The following recipes are based on Parian culinary tradition. Behind these locally-inspired dishes is chef Kyris Athanasiadis, and Anna Kagani who assisted him and whose kitchen hosted the preparation of the three dishes featured here.
Preserving fish in salt –salt-curing– is an ancient Mediterranean technique aimed at storing and preserving fish outside the refrigerator, and feed fishermen’s families in the harsh winter months.
There is a food for every spoonful of which 2000 souls must work, a food which has survived intact in 2000-year-old jars, which heals wounds and sweetens human life through the centuries. The thyme honey of the Cyclades resembles a gold deposit and is a fundamental value of the island nutrition - a sweet remedy in amber colour.
Time did not give me the chance to get to know grandmother Annesa well. Anyway, she was not my real grandmother. I joined her Parian household as a daughter in law, but years after she was gone I cut lemons from her lemon tree, I washed the sky-blue glasses of her dowry and had lunch in her kitchen with her name in my mouth for two reasons: because there was always something to remind us of granny and because nothing-absolutely nothing- was exactly as granny used to make it.
Two bold pioneer producers have placed Paros on the Greek oil producing map. Makis Kostikas and Stavros Tsavalos have created two premium brands of biological extra virgin olive oil, showing respect to the traditional varieties and adding the surplus value of high esthetics and modern know-how.
The fishing house at Santa Maria where fishermen kept their nets has become...Siparos. A simple, modern and very successful restaurant which has gained a permanent place among the island’s top five. The products from the sea and the region’s gardens have created a simple and balanced menu which treads gently on tradition and takes off with a twist.
“It is a simple and comfortable lounge café at which the visitors can sit back all-day round and feel at home”. This was Marina Kortianou’s dream 11 years ago and she created the café, without any concessions in her original plans. The family building flourished. An exquisite place with floral couches, a green garden and especially Marina give you a warm welcome at Naoussa square.
This year, the South Aegean has been designated as the 2019 European Region of Gastronomy, and Argiro Barbarigou, our own Argiro, is the Ambassador of South Aegean gastronomy. Representing the country, the Cyclades, our island, in this very significant institution, she answers our questions with a touching simplicity, reminding us that food mainly consists of three ingredients: homeland, love, and deeply-etched, indelible memories.
Katerina Moschou set up the first private dairy farm on the island two years ago. In this way, the delicious Parian cheeses become ambassadors of the distinct Cycladic cuisine, and female entrepreneurship sets the bar high on the island as more and more modern businesses with women at the helm come into shape and make the grade.
Durable and selective, leafy but “tricky,” and full of nutrients, the caper is a tender, self-sowing perennial shrub, fast-growing both in length and in width, especially during the summer months. With shallow surface roots and a piquant edible flower bud, it’s an exquisite island-grown delicacy used in salads and an array of recipes.
