Kalamata,-livre-de-cuisine

Kalamata is a small town in the South of the Peloponnese, in the heart of Greece’s mainland with olive trees, vines, agriculture… It is from this little corner of paradise that the Chantzios brothers come from: producers of Kalios olive oil, they have converted many restaurants and delicatessens to the treasures of the Peloponnese. Their anchor point is Neochori-Itomi, the native village of La Callas. But for the Chantzios family, this is mainly where Yaya lives. The pillar of the family. Grandmother. So this is where all the memories, the holidays, the roots, the origins are. This is where you can taste the baked pork, squash balls, vegetables stuffed with rice …

… And the café frappé, a national drink, super easy to make again at home.

The café frappé can be sketo, metrio or glyko. It can be enjoyed mé gala (with milk) or choris gala (without milk).

To make a good café frappé, we use a special blender, a kind of plunging rod that all Greek families have at home. It’s this rod that will shake the coffee. A regular blender will do the trick as well.

You also need instant coffee, freshwater, large ice cubes, possibly powdered sugar, milk, preferably concentrated, a straw and a big glass.

For a glass: put two good teaspoons of coffee. To sweeten métrio, add a teaspoon of sugar, cover with water, and no more! This is where great coffee is played! If you add too much water, it will be frothy but not smooth. Then immerse the blender or shake in a shaker with ice cubes, for about 15 seconds until a smooth consistency is obtained.
Pour everything into a tall glass then add a good dose of ice cubes. Pour a little water into the blender – about a tablespoon – to collect the cream base, then pour everything into the glass. You can add one to two spoons of milk.

Add the straw, stir, and take the time to taste it. Greek style.