Lunch hangs waiting to be cooked seaside in Piso Livadi.
Whenever Ralph and I are scoping out a beach for the day, we look for the taverna with the ‘clothesline of octopus’. Greece is amazing for having fantastic tavernas on the remotest of beaches. Even when the beach is not busy, the taverna’s kitchen is fully stocked with fresh vegetables, local cheeses, grilled meats such as lamb, pork, beef, chicken and rooster, fish and seafood, wood oven breads and fruit. The portions are massive so we often share several side dishes with one order of either grilled octopus or squid. We love the classic Greek salad of ripe juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, salty Kalamata olives topped with creamy local feta sparingly dressed with local olive oil and a sprinkling of dried wild oregano. You can taste the Mediterranean sunshine in every bite!
Along with the salad, we might have chickpeas slow cooked in terra-cotta or taramosalata, a stunning dip of dried cod roe mixed with garlic, mashed potato and olive olive oil. We follow this with freshly caught – literally the cook takes our octopus off the line – seafood simply grilled and dressed with a little olive oil. When we have finished, the waiter will often bring a generous plate of sliced fresh watermelon ‘on the house’.
These simple seaside kitchens ‘knock-it-out-of-the-park’ every time because their food is local, fresh and lovingly prepared.
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