On Thursdays our little routine takes us to a local restaurant. Here we find out what the best catch of the day was. We choose an almost live fish and a wonderful Kakavia is prepared for us. To us the fish, caught half a day ago, has an exquisite flavor, which is impossible to find anywhere else. We are addicted…. And many of my hotel guests come back just for their Kakavia treat at our restaurant.
The Greek word "kakavia" is said to originate in ancient Greece, Masalia, by Greek fishermen. The dish takes the name from the special pot it is cooked in "kakavi", and hence it's name Kakavia.
Fishermen prepared this particular dish either on their boats or along little rocky islands where they rested before dragging their nets out of the sea. You‘d find a mixture of different fish, such as various small rock fish, white bait, prawns or crab and eel. They basically prepared it of what was left, not sold, or was either too small or had too many bones to be eaten. They would eat the soup broth itself, not the fish though.
It is cooked traditionally on Saint Nicolas day, the protector of seamen, on December 6th. According to a common Greek proverb "the best fish is the fresh fish", and by fresh, I mean no more than half a day old. We go to the port in the mornings to wait for the fishing boats to return. There, together with tavern owners, I choose the fish I’d like to eat for lunch or dinner.
Kakavia Soup can be prepared with large fish like a black grouper, cod or various small rock fish, white bait, prawns or crab. Basically any type of fish will do, or a mixture of different fishes with eel or very little crayfish. This is the version we enjoy here on Crete:
Ingredients:
 1 very good eating fish, black grouper, cod or various small rock fish, white bait, prawns or crab, approx. 1 kg
1/2 kilo of potatoes
2 onions cut in large slices
a bit of celery
1 tomato grated
1 glass of Cretan olive oil
salt, pepper
lemon juice of 2 large lemons
Instructions:
Scale the large fish, clean it, and cut in large chunks. Place potatoes, onions and celery on top of the fish in a large pot. In such a way that very little water is needed to cover it. Add salt, pepper and olive oil. Add about five glasses of water. Bring it to a boil and cook it for about 20 minutes. Half way through add the grated tomato. Just before taking the soup of the heat pour the lemon juice to the stock. Some people add samphire to the kakavia – a type of wild celery, which grows along the wave-beaten rocks of the shore. Pour the soup into serving bowls.
This dish is traditionally served with “Cretan Rusk” and not necessarily with bread. It is a dry & hard bread, extremely tasty and is a food to all those who travel out to sea (a normal bread would not store well); or herding up in the mountains for a longer period of time.
Enjoy.
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