Discover Macedonia's Culinary Treasures: A Taste of Tradition

The area’s fertile plains, life-giving lakes and rivers, the large variety of seafood found within the Aegean Archipelago, offer excellent raw materials, making the extraordinary Macedonian Cuisine all the more tasty. Its recipes have been influenced by multicultural traits and traditions, throughout the centuries, creating a unique blend of flavours.

The region of Macedonia in Greece has quality products with which locals master their recipes; crocus from Kozani, Grevena’s mushrooms, Kastoria’s pulses, Florina’s mouthwatering red peppers, Prespes’ gigantes beans, Vodena’s cherries, Naousas’ orchards, mussels from Halkidiki and various vineyards with some exquisite varieties of mavrotragano and xinomavro are the products that make all the difference in Macedonian’s culinary tradition.

Cooking Routes

The key factors that compose the region’s ultimate dishes are its local products and customs. Lots of recipes are made with pork in combination with vegetables and fruits: some examples of the most beloved recipes are pork with cabbage, quince, cherry plums, chestnuts or celery. Pork tenderloin is corned and made into the must taste ‘kavourmas’. Leeks, ground spices and meat are made into spicy delicious sausages.Tzigerosarmades are delicious wraps of lamb’s caul filled with rice, chopped lamb liver, onions and herbs. Sarmadakia are cabbage leaves wraps stuffed with ground beef. Among the distinguished and beloved meat recipes are also soutzoukakia (meatballs) with rice pilaf, baked lamb with yogurt, spicy meatballs and patsa soup with lots of garlic, which is actually a trademark in Thessaloniki.

If you happen to love seafood then you can choose among a large variety of fish, either deriving from freshwater (trout, bass etc.) or seawater (bream, sardines etc.) Try out baked cod or trout, cooked cuttlefish with spinach, baked sardines and anchovies sprinkled with lemon and salt. Of course, Halkidiki’s, Kavala’s and Katerini’s mussels are greatly appreciated throughout the Macedonian Region, which are prepared in various ways (steamed, pan-fried) and accompanied by deliciously cooked bulgur or pasta.

You wouldn’t call a meal, Macedonian, unless there is at least a pie on the table. Peppers, mushrooms, leeks, zucchinis, a variety of wild greens and feta cheese are all used in the delicious Macedonian twisted phyllo pies.
To top it all off with something sweet, you must taste: Thessaloniki’s bougatsa (the famous cream-filled pie), trigona ( custard cream filled pastries) and syrup pastries; Kozani’s aromatic pies with Velvento apples; Veroia’s mouthwatering ‘revani’ syrup cake and spoon sweets; Serre’s akanes (a sweet flavoured with fresh butter); Naoussa’s roxakia sweets; Kastoria’s rice-pies and Kavala’s kourabiedes with their grilled almonds. One more before we let you go… savour the macedonian halva, which is eaten year round throughout Greece. All these sweets promise to keep your sweet tooth happy!