Cinammon and Clove restaurant

Zagoria villages

On the second day of our visit to Ioannina, our friends took us to Vitsa, a nearby village that belongs to the Zagoria villages complex. The way I am saying it, it sounds as if they are not real villages but vacation places built like villages, but trust me they are very real and very beautiful. And very cold.

We went to have lunch at this restaurant Cinnamon and Clove (Kanella & Garifallo) and as soon as I opened the menu my pupils were dilated and my jaw dropped. There were dozens of mushroom dishes, with all kinds of mushrooms, cooked in all possible ways: soups, stews, grilled, oven baked, sautéed, in salads. Porcinis (we call them vasilomanitara which means king mushrooms) chanterelles, morels and other delicious fungi and when the waiter asked me what I wanted I said everything.

Chanterelles

Greens pie (lahanopita)

The other great thing you can eat while in Ioannina or Zagoria or Epirus in general (the northwest region of Greece) is savoury pies. I had a pie with all kinds of greens that they describe as “Lahanopita”. You can have one piece for lunch and you are full until dinner.

Poor, disgusting eels

Easiest cheese pie ever

Easiest & Fastest Cheese pie ever
I mixed together 2 eggs, around 300 gr (3 cups) all purpose flour, 2 cups yoghurt, 3 cups cheese (any kind, I used feta, gruyere and the Greek equivalent of cottage cheese). Beat them all together and add some milk and one or two tablespoons of olive oil. You have to end up with a thick mixture that will look like pancake batter but thicker. If it is too runny add more flour. Sprinkle some oregano or chopped rosemary and bake in a buttered tin in a pre-heated oven at 200 C (392 F) for about 20 minutes or until it is set (you can dip your knife in it and comes out clean). Frankly, it is the easiest cheese pie I’ve ever made (sloth) and one of the tastiest.

The fact that my sister is on diet all the time, won’t stop her from making cheese sauce and adding it to the pie which she later gives to unsuspecting relatives. But because the pie is so delicious, I allow myself one piece for breakfast, from time to time. Then I watch buttons break loose.

We’ll need

For the pastry

• 5 cups all purpose flour

• ½ cup water

• ½ cup olive oil

• A bit of salt

For the filling

• 300 gr. Feta cheese, crumbled

• 200 gr. Gruyere cheese, grated

• 2 eggs

• Pepper

• Dill

• 2 cups cheese sauce

For the cheese sauce

• 2 tbsps quality butter

• 2 heaped tbsps flour

• ½ lt milk

• 2 eggs

• 200 gr. grated gruyere cheese

To coat the pie

• Some milk
• a beaten egg

Mix all pastry ingredients and knead well. Make two balls. Leave it for half in hour to rest, in a bowl covered with a clean piece of cloth. Meanwhile prepare cheese sauce (see below). Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl (don’t forget the cheese sauce!). Roll the pastry in two sheets. Roll one pastry sheet in a well oiled baking tin. Pour the filling on pastry. Cover with the other pastry sheet. In a small bowl beat some milk and an egg together. Coat the pie with this and bake in a preheated oven until golden at 180 C/350 F/Gas Mark 4. This usually takes 50-60 minutes.

Cheese sauce Melt butter in a pan. Add flour, stirring all the time with wooden spoon. Pour the milk (must be lukewarm) and cheese and keep stirring constantly over low heat, until thickened and smooth. The sauce is ready. Before you add it to the pie, sprinkle with grated cheese to make it crunchier.