10 Dec 2018

Pastitsada Recipe: Corfu’s Top Traditional Dish

By | Posted in: Corfiot and Greek Cuisine | 0

Last updated on November 19th, 2023 at 02:16 pm

The authentic Pastitsada or Pastitsado

Here is the authentic original recipe of Pastitsada, complete with the ingredients and instructions for preparing the most characteristic dish of Corfu’s cuisine.

This recipe serves approximately 4-5 people, and to stay true to tradition, we use rooster meat. Of course, you have the option to substitute with beef or chicken in the same recipe.

Pastitsada
Pastitsada

Ingredients

  1. 3 large onions (Pastitsada requires a generous amount of onions)
  2. Approximately 1.5 kilograms of rooster or meat (beef or chicken)
  3. 200-250 grams of thick tomato paste
  4. 100 grams of extra virgin olive oil
  5. 50 grams of red wine
  6. 1 tablespoon of sugar
  7. 1 kilogram of thick macaroni, penne, or spaghetti (depending on your preference)
  8. Grated cheese, kefalotyri
  9. 1 spoonful of Spetseriko (a mix of spices)
  10. Salt and pepper to taste
  11. Water

Spetseriko is the special mix of spices used to create the distinctive flavor of Pastitsada. Typically, a small tablespoon per four portions is sufficient, or adjust to taste for a spicier preference.

The composition of Spetseriko

  1. 10 grams of grated clove
  2. 50 grams of cinnamon
  3. 50 grams of nutmeg
  4. 70 grams of sweet paprika
  5. 50 grams of cumin
  6. 20 grams of hot pepper or red peppers, dried and grated (Bukovo).
    Adjust the amount of Bukovo based on your desired level of spiciness.
  7. 100 grams of sweet pepper from grated sweet red peppers (sweet Bukovo)
  8. 20 grams of grated spice
  9. 30 medium bay leaves, crushed into a fine powder
  10. 25 grams of black pepper

The above quantities are intended for multiple uses, up to 10 or more servings. Store the mix in a closed glass jar to preserve its freshness and use it for your next Pastitsado.

Time for cooking

  1. Cut the rooster into 4 or 5 large pieces.
  2. Chop the onions into very small pieces, or better yet, dissolve them in a blender.
  3. In a large saucepan, heat 100 grams of olive oil until hot. Immediately add the rooster pieces and move them around until they develop some color.
  4. Add the chopped onions to the saucepan and sauté. Be cautious not to remove the rooster from the saucepan at this point, as some recipes may suggest.
  5. Once the onions have gained a bit of color, pour in the wine and continue cooking until it evaporates.
  6. As it dries a bit, add 250 grams of tomato paste and hot water (enough to cover the top of the rooster).
  7. Once the mixture begins to boil, add one teaspoon or a bit more of the Spetseriko mix, along with salt and a tablespoon of sugar. Stir well.
  8. Allow the mixture to simmer on low heat. Stir occasionally with a large wooden spoon to prevent sticking.
  9. When the sauce thickens, the dish is ready. Set the saucepan aside and prepare the spaghetti.

All the above processes should be done slowly and should take almost two hours! The food is served with pasta, such as thick macaroni, penne, or spaghetti.

  • Spaghetti or thick macaroni is prepared at the end, just before serving, using the usual process. After straining, you may choose to sauté the pasta in another utensil with a little oil.
  • Serve the rooster, the sauce, and the spaghetti together. Don’t forget to sprinkle some grated cheese on top.

The same process is followed when using beef or chicken instead of a rooster.

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28 Nov 2018

Easter in Corfu 2019

By | Posted in: Corfu Culture and Events | 0

Last updated on November 19th, 2023 at 07:05 am

FIRST RESURRECTION 2019, outside Captain Octopus

See below the custom of the First Resurrection which takes place every Great Saturday at around 11 o’clock in the morning, every house or anyone in Corfu can smash some pots at the right time.

Easter in Corfu at Liston
Easter in Corfu at Liston

This year Corfu celebrates the biggest celebration of the Orthodox faith on Sunday 28th of  April.

It is the well-known Easter of Corfu which this year is expected to fill the island with a huge number of visitors and to keep alive for two weeks the festive atmosphere that is getting better year after year.

