Information about Ikarian food and recipes and the healthy longevity diet on Ikaria which contributes to its Blue Zone status.

The radiating energy of Ikaria is next to none. Dive deep into history and the Ikarian way of life with the 13 best things to do in Ikaria.

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In the summer gardens of Ikaria, the island of longevity, zucchini prevails! This local Ikaria recipe for zucchini fritters is one of the most popular Greek summer recipes on the island. Serve it with Greek yogurt or tzatziki, and sip a little Greek ouzo for pleasure, too!

Tourlou is typically a mixed summer vegetable casserole found all over the Eastern Aegean. The word is Turkish (turlu) and means a hodgepodge. There are many similar casseroles around Greece that go by different names. What I like about this old Ikarian recipe is its utter simplicity. It also reminds me of a similar recipe with pumpkin, not zucchini, also made in a frying pan, which is from neighboring Samos.

Thanks to a healthy, natural diet, people living on the Greek island of Ikaria enjoy extraordinary longevity

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Soufico is one of my favorite summer dishes, and it comes from my family’s native island, Ikaria. To make it the traditional way requires patience. You salt each of the vegetables individually and let it drain. Then you sauté each vegetable separately in olive oil, before layering them all together in a large stew pot, Dutch oven, or another heavy pot. People cheat by cooking everything together or by using a deep fryer, but the results pale in comparison to the real thing, a dish of layered, caramelized summer veggies melded together with a copious amount of olive oil, which you can find on my online store here. When we owned a restaurant on the island, this was our best seller. The word soufico may have originated from the Italian sofocare, “to smother,” as in smothered in all that olive oil! It may also have originated from a word in the local dialect "Sou Afica," which means "I left you some," as in this is so good, you always leave a little for whoever isn't home in time for dinner! Soufico goes exceptionally well with a slice of feta on the side.

Ikaria, in Greece’s eastern Aegean, is one of the world’s five ‘blue zones’, places where inhabitants live longer than average and more people than usual live to 100.

Information about Ikarian food and recipes and the healthy longevity diet on Ikaria which contributes to its Blue Zone status.

Are you planning to travel to Ikaria, Greece soon? Read our tips below about the places to visit and things to do in Ikaria with suggested tours!

Discover Ikaria: in the North Aegean, this Greek island will guide you through its unique villages, surprising nature and secrets of longevity!

Ikaria

The best things to do on Ikaria bring you up close to the fascinating lifestyle of its people and the nature that defines its beauty.

ikaria

Xylosyrtis is an amphitheatrically shaped lush seaside village on the south coast, a few miles west of Agios Kirykos.

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JAN MOIR: The island of Ikaria is almost as far east as Greece gets. There life is so good — and the living is so healthy — that centenarians are commonplace.