Greece with Gusto

Seems like months ago but it's just six weeks since we were in Greece on the tiny, unfashionable, road-and-car-less Trikeri island. Trikeri (Palio Trikeri) is tucked away in the South East corner of the Pagasitic Gulf - the gulf of Volos. Getting there by boat is quite easy - the island is popular with locals as a Summer weekend destination - but by car it's a two-and-a-half hour drive from Volos. That's when you get to Volos of course which itself is a two-and-a-half hour drive from Thessaloniki airport. We found Trikeri in the course of an internet search for places to stay on the posher East coast of the Pelion peninsula. But in the end the idea of a tiny unspoilt island only a mile-and-a-half long with 75 inhabitants, one village, one minimarket and two tavernas seemed too good to miss. 


The (only) downside was to be the limited choice of food available in the shop - no fresh fish, bread delivered once a week - so our cooking choices were limited, too. We treated ourselves to the Taverna three or four times -  the limit being money since the island has no bank or bancomat and a recent storm had somehow knocked out card readers in both taverna and shop, so conserving our cash was the order of the day.


Luckily I'd brought a selection of Gustosecco products with me - as one does - and we had several memorable meals using them as a base. The most delicious combination was our Pumpkin risotto with sausage and Kefalotiri cheese. The long, fresh sausages in the shop were made from pure, lean pork and herbs. Chopped into chunks and dry-fried they went wonderfully with the risotto into which I'd grated that lovely, semi-hard ewe's milk cheese that was sweeter and milder than Pecorino.

Pumpkin risotto with sausage

Vegetables from the shop were so fresh I cooked with them almost every day. Small aubergines, pointy mild green peppers, pale green bell peppers, sweet pink onions were all perfect for sprinkling with salt, rigani and chilli flakes and baking with olive oil. We ate them hot with Greek pasta, cold with fresh bread (once a week) and best of all with Siciliana risotto.

Siciliana risotto with roast vegetables

Vegetables ready for roasting

I'd also carried with me some packs of our new Grain Gourmet Bulghur with Red Pepper and Olive. We all love bulghur wheat which also features in Greek cooking but is most popular in Cyprus. We made lunches in minutes from our Grain Gourmet version adding chopped tomatoes, fresh feta and black olives.

Grain Gourmet bulghur with tomatoes and feta

Risottos and bulghur were perfect for us not only because they combined so well with local ingredients but also because cooking them was quick. One or two longish spells in front of the cooker in the combined heat of the early evening and the oven were enough! Cooking, eating, daily shopping, swimming, reading and siesta were the rythym of our delightful Trikeri days that passed happily and far too quickly.



If you're interested in Trikeri Island with its olive groves, rough tracks, little coves and calm, clean sea then I'd recommend visiting www.pelionlookoutvilla.com where you'll find the very informative website of Gail Egan from whom we rented her simple, pretty villa with its views over Pelion and Mount Tisaoro.

Island signpost

The lookout