Messinia: where to go and what to buy (plus the recipe for lalangia)

A blessed and fertile land, Messinia developed its economy for two centuries, based on its agricultural production. Olives, figs and vines are the main characters along with livestock in its taste palette.

What you will take with you when you leave Messinia is the chirping of birds, the eternal melody of nature and an immense inner peace that conquers you gradually, as the view of the mountain and the sea alternate before your eyes, the green throughout the his palette as he paints a peaceful landscape, without tensions, without corners. The road crosses the Messinian plain, ending in the capital Kalamata, the “wealthy princess of the Peloponnese”. And from there, the fertile landscape, through lush olive groves, orange groves, vines and vegetable gardens, in a green nature, where the past is intertwined in direct connection with modern life. Her castles Methonisher Koronis and her Pyloseach a different world of beauty, the ancient Messinathe magical wetland of Voidokoilia, a fishing village on the water and everywhere, even in the humblest tavern, the taste of aromatic olive oil, which here is consumed to the limit of excess. Fresh fish and seafood, rooster with noodles, the cuisine you will try in the restaurants has forgotten the old elaborate recipes, such as croquettes with birds or brains with clams.

OR traditional cuisine of Messinia follows the rich fauna and flora of the place, which God has blessed with all the good things of God. The lack of refrigerators gives in its turn the delicious inventions of other preservation, such as synclinas, dried wild herbs and sausages. The food of each day strictly follows the products of the season, which are cooked in simple combinations. During the holiday break, which at Christmas lasted 12 whole days, she did her best to prepare more “official” recipes, to “embroider” with elaborate designs the pretzels, cross buns and all fermented foods, to cook recipes that highlighted the talent of every housewife. OR cookery at Easter it was made with all offal, even the tripe, completely pure, only with the aroma of fresh onions. The cheese pies were not as we know them today: they were made without foil, balls of feta cheese, fennel, egg and flour filled with a piece of butter inside. The orange it flavors everything from pretzels to sausage, while the oil is so abundant that in doughs it completely replaces water. Triftadias, flour that is rubbed with a little water and boiled in soup, proves the ingenuity of the peasant housewife who, with minimal means, sets up the tsoukali to feed an entire family. The reggaewhich were once cheap, are cut into pieces, fried with eggs and accompanied by farmers in the field. The local housewives have a special talent for sweets as well as for their creation homemade pasta which are eaten fresh, with plenty of mizithra and hot butter. And these are all just wonderful. However, nothing compares to the honey-sweet thrill when, touring Messinia, you cut straight from the tree and taste the juicy deliciousness of its oranges.

The local products
*Oil and olives

The miniature ambassadors of Kalamata around the world belong to the Koronei variety. Kalamon olives are usually known as black and sour. Opportunity here to try them green and bitter in their exquisite oil. The olive oil of the Koroneiki variety, a 95% extra virgin olive oil among the best on the planet, owes its reputation to its deep, bright green color and its fruity taste with an aftertaste of fruit, apple and freshly cut grass. But also in its rare nutritional value: with acidity of 0.8, 70-80% monounsaturated fatty acids and only 10% polyunsaturated – a ratio that exists only in breast milk – high content of antioxidant polyphenols and vitamin E, it is a magical food for the health.

*The figs

The single-flowered Messinian fig, ficus carica of the calymirna variety, which here is favored by the mild winters and the cool and not humid summers, has made Kalamata famous throughout the world. The Tertiary Agricultural Cooperative SYKIKI, since 1953, produces annually 5,000 tons, of which 95% travels abroad. Every October, the red-brown Kalamata figs are dried whole without being carved, hung on canes and woven into tight garlands. The figs are made dry, flavored with oregano, but they also make spoon sweets, sycocafe, syrup and sycopasta. On the evenings of the olive harvest, the villagers eat them poached in brine and then grilled.

*The pastel

Known since the time of Herodotus, pasteli is healthy, full of vitamins and pure energy. With honey and sesame in its traditional form, here you will find it in bulk as well as standard, cut into bites, organic, with almonds and with sugar in the recipe – which makes it crunchier.

*The talagani

Handmade and made from 100% sheep’s milk, the talagani is made in the state-of-the-art cheese-making facilities of the Cypriot Kostas Apostolos, in the area of ​​Gargaliana. An excellent and versatile cheese—grilled magic—reminiscent of a bit of fela, a bit of formala and a bit of halloumi. It is baked, fried, used in cooking, and makes wonderful sweets.

*BALSAMON balsamic vinegar

An exclusive recipe of the Papadimitriou family, Balsamon is doing golden business in Europe and America. Based on the traditional “sweet” of Kalamata and made only with Corinthian raisins, it is completely natural and contains no preservatives or colorings. It is eaten plain with cheeses and cold meats, it is included in marinades and all sauces.

*Salted pork

Smoked in fragrant olive, thyme, orange and cypress smoke, the pork is then simmered with cloves, orange peels, cinnamon, spices and quenched with wine. It is preserved in its fat and is the most gourmet local appetizer. Eaten plain or cooked with egg.

