Minoan Souvlaki: The "depths" of Minoan Cuisine

Crete is one of the places which "oozes" culture and history, with unique and inexhaustible "routes"!  One of the aspects of the "identity" and culture of Crete is the culinary wealth that was cultivated by the Minoans and left as a legacy.

The Minoan Souvlaki is amongst the dishes that the Minoans had created, shaping their diet on ingredients and raw materials the Cretan land produced and still produces.

As explained on Cretalive by Andreas Pattakos, the owner of the restauraunt "Pasiphae" in Heraklion, where anybody can taste the genuine Minoan "menu", the revival of the Minoan dishes was his vision for the creation of "a culinary destination, where the visitors have the chance to interact with the Minoan culture". He includes, Dr. Minas Tsikritsis, a Professor of Aegean Scriptures in the catalytic role as a guide with regard to the ingredients and raw materials that were used by the Minoans.

"The Minoan Souvlaki was an idea based on findings of krateftes (clay skewer holders) as well as explicit references found in Homer's Odyssey which prove that the Minoans skewered their meat and roasted it on krateftes creating todays souvlaki" - states Mr. Pattakos and to prove that, he refers you to the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion as well as Santorini where you can see remains of the krateftes.

This meal was accompanied by the Minoan salad which was a mix of five different legumes with dried figs, taking the place of potatoes which of course did not exist in Crete at that time.

A brilliant field of glory for culinary tourism, with Crete's unexplored challenges which "offer" a lot to the visitors that want to "initiate" themselves into the depths of Minoan Culture....

To read in greek, click here