Explore Greek Cuisine in a Savor Nafplio Cooking Class
Have your ever wanted to learn the secrets of Greek cooking? If so, then consider adding a cooking class to your Greek travel itinerary.
When you travel in Greece, you’ll find out very quickly that Greek food is drop-dead amazing and consistently tastier than any food I’ve eaten anywhere.
Sure, I’ve had great meals in France, Italy, Spain, and even North America, but Greece wins hands down when it comes to consistency, taste, and freshness.
To learn why Greek food is so great–and more importantly, how to prepare it myself, my daughter Julia and I decide take a cooking class at Savor Nafplio Cooking while staying in lovely little Nafplio.
In the three-hour class, we learn how to prepare Greek dishes and then enjoy a five-course meal complete with wine pairings.
Arrival at Savor Nafplio Cooking Class
We arrive at 5 pm to discover that we are the only two participants. Chef Kostas is a wonderful host and teacher. He keeps us enthralled and engaged throughout the class.
I’ve taken several cooking classes while traveling in Europe, and the class at Savor Nafplio Cooking ranks as one of the best.
Chef Kostas starts the evening by sharing the menu and telling us what to expect. We then dive right into work.
Main Course: Lamb Bogana
The main course of the four-course meal is lamb and potatoes. Since both must cook for at least two hours, we start by preparing the lamb followed by the potatoes. Kostas shows me how to cut slits in the lamb and insert small slivers of garlic, along with sprinklings of salt and pepper. Meanwhile, Julia is put to work making the paste to rub over the lamb.
I also peel potatoes to layer under the lamb. While we work, Kostas provides us with a wealth of useful tips and information about what we are doing—and why.
Appetizer: Beef-Stuffed Zucchini
Once the lamb and potatoes are in the oven, we set to work making the beef-stuffed zucchini. Julia and I learn how to core a zucchini (harder than it looks!), and then we prepare the meat filling. We mix fesh herbs, an egg, plenty of olive oil, and green onions with ground beef and then stuff the mixture into the hollowed-out zucchinis.
Kostas nestles three stuffed zucchinis into a pan half-filled with water. Later, we’ll smother them in a delectable egg and lemon sauce.
Tomato Salad with Cucumber Soup
Kostas teaches us how to prepare cucumbers for pureeing into a refreshing green soup. He uses small cucumbers which he says are less bitter. To ensure the soup is a pleasing color of green, but not too bitter, he instructs me to peel the cucumber in stripes. Cool tip.
Later, he serves the cucumber soup under a mound of cut up Greek salad fixings–tomatoes, onions, olives, capers and some crunchy bread bits all topped with fresh feta cheese. Delicious!
Orange Pie
Traditional Greek orange pie is what I’d call cake—a light, orange-flavored sponge soaked in an orange syrup. Kostas demonstrates how to prepare and measure the many ingredients required for the pie.
One of my jobs is to cut a roll of filo pastry into thin ribbons and then mix them with eggs and fresh orange juice. The filo is a substitute for flour. Its texture will give the pie a lighter texture than it would if made with flour. Interesting idea!
Dining at Savor Nafplio
With all the food prepared, the dining and wine tasting begins. Kostas brings out a small loaf of warm sourdough bread for us to dip in local olive oil flavored with local sea salt. The bread is so good that I eat too much of it and then later have trouble finishing all my dinner.
Kostas pairs five wines with the various courses—from a light white to an after-dinner dessert wine. Kostas explains each wine—its origins in Greece and what to expect while tasting. I thoroughly enjoy tasting the wine and sampling the dinner courses.
Here are pictures of the meal we enjoyed at Savor Nafplio Cooking.
Booking a Class at Savor Nafplio Cooking
Kostas varies the menu depending on the preferences of the guests. We’d specified no fish or shellfish so they weren’t on the menu. He also looks at what’s fresh in the local market and consults his own mood. The menu we enjoyed may not be the menu a guest would enjoy on another night. I am, however, confident that whatever the menu, the cooking experience will be first-rate.
If you’re visiting Nafplio, I recommend finding three hours in your schedule to take a cooking class and enjoy a meal and wine pairings at Savor Nafplio Cooking. You get excellent value for the money and learn new cooking tips.
Cooking Classes in Greece
Here are some GetYourGuide cooking classes available in Greece:
Conclusion
Have you taken a cooking class while traveling? Share your recommendations in the Comments below. Here are more posts about cooking classes I’ve taken when traveling.