Corfu, Kerkyra, in Greek: Κέρκυρα, pronounced KEHR-kee-rah
Corfu has a parallel but different history than mainland Greece. While the mainland was being occupied by the Ottoman Empire, Corfu (and other islands of the Ionian Sea) were, for centuries, occupied by the Venetians. Corfu is the one part of Greece never conquered by the Turks.
Subsequent influences brought by the British, French, and Italians again shaped the island's culinary evolution. It wasn't until much later that Greeks from the mainland brought the Turkish influences of their cooking style to the island (although it had almost no impact on the traditional Corfiot cuisine).
Because the geography of Corfu is similar to that of the rest of Greece, olives and olive oil, cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables are all basics on the menu, with a greater emphasis on seafood, but the tastes and cooking methods are totally and delightfully Corfiot.
Try some of these traditional dishes from Corfu and see for yourself!
- Bourou-Bourou - Vegetable and Pasta Soup
- Bourtheto - Scorpion Fish in a Spicy Sauce
- Pastitsatha - Rooster with Pasta
- Sofrito - Fried Beef in a White Wine Sauce
- Sykomaïtha - Spiced Fig Cakes