The second largest city of Epirus and capital of the Regional Unit of Arta includes all the unique features that define the gastronomy of Epirus, highlighting the tradition of PDO “Protected Designation of Origin” dairy products, as well as agricultural ones, that the land of Arta so generously offers.
If we take a look at Arta’s relief, we quickly realize the diversity and variety in the cultivation and production of goods: the lagoons in the south, the Tzoumerka mountains in the north and the fertile plains in between. From the famous shrimps (the so-called “gambari”), the red mullets and the sardines of Amvrakikos Gulf, to the endless orange plantations, the olive groves and the kiwis, to the livestock and the production of dairies up on the Athamanic Mountains that make the PDO cheeses of Epirus, such as the feta, the kefalograviera and the galotiri, but also additional famous kinds of cheese, such as the anthotiro and the tsalafouti.
All of the above, and more, are just some of the basic raw materials in the cuisine of Arta, used for traditional and appetizing dishes such as the perperitsa, a kind of local cheesy bread, the tsoubleki which is a recipe consisting of meatballs with onions cooked in the oven, the beef marinated with oranges in the hull, the braised goat with trahanas pasta, but also the spoon sweets, the ravani syrup cake with olive oil, as well as the quince cupcake.
Did you know that..
– Arta is third in the production of oranges in a national level
– the canned olives of Arta, the most widespread edible olives, has since 1996 been marked PGI, a “Protected Geographical Indication” product
– “Zarkopita”, a kind of pie without phyllo, derives from the word “Zarka” meaning “naked” in the dialect of Epirus.
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