A Report from Athens and Aegina

Regional Dining Discussions Rest of Europe
21

Fish of mystery.

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22

Itā€™s a type of bream or porgy. Probably cheaper than tsipoura/ dorade/ dorado / orata / gilthead sea bream.

Gopa / Gopes etc

23

Yes, I saw that page myself.

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24

Adding it for reference, for future visits, and to drill it into my own memory, not to be be pedantic.

I should say that when I post links! :slight_smile:

25

I am happy you made it!

I was supposed to visit my cousins in Lesvos in the summer of 2020, which was derailed by the pandemic. I donā€™t know when Iā€™ll be able to visit Greece. I really enjoyed your trip report.

26

My Greek language teacher told of being a child in Crete during Nazi occupation. Diet was comprised of horta and scavenged snails. She didnā€™t mind the snails but said that she would never forget the gastric discomfort she/they experienced from a diet heavy in the coarse greens. Vitamin rich, yes, but very difficult to digest as a majority component of a childā€™s diet.

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27

Thanks! I was considering volunteering at a refugee shelter on Lesvos as part of my vacation, but with the short time I had, it wasnā€™t feasible.

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28

Iā€™m adding this post about the fish for reference.

Thereā€™s a lemon-marinated mackerel dried in the sun that is really quite special. I have only had it in Lesvos. Iā€™m sure itā€™s available on other Aegean islands. Edit: Kollios means mackerel. I donā€™t know the word for the sun-cured lemon marinated mackerel, that I think is special.

29

My Boomer cousins in Greece are pretty excited when it rains in the fall, because the snails come out after the rain. And then theyā€™re harvested, and thatā€™s whatā€™s for dinner.
Iā€™m not really a snail or escargot enthusiast so I had a hard time being excited for them when it was raining in mid-October!

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30

Our French hostess was an avid ā€œsnailerā€. When rain was forecasted, they would go out and ā€œsaltā€ known trails with breadcrumbs, then return just before dawn to harvest. While we were there, she returned from such a hunt and covered her probable bushel of snails with a gunny sack before tumbling in a well deserved warm bed.

But the snails had a different agenda, uniting to push aside the sacking and making a break for it.

We awoke to find the side of the building literally covered with snails on the lam. Her husband was very amused. She was not.

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31

Thatā€™s hilarious! Did they do this at a snailā€™s pace?

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