Thus, celebrations with all the customs that attract enormous interest will begin on Palm Sunday, April 21st, to culminate on Friday with the epitaphs, the Great Saturday with Resurrection at midnight in the largest square in Europe Esplanade, and on Easter Sunday with the big feast, continuing until Sunday of Thomas at 5th of May, when the weather will be like summer already.

The first week of May also may be appropriate for visits to the many beautiful beaches of Corfu.

For the most important events and customs of Corfu Easter see here and here for many photos from the celebrations of previous years.

Spring Corfu once again awaits this year’s loyal friends of Greece’s top Easter celebrations.

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50+ Old Corfu Photos of 20th Century – Group B

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28 Oct 2018

Holidays or Public Holidays? In Greece and Corfu

By | Posted in: Corfu Travel Information | 0

Last updated on July 27th, 2024 at 02:00 pm

What does the word holidays mean? [Public Holidays]

The word Holidays is translated as “Διακοπές” [Diakopes] in Greek but has a completely different meaning than in the English speaking countries, where the word holidays means public holidays.

In Greece, holidays(Diakopes) mean almost exclusively (with few exceptions of course) the days that people spend on a tourist resort during their Summer Holidays.
It has exactly the meaning of the English word “Vacations”

For the days when public services or shops are closed for religious or other reasons, and in general, nothing works, we use the word “Argies” [Αργίες] which can be translated as “public holidays” in English.

So when someone wants to write an article about holidays in Corfu and is addressed to an English-speaking audience, it’s a little hard to figure out what exactly to include in this article.

Porto timoni
Porto Timoni

Trapped mostly by the Greek meaning of the word we write only for the holiday days that someone will spend mostly in the summer on a sunny island.

So we refer to hotels, and sights and describe activities that tourists may have when staying in Corfu.

We ignore even for informative reasons the official public holidays for each place and in our case the “Argies” and semi-holidays that exist in Corfu and the Greek territory.

So on this page, we will mention the official or informal days of public holidays(argies, days off), the days when few people are working, and there are quite many in Greece and especially in Corfu.

If one of these argies happens to be on a Friday, it can be combined with the public semi-holiday of Saturday and Sunday and converted into a short 3-day vacation in a preferably nearby resort.

Public Holiday Days in Corfu and Greece

Holidays for the public sector.

  • January 1st, the first day of the Year
  • Epiphany on January 6
  • Monday, a movable festival 40 days before Easter, at the Monday, marking the end of the Carnival and the beginning of Lent for the Orthodox church, usually near the end of February or the beginning of March.
  • March 25th, is Greece’s independence day, the largest national celebration, and the anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821, which means the beginning of the modern Greek state.
  • Holy Friday, 2 days before Easter.
  • Great Saturday, a day before the Easter holiday
  • Easter
  • Easter’s Second Day
  • May 1st, The Labor Day
  • 21st of May, the anniversary of the Union of the Ionian Islands with Greece, a Public Holiday only in Corfu and the Ionian islands
  • The holiday of the Holy Spirit is 48 days or 7 weeks after Easter.
  • August 15th, the Virgin Mary’s assumption
  • October 28th, national celebration, the anniversary of NO, the start of Greece’s resistance against the Axis forces in 1940.
    We are the only country in the world that celebrates the beginning of the war and not its end!
    And there is a good reason for this, Greece resisted vigorously to the Axis forces for eight whole months before it was captured when other major countries fell within days.
  • December 12th, Saint Spyridon day, patron Saint of Corfu (Public holiday only in Corfu)
  • Christmas Day on December 25th
  • The Second Day of Christmas
  • All Sundays and Saturdays of the year

Semiholidays

The days when public services are running only for a few hours

  • December 24th, Christmas Eve
  • December 31st, New year’s eve.
  • All Saturdays

The aforementioned holidays are compulsory for the public sector and not necessarily for all, the mandatory holidays for all are 6, the following below.

