Recipes with the flavors of Komotini are cooked by Theano Paschalis and Zafeiris Tsakos together with housewives of the city, local or from other places through their book “Komotini on the plate” which is in circulation. “Komotini on the plate”, includes 174 authentic recipes from around 20 population groups, which compose the culinary mosaic of the region over the last 100 years.

Characteristic recipes of the book are the vegetable dolmades with crab and beef from the Eastern Roumylians, the samsa pies from the Georgians, the gamopilafos from the Cretans, the skaltsounias and burekis from Chania, the pies and trachanas from the Epiroites, from the locals the stuffed chicken, the Yalanji dolmades that the Microasians have, the kashir, a cool salad of the Rhodope Muslims, the sweet bread of the Roma, the pastourmadopita and the walnut cake from the Armenians, the hare pie of the Pomaks.

Mr. Tsakos mentioned the ferments that made up the population and culinary mosaic of Komotini, with the Asia Minor Catastrophe in 1922 and what followed as a turning point. Komotini, he told APE-MBE, is the most multicultural city in Greece and this characteristic makes it unique and deserves to be promoted.

“1922 is a landmark because because of the refugee many population groups came and settled in Komotini,” he told APE-MPE.

Other groups, such as the Pomaks and Roma, came to the area centuries earlier. “The first Armenians, who came to Komotini in the 17th century, have almost the same recipes as the locals, while the Armenians who came in 1996 with the persecutions from the countries of the former Soviet Union have very different recipes”, pointed out Mr. Tsakos.

“The recipes”, said Mrs. Pashalis, speaking to APE-MPE, “have come from the old days but are still being cooked now”. After all, the authors wanted to give the reader the feeling of taking a walk in Komotini, on a weekday or Sunday afternoon, entering the kitchens of the houses and seeing the food on the table.

“Each housewife has put her own little touch. But the recipe has not been fundamentally altered as it came from our ancestors,” said Ms. Paschali and added that “it was a nice trip because we also shared the women’s memories in addition to recipes ».

The housewives talked about the kitchens of their childhood. “They described to us the carpets and stoves, even special utensils used by their grandmothers and mothers”, he emphasized.

Most of the recipes were cooked by Theano Paschalis and Zafeiris Tsakos and then, naturally, they were tested. “Through each recipe I made for each group, I managed to get to know them a little more and understand why they cook these foods,” pointed out Mr. Tsakos.

“A typical example is the recipes of the returnees. They come from countries that have a very difficult climate, it is very cold. So their recipes automatically contain things that help them, in essence, keep warm. These are very expensive recipes. so we automatically understand that they were rich people”, he emphasized.

On the other hand, the Pontians, a poor people who were expelled from everywhere “yet their recipes are fantastic”. “All their recipes are inexpensive, that is, their pasta is made for 1.5 euros, but they have so much deliciousness inside, so much personality that they have remained with me, I still taste these foods”, he underlined.

The book published by “Kapa Publishing House”, will be presented in Komotini on May 31, in the beautiful courtyard of the municipal library, in a special event, starring the women who shared their recipes and memories. “This is an open invitation, for all of us to come together one afternoon to taste each other’s flavors, emphasized Ms. Paschali.