Besides being very tasty and making dishes unique, these delights of nature have numerous beneficial properties and are a staple of Kefalonian’s food culture.
Oregano (rígani), is an essential ingredient of Kefalonian recipes and is used to flavor tomato sauces, pies, olives, meats, fish, cheese, egg dishes, salads, and cheeses. Oregano can be easily confused with its close relative, marjoram (that on the island is called sampsýcho) which tastes a bit sweeter than oregano when added to food.
Fennel (maráthos) and dill (ánitho) are a great couple when cooking artichokes, peas, pies, zucchini and stuffed tomatoes or peppers (gemistá).
Thyme (thymari) is principally used to flavor meat, stews, soups and beans, savory (throúmpi) used almost as thyme,
bay (dáfni) a leaf of it added to lentil soup is a must,
Greek basil (ellinikós vasilikós) used to give a fresh aroma to salads and sauces,
rosemary (dendrolívano) used to flavor meatin particular ,
whilst sage (faskómilo), mint (dyósmos) and chamomile (Chamomíli) are used principally as herbal teas.
Each local recipe requires the right herb, or the right combination of herbs, and fortunately most of them can still be found wild.
