workshop in Crete. Each season offers you different fruit.

Fish and meat dishes from Crete, Greece, preparing, seasoning, grilling in the wood oven, visit the local meat and fish markets

Greek salad, aubergine and eggplant cookies (kolokithakia), Greek cheese pies (tiropitakia) with feta and mezitra, large white beans (gigantes), tzatziki, aubergine salad, skordalia, stuffed wine leaves (dolmadakia), spinach and feta pastry, gorta (wild mountain vegetable), marinated fish sauce, Greek shrimp sauce, souflaki seasoning and grilling, souflaki with pita, lamb’s meat with lemon from the wood oven, artichokes with olive oil sauces, kritharaki from the wood oven with pork meat, meatballs (keftedes), mousaka, souzoukakia (meatballs in tomato sauce), stuffed aubergines, stuffed eggplants, stuffed tomatoes, various fish and sea fruit dishes, okra with olive oil (bamies), Greek Easter soup, Greek snail stew, pork in wine sauce, sauces and dressing with olive oil and garlic, lemon, santo, peppers, sage, basil, mint, rosemary etc. Greek pastas, anjovis, Greek pesto, tapenade, marinated olives, tomato soup with coriander, lentil soup, stifado and Greek stews.

New: Cooking lessons on Crete: our workshop “cooking on Crete” is a complete week’s holiday, which 5 of the days will be spent cooking.

SOUVLAKI IN GREECE: CUT 1 ½ KILO PORK MEAT INTO PIECES (ABOUT 2 BY 2 CM), PUT THE PORK MEAT ON 11 SKEWERS. LIGHTLY BASTE WITH LEMON JUICE (OR SPRINKLE WITH FRESH LEMON) AND SPRINKLE WITH SALT. ADD PEPPER & OREGANO. THE SOUVLAKIS ARE NOW READY TO GO ON THE BBQ.

TZATZIKI IN CRETE: GRATE 2 LARGE CUCUMBERS (WITH SKIN) AND PLACE ON A THIN LAYER OF SALT ON A FLAT DISH. PRESS 15 CLOVES GARLIC. CUT 1 SMALL BUNCH OF DILL. ADD SALT, PEPPER & JUICE OF ½ A LEMON. 3 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL. 1 ½ LITRE THICK YOGHURT. STIR WELL AND THE TZATZIKI IS READY.

PEPERIA - STUFFED PEPPERS: CUT THE “CAP” OF THE PEPPERS AND CLEAN THE INSIDES. FILL UP THE PEPPERS WITH A MIXTURE OF 100 GR FETA (3 SLICES), 10 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL, A HANDFUL OF OREGANO, SALT, PEPPER, AND 4 CLOVES OF PRESSED GARLIC. PLACE THE PEPPERS IN A BAKING PAN WITH OLIVE OIL AND BAKE AT 200 DEGREES FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES.

GREEK SALAD: CUT 5 MEDIUM TOMATOES AND 2 CUCUMBERS IN LARGE PIECES. CUT 100 GR FETA CHEESE IN PIECES AND MIX THE TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS AND FETA IN THE SALAD BOWL. ADD A BIG SPLASH OF OLIVE OIL, A SPLASH OF BALSIMIC VINEGAR, SALT, A HANDFUL OF BLACK NON-PITTED OLIVES, A DASH OF OREGANO, AND MIX WELL. YOU COULD ADD SOME FINELY CHOPPED DILL FOR DECORATION.

