For the second year, Time Out Cyprus with the Larnaca Rural Women 's Association was present at the largest gastronomic festival in East Halkidiki, on the third leg, on the Athos peninsula.
For the past seven years for a whole month, from May 15 to June 15, the Mount Athos Area Kouzina gastronomic festival invites locals and foreign visitors to experience a panorama of products, flavors and recipes with raw materials generously offered by its rich nature. East Halkidiki.
This particular gastronomic festival is based on the power of the products of the Athos peninsula, the passion and love of the locals but also on the dynamics of the Tourist Development Organization Before Mount Athos which was created only in 2010 with the initiative of large and small companies to promote the wider area .
The Mount Athos Area Kouzina 2017 which was divided, as every year, into 5 weekly thematic sections: the ancient Greek cuisine, the seafood, the monastic, the Asia Minor / Pontian and finally the Mediterranean and the gastronomic heritage.
Cyprus-Crete in Eastern Halkidiki
For the second year, the hyperactive Larnaca Rural Women 's Association headed by its president Anna Kosmas, the vice president Mrs. Poitaridou, the president of the community of Kofinou Mr. Despo Charalambous together with other members of the association participated in the festivals.
The participation of Cyprus was a beautiful moment for this year's events and moved us especially since together with the Ergani Women's Association from Heraklion, Crete, they gained its impressions on Friday, May 26th. The two associations together with the women of Ammouliani took part in the Feast of the Mount Athos Sea in the port of the island, cooking local recipes with products of their place. There we tried the unique sarikopites, pilaf with octopus and small artichokes, pasteli, raki and wonderful products from Crete, delicious recipes with fresh fish from the sea of the area that were prepared on the spot by the experienced cooks of the island.
Cooking courgette in the port of Ammouliani
The Larnaca Rural Women 's Association decided this year, participating in the festival, to promote, promote and cook there one of the most famous Cypriot products, which was recently registered as a product of Protected Geographical Indication by the EU. traveled with other Cypriot products to the other side of Greece, in Eastern Halkidiki and specifically on the island of Ammouliani.
The tables were set, the fires were lit, the pots were prepared and the women of the club cooked the famous courgette in two ways, the well-known yachni and fried that the attendees tasted. The kolokasi was accompanied by a seated octopus while the tables offered Cypriot soutzioukos, halloumi, pastelaki, ladies' fingers, Cypriot baked goods, buns, rusks, glystarkes, leukaritou loukoumi, rose and of course commandaria.
The well-known chef Dina Nikolaou, head of the gastronomic part of the festival that coordinated the event, praised the importance of Cypriot products, domestic production, their use in the kitchen and spoke in the best words about the Savior colocasia.
Cyprus-Crete and Ammouliani, against the backdrop of the sea of Mount Athos exchanged recipes, cooked, laughed, sang and danced discovering each other's world, shared their recipes and secrets, identifying all those elements that perfectly connect these three island areas of Hellenism.
The women from Cyprus, Crete, Ammouliani and Ouranoupolis renewed their appointment at Kouzina 2018 which will be dedicated to Cretan cuisine and will meet again by exchanging recipes and stories of their place.
See excerpt of the event and the cooking of the colocasia
Source: TimeOutCyprus / Michalis Christodoulou