TRADITIONAL FOOD

In Astypalea you will find dishes that date way back, as is so often the case in any place that respects its history and tradition.

For some they are premium, for others simply special. You see, it is a matter of taste.

“Lamprianos” (stuffed lamb roasted in the oven)a traditional local dish cooked mostly at Easter,”giaprakia” (dolmades made with vine leaves), garlic-flavored pasta (spaghetti with sauteed garlic),spaghetti with sauteed onion, fish served with rice flavored with saffron,”rantista” (lentils with chopped dough and vinegar), “podokefala” (pork with saffron), lasagna (stuffed pasta with “chlori” cheese and saffron) are dishes that come from the past. You can find some of these in restaurants while others will have to be specially made for you to try.

The “yellow” buns or yellow cookies (sugar free,made with “chlori” and saffron), the milk cookies, the Easterpies (stuffed pies with “chlori” and saffron), the pouches (fried, stuffed dough with “chlori” or “kopanisti” cheese), are also delicies you can find in the bakeries and confectioneries around the island.

Finally you should definitely try some of the dairy products produced here. These are “chlori”, “anthotiro” (fresh or dry form of the same cheese), the “ladotiri” (cheese in oil),”kopanisti”,”xyalina” (sour, fresh cheese),local butter and “sygathoura” (baked butter).