SHRIMP SAGANAKI: GRATE TWO TOMATOES AND CUT 50 GR FETA IN SMALL PIECES, THEN ADD THE TOMATO AND FETA TOGETHER. ADD 3 TABLESPOONS OF OLIVE OIL AND 3 GRATED CLOVES OF GARLIC. SQUEEZE HALF A LEMON AND MIX ITS JUICE TOGETHER WITH THE TOMATO/FETA MIXTURE. ADD SALT AND PEPPER. CUT 2 SPRING ONIONS INTO SMALL PIECES. PLACE IN A CASSEROLE DISH 150 GR FROZEN SHRIMPS, THE TOMATO/ FETA MIXTURE, THE SPRING ONIONS, 1 TABLESPOON OREGANO, 1 GROUND STOCK CUBE, 2 BAY LEAVES AND 30 PITTED OLIVES AND MIX EVERYTHING TOGETHER. GREASE THE EDGE OF THE POT WITH OLIVE OIL.
HEAT IN THE OVEN WITH THE LID ON THE DISH APPR. 45 MINUTES AT 300 DEGREES OR 60 MINUTES AT 250 DEGREES.

OLIVE OIL DRESSINGS IN CRETE: DRESSING 1: 1 SPRIG ROSEMARY WITH OLIVE OIL. DRESSING 2: PRESSED GARLIC WITH OLIVE OIL. DRESSING 3: MINT LEAVES WITH OLIVE OIL.

BEKRI MEZE STEW DISH WITH PORK MEAT: CUT 1 ½ POUNDS FILLET OF PORK IN CUBES (IN THE DIRECTION OF THE GRAIN). CUT 6-7 GREEN PEPPERS IN SMALL PIECES. GRATE 5 LARGE TOMATOES. CUT 3 SPRING ONIONS IN SMALL PIECES. 1 BUNCH OF PARSLEY. 3 BOUILLON CUBES. 2-3 BAY LEAVES.

A HANDFUL OF RED PAPRIKA POWDER. SALT & PEPPER. MIX ALL THIS IN A LARGE PAN AND POUR OLIVE OIL ON TOP. SIMMER FOR ABOUT 1 ½ HOURS.

STIFADO - ONION AND TOMATO STEW: 2 TBSP OLIVE OIL. 500 GR BEEF IN PIECES. 1 LARGE ONION. 400 GR. CHOPPED TOMATOES. 1 PACKAGE OF PUMARO. 2 LITRES BEEF BOUILLON. 1 SPOON SUGAR. RED WINE (APPROX 2 GLASSES). 2 TEASPOONS OREGANO (OR A BIT MORE). 2 BAY LEAVES. 1 CINNAMON STICK. 1 / 2 TEASPOONS CLOVES. SALT & PEPPER. 500 GR SMALL ROUND ONIONS (SHALLOTS)

THE GREEK COOK BOOK OF THE WORKSHOP 2008: BELOW YOU WILL FIND RECIPES FROM OUR GREEK COOKING COURSE. SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR YOU CAN FIND HERE NEW RECIPES OF THE GREEK CUISINE THAT YOU CAN ALSO MAKE AT HOME. HAVE FUN WITH GREEK COOKING.

DAKOS: WET THE DAKOS (HARD BAKED OLD BROWN BREAD) WITH WATER AND LET IT STAND FOR A FEW HOURS. CUT TOMATOES AND 3 SPRING ONIONS INTO VERY SMALL PIECES. SQUEEZE OUT 2 LEMONS ABOVE THE TOMATO MIXTURE. CUT A SMALL BUNCH OF DILL AND ADD TO THE TOMATO MIXTURE. MIX 2 PINCHES OF COARSE SEA SALT, PEPPER AND 2 PINCHES OF OREGANO, 4-5 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL AND A SMALL CLOVE OF GARLIC WITH THE TOMATO MIXTURE. SPREAD THE MIXTURE ON THE DAKOS BREAD AND ALLOW TO STAND 2-3 HOURS BEFORE SERVING.