*The fault

Or otherwise, “fire cheese”. It is made from goat’s or sheep’s milk and in the local dialect it means “strip”. Spicy white cheese than feta, preserved in brine, eaten plain with oregano and oil and ideal for cooking.

Shopping

*In Central Municipal Market under the Castle you will find the whole range of local products. At the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (2721080369) you will shop for olive oil, olives, figs, wines and the amazing honeys of Taygetos. At the award-winning producer Ilias Petropoulos (2721027193) you will find fine fela, medium and hard, flower cheese, talagani and sheep’s butter.

*In the bakery of Vassilis SpyropoulosArtemidos & Leikon, 2721086493 you will buy delicious sourdough bread and nuts baked in a wood-fired oven as well as delicious diples.

*Athanassiou, athanassioupastry.gr

You will find it everywhere in front of you, in the most elegant wrapping, reminiscent of a European bistro. Confectionery and coffee together, Athanasiou has managed to expand to Brooklyn, New York. The whole range of traditional sweets, handkerchiefs, boxas, saragli and masticato, nice sandwiches, buns with chocolate and various glazes, but also figs stuffed with walnuts and covered in bitter chocolate. Spoon sweets, such as fig and tangerine, sun-dried tomato paste, delicious savory pumpkin pie, creams and anything sweet your heart desires!

Near Messinia

Sweet spoon fig

Kayanas or strapatsada

The dishes of tradition

*Petoules, fried crepes with mizithra.
*Lalaggia, pastries that are fried in olive oil.
*Papara, the local barley nut eaten with tomato and grated spelt.
*The honey doubles, one of the best in Greece.
*The boxers, the individual galaktoboureko.
*Spoon sweets with fig and citrus fruits.
*The artichoke pie.
*Cinnamon chicken with noodles.
*Goges and striftadias, handmade fresh pasta with mizithra and butter
*Stuffed zucchini
*Gum in oil
*Kayanas
*Omelette with synglino.

The piglet

The piglets on the side of the road – that is, a whole pig roasted on a spit – mark the entrance to the territorial waters of Kalamata. The animal is cut with the cleaver, salted with coarse salt, sprinkled with oregano and served on parchment paper. Do like the locals who eat it for breakfast or as a snack!

Testing on the spot

*The Versailles of Yiannis Koumanis, is one of the best restaurants in Greece. And that’s because Giannis, the local product has it like a religion but only in its purest, most difficult to find and unique version. Little creative recipes, the coals and the fire, the simplicity that a grouper collar needs on the coals with a little tarama and wild herbs. (Evangelistrias 46, 2721081858)
*BryonisLeikon 98, Laika: Tavern with history and deliciousness since all the vegetables come from the family vegetable garden. Meatballs plain or with red sauce, hand-cut round fried potatoes, cayenne, liver, eggplants and fried peppers.
*O Kostas it is in itself a story cooked with the best that the place produces, the small, unknown producers, the organic vegetables. Isolated outside the city, in Bournias, the gardeners’ neighborhood, he serves the most honest local cuisine, cooked with love by his wife, Maria. (Bournias, 2721083957)
*THE Troupe is a magical hangout, a traditional cafe with rich shade on the sidewalk, on the edge of the Old Town. Here you will try the crispiest, tastiest pork loin with honeyed potatoes, omelette with artichokes and xerofeli, homemade pies, vinegared bulbs, local cheeses. (Supplier 7, 2721088407)

Two recipes from Messinia

Lalangia

Materials
1 kg of all-purpose flour ¾ fl. olive oil
1 sachet of dry yeast
salt
some warm water
olive oil for frying

Implementation

Put the flour and olive oil in a large bowl and rub with your hands until the mixture becomes a rough dough. Salt and knead again. Dissolve the yeast in a glass of wine water, pour it into the mixture and continue kneading. Add warm water and knead until you get a dough that does not stick to your hands, soft and elastic. Cover it with a towel and let it rise for 1 hour. Immediately after, we knead it again and divide it into large balls. Shape each ball into a string. Cut it into three and roll it up like a snail. Heat plenty of olive oil in a deep pot and fry the lilacs until golden. Drain them on absorbent kitchen paper and accompany them with spicy feta or eat them plain, as a snack.

Yellow pumpkin meatballs

Materials

½ kilo of yellow pumpkin, grated
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 onions, grated
1 small bunch of mint, chopped
1 small bunch of dill, chopped
1 egg
all-purpose flour until it forms a thick paste
salt and pepper

Procedure

Salt the grated pumpkin and leave it in the colander for 1 hour to drain its liquid. We squeeze it well and put it in a large bowl. Add all the ingredients and finally the flour, which we add little by little while mixing well, until it becomes a thick porridge. Shape the meatballs flat and flour them. Fry them in plenty of olive oil until golden on both sides. They are delicious eaten cold.