A FOOD TRADITION

Dodecanese Cuisine

Dodecanese cuisine comes from the southeastern Aegean islands, including Rhodes, Kos, Karpathos, Kalymnos and Leros, where Greek, Anatolian, Levantine and Italian influences have interacted for centuries. Wheat, chickpeas, lentils, wild greens, goat, seafood, honey, citrus and aromatic herbs are common, alongside distinctive island cheeses and cured foods. Baking in wood-fired ovens, stuffing vegetables, drying pasta and fish, and slow cooking legumes are characteristic methods. Examples include pitaroudia, chickpea fritters associated with Rhodes; makarounes, hand-cut pasta from Karpathos; and katoumari, a layered sweet or savory pastry found in island cooking.

Dishes linked to this cuisine

1–5 of 5

Goat in the Pydiko

Rhodian goat cooked slowly in a traditional clay pot.

Kamilakia

Rhodian dolmades wrapped in specially prepared cyclamen leaves and served with egg-lemon sauce.

Lopia

Rhodian main dish pairing goat with dried beans.

Melekouni

Emblematic Rhodian celebration sweet of sesame and honey with orange and aromatic spices.

Pitaroudia

Rhodian chickpea fritters flavoured with mint.

Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.