Search
Brazil
Argentina
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Guyana
French Guiana
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Germany
Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Denmark
Spain
Finland
FranceGreece
the Netherlands
Hungary
Ireland
Iceland
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
Poland
Portugal
the United Kingdom
the Czech Republic
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Canada
the United States
Mexico
the Dominican RepublicTurkey
South Africa
Australia
Fiji
New Zealand
Papua New GuineaFlavors · Fira (Thira)
Fried patties made from chopped tomato, scallion, herbs and flour, served as a snack. They are a specialty of Santorini, made with the island’s small tomato, grown without irrigation in volcanic soil.
Traditional dish from Fira (Thira), Egeu Meridional
Also known as: Ντοματοκεφτέδες, domatokeftedes, tomatokeftedes Santorinis
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Tomatokeftedes — Fira (Thira), Greece
Tomatokeftedes are tomato patties. The tomato is chopped and drained, mixed with scallion, mint, parsley and oregano, and bound with flour until it forms a soft batter. Spoonfuls of that batter are dropped into hot olive oil and come out golden on the outside and moist inside.
The Australian broadcaster SBS, in its food section, describes the dish as a Santorini specialty traditionally made with the island’s native tomato. It’s a small tomato with a thick skin and concentrated flavor, grown in volcanic soil without irrigation. Using it makes the batter less watery and more flavorful.
The name combines domata, “tomato,” and keftedes, “patties” or “meatballs.” Cook and researcher Diane Kochilas notes that tomato patties are made on several Cycladic islands, such as Tinos, Syros and Andros, but the best known are those of Santorini.
Tomatokeftedes are served as meze, in the middle of the table, with other snacks, the island’s white wine or ouzo.
Fira (Thira) , Egeu Meridional
Tomatokeftedes are a Santorini specialty — the island’s capital is Fira — made with the small local tomato grown in volcanic soil.
Chopped and drained Santorini tomato, scallion, mint, parsley, oregano, wheat flour, salt and pepper. Fried in olive oil.
Hot or warm, eaten with the hands or with a fork, as a snack to share. Sometimes served with yogurt mixed with cucumber and garlic (tzatziki).
An everyday snack, most common in summer (June to August), when the island tomato is in season.
Your questions
Fried patties of chopped tomato with scallion, mint, parsley, oregano and flour. They are a Santorini specialty, served as a snack.
Because they are traditionally made with the island’s tomato — small and intensely flavored — grown in volcanic soil without irrigation.
Domata is “tomato” and keftedes are “patties” or “meatballs.” The name literally describes the dish: tomato patties.
Flavors of Greece
White wine flavored with Aleppo pine resin, added to the must during fermentation. The Attica Region calls it an Attica specialty, where it is made mainly with the Savatiano grape, and the name is a traditional designation reserved for wines from Greece.
Layered baked tart of thinly sliced zucchini and potato, with mizithra cheese and mint, sometimes topped with pastry. It is named for Chania, in western Crete, and is a summer dish (June to August), when zucchini are in season.
Rooster or veal slowly cooked in a tomato and wine sauce seasoned with cinnamon, bay leaf, nutmeg and other spices, served with thick pasta and grated cheese. It’s Corfu’s Sunday and festive dish, of Venetian heritage.
Thin slices of beef dredged in flour, browned and cooked in a light sauce of white wine or wine vinegar, with plenty of garlic, parsley and pepper. It is a Corfu dish of Venetian heritage, served with potatoes, rice or pasta.
Dry barley rusk, moistened and topped with grated tomato, fresh mizithra or feta cheese, olive oil and oregano, sometimes with olives and capers. It’s the best-known snack and light meal of Cretan cuisine.
Grape marc brandy distilled in Crete after the harvest, without anise. It has a geographical indication as Tsikoudia of Crete, is served chilled in small glasses, and accompanies Cretan hospitality from the start to the end of a meal.
Sweet natural white wine from Santorini, made with Assyrtiko, Aidani and Athiri grapes dried in the sun and aged for a long time in barrel. It ranges in color from amber to dark brown and is part of the Protected Designation of Origin Santorini.
Sweet white wine from southern the Peloponnese, made from grapes sun-dried and barrel-aged. It revives the wine that merchants shipped from Monemvasia to Europe in the Middle Ages, when the port was known by its Frankish name, Malvasia.
Mykonos onion pie, filled with onion, the island’s fresh cheese tyrovolia, eggs and dill, between two layers of pastry. It is noted as one of the island’s oldest and most traditional recipes.
Sweet fortified red wine from the Patras region, made mainly from the Mavrodafni grape and aged in barrels until it develops notes of raisins, coffee and dried fruit. It has a protected designation of origin and is the dessert wine most associated with the city.
Toasted sesame and honey bar with almonds, orange peel and spices, cut into diamond shapes. It is Rhodes’ sweet offered at weddings and baptisms and has a Protected Geographical Indication from the European Union.
Pomace brandy (grape marc), with or without anise, served chilled in small bottles with snacks. It has geographical indications for Thessaly and for Tyrnavos, and in Volos it gives its name to the houses where each round arrives with a meze.
Pie made with very thin pastry, open and layered, filled with semolina custard and topped with sugar and cinnamon. It is also made savory, with cheese, ground meat or spinach. In Thessaloniki it is eaten in the morning with coffee and sold in pieces cut to order.
