This summer’s lemon-simmered goat, cooked high up on Mount Ochi in southern Evia by experienced hands, was the very pinnacle of my summer holidays.
Up there, between sky and sea, I met a genuine soul — a shepherd who invited me to his humble table and reminded me that true flavor is always found in simplicity.
The story
I returned from the remote southern tip of Evia laden with treasures!
Half a young goat that had grazed high on Mount Ochi, touloumotyri cheese crafted by the hands of Mr. Vangelis himself, fresh anthotyro, and a small kefalotyri still alive in its brine!
All of them were gifts from my new friend, Mr. Vangelis — the shepherd–sailor–cook I met far away, high up in the mountains.
There, in the distant village of Antia, where the locals once spoke in whistles, I encountered him in the small kafeneio among a group of villagers.
Captain Vangelis had spent many years as a ship’s cook, and now he follows his passion by tending his animals up there on the mountain, beside the towering wind turbines…
But the greatest gift I brought back was his generous friendship — and the taste of his goat dish, which I ate up in his mitato. Cooked with the simplest of ingredients, the skill of a seasoned ship’s cook, and an abundance of love, it was served with a view that stretched across Cape Kavo Doro and the endless Aegean Sea.
My expatriate son from London has also arrived, and when he returns he wants to eat something deeply Greek.
So I decided to try to copy the taste…
I have made him goat with wild fennel from time to time and of course Cretan tsigaristo.
But this recipe has something else, something magical…
I will definitely never get it, because the environment and the company play an important role.
But I will try to convey it to you, just as Mr. Vangelis. A former ship cook and now a livestock farmer out of love, offered it to me!
His recipe is very simple, everyday, with a lot of love, passion and a seafaring hand…
The recipe as I saw it being made in the kitchen of “mitato”
1 kilo of goat meat cut into pieces.
1 dried onion.
1/2 cup of olive oil.
1 glass of white wine.
1 tablespoon of oregano.
Juice of one lemon.
4 potatoes cut into wedges.
Salt and pepper
Wash the goat well, drain it and lightly coat it with a little flour.
Sauté until it takes on color and add the chopped onion.
Let the onion shine for a while and then deglaze with the wine.
Add water to cover the meat and boil with the pot covered.
Low heat for one and a half to two hours, checking that the water does not evaporate.
Add the potatoes, oregano and lemon. Boil again until the potatoes are done and the sauce thickens slightly.
There are no words to describe this experience of mine.
This taste, this hospitality, the sense of freedom that the combination of mountain and sea gives you.
Being on the top of the mountain in the village of Vangelis and gazing at the Aegean.
At the same time eating the lemony summer goat from Vangelis’ hands.
I wish in my life I could meet a few more people like this, with a heart of diamond, to collect life experiences…
Texts photos by GiorgioGrigor