KEFTEDES (GREEK MEATBALLS): MIX 2 KILO GROUND BEEF WITH 5 CLOVES GARLIC, 3 EGGS, 3 SPRING ONIONS WITH SALT, PEPPER, AND A BIG PINCH OF OREGANO. ADD FLOUR AND LASTLY OLIVE OIL. GREASE A BAKING PAN WITH A BIG SPLASH OF OLIVE OIL. TURN THE MEATBALLS OVER AND PUT THE BALLS IN THE OIL IN THE BAKING PAN. GRATE 3 LARGE TOMATOES AND DIVIDE THEM OVER THE MEATBALLS IN THE PAN. BAKE THE MEATBALLS FOR ABOUT 40 MINUTES AT 250 DEGREES.

BRIAM: 5 -6 EGGPLANTS IN SLICES. 5 COURGETTES IN CUBES. GRATE 5 TOMATO. PRESS 5 CLOVES GARLIC PRESS. CUT 3-4 SPRING ONIONS OR 2 LARGE ONIONS AND 2 PEPPERS IN PIECES. 2 BAY LEAVES. SALT & PEPPER. 3-4 TABLESPOONS RED PAPRIKA POWDER. 2 BOUILLON CUBES. 1 CUP OLIVE OIL. MIX ALL IN A PAN AND ALLOW TO SIMMER FOR APPROXIMATELY ½ HOUR.

COOK MEAT RAPIDLY IN OIL AND THEN REMOVE THE MEAT FROM THE PAN. LOWER THE HEAT AND FRY THE ONION, GARLIC AND OREGANO. ADD THE MEAT AGAIN AS WELL AS THE WINE, 2 LITRES OF BEEF BOUILLON AND THE REMAINING INGREDIENTS (EXCEPT THE SHALLOTS) BRING TO TA BOIL AND THEN LET IT SIMMER AT LOW HEAT FOR ABOUT 2 1 / 2 HOURS. ADD THE SHALLOTS AFTER ABOUT ONE HOUR. THE MEAT IS READY TO EAT WHEN IT FALLS APART ON YOUR FORK.

PASTICHIO – OVEN DISH WITH THICK SPAGHETTI & GROUND BEEF: CUT 2ONIONS AND 4 TOMATOES IN SMALL PIECES. BOIL THE THICK SPAGHETTI IN PLENTY OF WATER WITH THE BOUILLON CUBES. FRY THE ONION IN THE OIL AND ADD 4 KILOS OF GROUND BEEF. FRY THE GROUND BEEF THOROUGHLY. ADD A SMALL SPLASH OF OLIVE OIL AND THEN ADD SALT, PEPPER, A PINCH OF NUTMEG AND A PINCH OF CINNAMON. ADD THE TOMATO CUBES AND SOME TOMATO PASTE.

MAKE SURE THE GROUND BEEF MIXTURE DOES NOT GET TOO "MOIST". LET IT SIMMER FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES MORE. GREASE A CASSEROLE DISH WITH OLIVE OIL AND PUT A THICK LAYER OF SPAGHETTI IN THE PAN. PRESS THE SPAGHETTI DOWN FIRMLY. SPREAD A LAYER OF GRATED CHEESE ON TOP OF THE SPAGHETTI, AND THEN APPLY A COAT OF GROUND BEEF. ADD ANOTHER LAYER OF SPAGHETTI AND GRATED CHEESE. PRESS EVERYTHING DOWN WELL SO THAT IT STAYS FIRMLY PUT IN THE CASSEROLE DISH. MAKE A BÉCHAMEL SAUCE WITH 6 TABLESPOONS OF BUTTER, 8 TABLESPOONS OF FLOUR AND 4 CUPS OF MILK. MIX SOME GRATED CHEESE WITH THE BÉCHAMEL (TO TASTE), ADD SALT, PEPPER AND NUTMEG, AND POUR THE BÉCHAMEL SAUCE OVER THE SPAGHETTI. ADD ANOTHER LAYER OF CHEESE AND BAKE IN THE OVEN AT 200 DEGREES FOR ABOUT 45 MINUTES.

