Dinner Dish: Greece Cooking Vacations – Hare Stifado Recipe

Our Greek cooking vacations, like many of our culinary tours in Europe, aren’t just about making food. They’re also about discovering the origins of recipes and the history of the region. Here, Chef Katerina of our Greek culinary vacations talks about her own family’s traditions with a very special dish: hare stifado.

“My grandfather was born on the island of Siros around 1900, we are not sure exactly when. Αt that time, Greece was different from what it is today. His father lived first in Crete and from there moved to Siros Ermoupoli. When his parents died from the plague he and his brother and sister [the only survivors from 7 children] were taken by their aunt Theano to Trizinia. Trizinia is one of the most beautiful villages in the area near Poros and is the oldest village as far as we know. Trizinia was famous in Mycenaean times and an ally of the Athenian alliances!

“My grandfather had his own litrivi (olive oil press) and his own Myllos (mill) and orange and lemon trees. He also made his own wine that he would sell at histaverna, the only one in the village at the time.”

See Chef Katerina’s recipes for lemon soup and ladolemono sauce.

“My grandfather Spiros was a great cook! But he enjoyed cooking dishes that were very special, mostly dishes that were a delicacy that he would enjoy with his friends who came to drink a glass of wine at the taverna. At the time he would sell his wine but he had to include a meze (small dish) with it for free. Rabbit or hare was one of those very special dishes!

“He would prepare it and put it into a terra cotta cooking pot, which he would then seal with a dough of flour, water, and salt . He would then cook it over the cinders of his fire for 4 hours.”

Read more about Chef Katerina.

Obviously it’s very difficult to replicate this exact recipe, but Katerina has adapted it for you to try. (Note: it is also one you can learn more about during our Greece cooking vacations!)