Compulsory Holidays

  • March 25th, the day of the Greek independence, the Revolution of 1821
  • Easter day
  • The second day of Easter
  • August 15th, the Virgin Mary’s assumption
  • December 25th, Christmas
  • December 26th, Christmas’s Second Day

There are also holidays due to a custom

  • New Year’s Day, January 1st
  • Epiphany on the 6th of the same month
  • The Monday 40 days before Easter
  • Holy Friday
  • The Labor Day on May 1st, if it falls on Easter’s Sunday, is transferred to the 3rd of May on Tuesday.
  • October 28th, the National celebration, the anniversary of NO to Axis demands surrender

Holidays for the Education sector

  • November 17th is the anniversary of the Polytechnic student’s uprising in 1973 against the Junta.
    Holiday for Universities only, there is also a small event in schools in memory of the uprising.
  • January 30th, the three Hierarchs Day, is a holiday only for elementary schools.
  • The national celebrations of 28th October and 25th of March.
  • Monday 40 days before Easter
  • Labor Day on the 1st of May
  • The Holy Spirit holiday is 48 days or 7 weeks after Easter.
  • All weekends
  • During the Christmas and Easter periods, we have two long holiday periods in education, for 2 weeks at Christmas (from 23 December to 7 January) and a week before Easter plus a week after it up to the Sunday of Thomas.
  • Schools also stop in the summer for about 3 months (from June to early September)

Conclusion

There are plenty of Public Holidays in Greece, most of them due to religious feasts and some national anniversaries.

The public sector, what we call Civil Servants in Greece seems quite favored with several holidays.

Also in education, there are several weeks a year when schools remain closed, but this does not mean that education is poor, but the opposite.

On the contrary, the private sector appears to be the one with the least hours of free time.

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21 Oct 2018

Angsana Corfu Hotel: A Luxury Resort in Benitses

By | Posted in: Hotels in Corfu, Benitses Hotels | 0

Last updated on June 5th, 2024 at 12:18 pm

Nestled on a lush hill overlooking the clear Ionian Sea, Angsana Corfu Resort & Spa is Banyan Group’s first European property and a premier 5-star hotel in Corfu, Greece. This remarkable destination blends Greek hospitality with Asian influences in its elegant rooms, suites, and luxurious villas with private pools. Enjoy the stunning infinity pool, seaside dining, private beach, and world-class wellness facilities, all set against the backdrop of breathtaking scenery.

Angsana Corfu Hotel in Benitses is the new luxury 5-star hotel in place of the closed 2008 San Stefano hotel which belonged to the Manesis family and since 2008 is owned by the Kerschikov group.

Belongs to the Angsana Hotels and Resorts chain belonging to the Banyan Tree Group, which cooperates with the Kerschikov group and is constructed by KLC III Hellas.

The Hotel

Angsana Hotel sits on a hill on the north side of Benitses, 150 meters above sea level, providing uninterrupted views of the south of the island, a panoramic view of Corfu town, and the northeast part of the island. To the north of this hill is the famous Achilleion Palace.

The Angsana Corfu promises a slice of paradise with its breathtaking views of the Ionian Sea, lush gardens, and a pristine private beach. It’s not just a hotel; it’s an experience.

Imagine waking up in your plush room, greeted by the gentle sea breeze. You’ve got a world of relaxation at your fingertips – from lounging by the pool to indulging in rejuvenating spa treatments.

Oh, and the dining! Get ready to embark on a culinary journey, savoring gourmet delights infused with local flavors. From traditional Greek dishes to international cuisine, your taste buds are in for a treat.

But the real magic happens when the sun sets. Picture yourself enjoying a cocktail at the bar, watching the sky turn shades of pink and gold over the sea. It’s pure bliss.

So, if you’re craving a getaway that’s all about luxury, natural beauty, and unforgettable moments, the Angsana Corfu is calling your name. It’s a place where dreams come true, memories are made, and relaxation is the ultimate priority. Get ready to be pampered and captivated – your Corfu adventure awaits!

The Swimming Pool

The hotel offers a stunning 1000 sqm infinity pool, awarded the esteemed Prix Villegiature 2022 for Best Hotel Pool in the World, and is a highlight among luxury hotels in Corfu, Greece.

This picturesque and Instagrammable location merges seamlessly with the sea, giving the impression of swimming into the horizon.

For ultimate privacy, Angsana Corfu Resort & Spa offers 37 exclusive private pool villas, where guests can indulge in romantic dinners under the stars, enjoy revitalizing in-villa massages, or enhance their stay with unique villa experiences.

A Family-friendly hotel

At Angsana Corfu Resort & Spa, families have a wealth of choices.

Children can delight in our Kids’ Club, take swim lessons, or join in various daily activities.

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