GEMISTA - STUFFED PEPPERS: CUT THE TOPS AND BOTTOMS FROM THE PEPPERS SO THEY REMAIN STANDING IN THE CASSEROLE DISH. POUR SOME OLIVE OIL AND WATER IN A BAKING DISH AND SQUEEZE OUT A LEMON ABOVE THE TIN.

MIX 500 GR GROUND BEEF, 50 GR SLICED FETA, 5 MINCED GARLIC CLOVES, 5 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL, SALT & PEPPER, 2 TABLESPOONS MUSTARD, A HANDFUL OF OREGANO, 2 EGGS AND 2 FINELY CUT SPRING ONIONS. FILL THE PEPPERS WITH THE GROUND BEEF MIXTURE FIRST A SMALL LAYER (PRESS FIRMLY) AND THEN ADD THE REST OF THE GROUND BEEF. SQUEEZE OUT 1 LEMON ON TOP OF AND THEN BAKE THE PEPPERS IN THE OVEN AT 250 DEGREES FOR ABOUT 45-60 MINUTES.

GEMISTA - TOMATOES STUFFED WITH SHRIMP: HOLLOW OUT THE TOMATOES AND FILL WITH A MIXTURE OF 300 GR SHRIMP AND 100 GR FETA (CUT INTO SMALL PIECES), A LOT OF SALT AND PEPPER AND 2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL. BAKE THE TOMATOES ABOUT 45 MINUTES IN THE OVEN ON 200 DEGREES.

ANGINARES - THE ARTICHOKES: CUT THE STEMS OF THE ARTICHOKES AND REMOVE THE BOTTOM LEAVES. BOIL THE ARTICHOKES IN WATER UNTIL TENDER. MAKE A SAUCE WITH 100 ML MAYONNAISE, 100 ML THICK GREEK YOGURT, 5 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL, A PINCH OF SALT AND PEPPER, 1 BUNCH CHOPPED DILL, AND 7 PRESSED CLOVES OF GARLIC. SERVE THE ARTICHOKES WITH THE SAUCE.

MELITZANES - EGGPLANTS: PEEL THE EGGPLANTS COARSELY AND CUT THEM INTO SLICES APPROXIMATELY 1 CENTIMETER THICK. PUT THEM IN A BAKING TRAY WITH OLIVE OIL. GRATE TWO MEDIUM TOMATOES AND FINELY CUT A SMALL SPRING ONION. DISTRIBUTE THE GRATED TOMATOES AND THE SPRING ONION OVER THE EGGPLANTS WITH A LITTLE SALT AND PEPPER AND SPRINKLE WITH ABOUT 100 GR GRATED CHEESE (E.G. PARMESAN CHEESE, GOAT CHEESE ETC.). BAKE THE AUBERGINES FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES IN THE OVEN AT 250 DEGREES.

TAZINE DISH: CUT AN EGGPLANT IN SMALL PIECES AND GRATE 3 TOMATOES. FINELY CUT A SPRING ONION AND PRESS 5 CLOVES OF GARLIC. FILL A CASSEROLE DISH LAYER BY LAYER WITH THE EGGPLANTS, TOMATOES, GARLIC, SPRING ONION, OREGANO, SALT AND PEPPER AND FETA. SPRINKLE 8 TABLESPOONS OF OLIVE OIL ON TOP OF THE MIXTURE IN THE DISH. PUT THE LID ON THE DISH AND BAKE FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES AT 25O DEGREES.

KONDOSOUFLI: GREASE A SKEWER FOR GRILLING WITH OLIVE OIL. LINE WITH LARGE PIECES OF PORK FILET AND IN BETWEEN EACH PIECE SPRINKLE SALT AND PEPPER AND SPREAD SOME MUSTARD. WRAP THE PORK FILET AROUND THE GRILLING SKWERE WITH ROPES AND THEN WRAP THE MEAT WITH ALUMINUM FOIL. LET THE MEAT TURN ON THE GRILL FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF.

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