Corfu Travel Blog: An Insider’s View of Corfu Greece

1. 10 to 12 scorpions cleaned of scales and offal only, leave them with their heads.
2. 2-3 small perches for a stronger taste, both cleaned and with their heads.
3. 1 big Onion chopped into small pieces with a knife
4. A large soup spoon of sweet red pepper
5. A pinch of hot red pepper
6. 100 gr of Olive oil
7. 100 grams of fresh lemon juice, from fresh-cut lemons!

1. Put the finely chopped onion in the saucepan with some oil and let it boil.
2. Add the large spoonful of red sweet pepper, a pungent hot red pepper, and the rest of the olive oil.
3. Continue cooking it.
4. Put a large glass of water
5. When it boils and is near to stick, we add the fish and two more glasses of water until the fish is completely covered.
6. Allow boiling on a normal fire until it is almost dry from the water.
7. Put the lemon juice inside.
8. Wait for another minute and remove it from the fire cause it’s ready.

Note: Scorpion fishes have small bones like nails, therefore are dangerous and you need to be very careful as you eat them.
As you noticed, the real traditional recipe is made with the fish intact with all their bones because it is more tasteful.

In case you are worried about the dangerous bones you can clean the fish from their bones prior to cook, but the sauce won’t be such delicious, it all depends on you.

Also, using another kind of fish can solve the small bone problem, a highly recommended fish is dogfish or chestnut.

This same recipe applies to codfish and octopus, in these cases, you can add potatoes too.

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

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

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.

• 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.