The joys of eating delicious vegan Greek food

Traditional Cretan architecture of small villages

Crete was my first Greek island I have ever visited. Prior to coming to Greece (Athens was our first stop) I had tasted a number of vegan-friendly dishes from this ancient cuisine.  Dolma (stuffed vine leaves with rice) was one of them. Dolma just like many other dishes of this region was widely popular throughout the Ottoman Empire. Its exact origins are unknown. Some link it to Greece, others to Armenia or Turkey.

It is hard to think of Greek food without images of big ripe flavoursome olives, the golden liquid made from them or the sweet nutty baklava (again a close link to Turkey).

Our short trip started with landing at Chania International Airport, from where we caught a bus to the city centre. A short walk around the harbour with a 16th century lighthouse at its entrance highlighted the Venetian, Egyptian and Ottoman influences in this area. Narrow streets and waterfront restaurants were luring a handful of tourists and travellers, trying to soak in the early spring sun.

This was not our final destination though. Three hours of a scenic coastal route later we arrived in Heraklion, where we rented a car. Our little vehicle (Hyundai which we jokingly called ‘a wheelbarrow’) took us to our apartment in Malia.

Being the first guests of the season, we could enjoy a relatively calm and peaceful surroundings that are otherwise buzzing with activities in the summer. Having a fridge at our disposal we decided to load it with ingredients for breakfasts and lunches for the following few days.

To my great surprise, the local supermarket in Limonas Chersonisou was very well stocked with vegan goodies. Not only with the classics, like fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts, but also vegan sliced cheese and dark chocolate almond milk! This was a great start :)

Hoummous, vegetables and a vegan cheese!

My Cretan breakfast: oats with nuts, goji berries and bananas with dark chocolate almond milk.

It only got better though to our absolute delight. Having done my research on TripAdvisor and Happy Cow, I found an old family-run restaurant in the old Hersonissos – 1930 Taverna.

The food was absolutely delicious, the service friendly and relaxed and the prices were very reasonable. Above all, everything was locally sourced, very authentic and vegan-friendly! We rarely go back to the same place, especially if we only have few days to spend. 1930 Taverna was an exception! We were back three days later and it did not disappoint again!

My favourite little ‘tapas’ we tried included:
• Dolmadhes – grapevine leaves stuffed with rice and herbs
• Fava – a dip made from puréed split yellow peas
• Fried zucchini
• Beetroot salad
• Mixed salad with figs and walnuts

Dolmadhes, fava, beetroot and mixed salad.

As in many places in Greece, the dinner was ended with a complementary glass of ouzo (anis-flavoured aperitif) and a piece of fruit or baklava.

We filled each day on this beautiful sunny island with visiting of archaeological sites, hill walking, cave exploring and tasting local dishes. The local hospitality surrounded us everywhere we went.

Despite the increasingly more touristy character of Crete we also found some authentic small roadside tavernas. This is where food is prepared with love and care, according to the old family recipes.

Once again, being vegan did not make it more difficult to experience the local cuisine. Quite opposite, it allowed me to enjoy colourful vegetable-based dishes that tasted of sun and ancient traditions!