Amorgos - Gastronomy Tours

It is an island rich in cultural heritage and striking natural beauty that impresses visitors from the moment of arrival.

Undoubtedly, this is the island of contrasts. On one side are mountains, and on the other are steep slopes that lead to fairy-tale beaches with crystal-clear waters. The sudden changes in the landscape enchant visitors, triggering an explosion of pleasant, intense emotions.

Amorgos has only 1800 residents, in contrast with the neighbouring Cyclades, due to its mountainous terrain.

Today, the island remains untouched by mass tourism, with traditional villages, many footpaths, picturesque cafes with smiling people and dozens of village fairs and celebration days.

Gastronomy

Cheese, paximadi, pastries, meat, fish, wine, and psimeni raki are the main products of Amorgos that are worth trying during your stay on the island, or even getting before leaving.

The island’s cheeses: mizithra, anthotiro, and kopanisti.

Olives, thyme, honey, and anthomelo (blossom honey), as well as a plethora of aromatic herbs, are used to flavour the island’s sheep and goat meat and traditional cuisine.

Rakomelo is common in cafes, even early in the morning, while it is also offered to visitors at monasteries along with loukoumi.

Meat dishes are notably from sheep or goats, which are used to make the famous patatato.

Some typical dishes:

Xidato is a soup prepared from goat entrails (the tripe). It is so named because it contains, among other ingredients (salt, pepper, and garlic cloves), vinegar (=xidi). All the ingredients together give this Amorgian dish a special taste. The dish is served at the annual festivals (overnight).

Kofto: Primarily a New Year’s Amorgian dish with Amorgian mizithra, flour, wheat, and the day of the festival of Ag. Paraskevi, along with the traditional patatato.

Fava is also called magirama. Pulses could not be absent from the Amorgian table, and in particular the well-known fava, which is high in nutritional value. It is prepared from katsouni peas (a variety of peas). A hand mill is used for grinding. The ingredients for its preparation are olive oil, salt, water, and fava beans. Fava meatballs are made from fava beans, another traditional dish that combines Amorgian herbs.

The Easter roast: goat or lamb stuffed with rice, roasted entrails, and herbs (dill and rosemary).

The local Amorgos kavourma is made from pork, with the fat preserved in a cool place and used to make omelettes.

Tiropitakia (small cheese pies) from Amorgos are cooked in a frying pan, and hortopitakia (small pies made with chard, spring onions, fennel, and mint) are also popular.

Xerotigana: a type of sweet pastry without egg, which is served with cinnamon and roast sesame seeds at Christmas, Easter, and at weddings and baptisms.

The Amorgos pasteli (sesame bar) differs from others in that it is softer and has a pinch of cumin.

Huge round loaves of bread (three to five kilos) are made from wheat and barley. So too is “pavli”, a bread that is made to honour Saint Paul, which is then turned into paximadi.

Naturally, there is no shortage of fish in Amorgos cuisine as the small local trawlers fish around the island, bringing back all kinds of fresh little fish.