Loukoumades

I don't know if people realize that Greeks have a super sweet tooth, especially if honey is involved. Of course baklava is the most famous of these desserts, but today we will look at loukoumades.

The top photo shows the more traditional type of loukoumades, which is basically a fritter, or donut hole, drenched in honey and sprinkled with pistachios.  Super sweet and fried, I can barely manage to eat two pieces, although I have seen a single person eat an entire order.

Loukoumades can have a variety of toppings, during this outing we also sampled the Nutella banana and Bougatsa (bottom photo) varieties. Although less popular, savory types of this food exist. Once we ventured out of our culinary box and ordered carbonara loukoumades.  Imagine it, fritters topped with carbonara sauce. Not so great tasting, and even less photogenic.

The photo on the bottom is a bougatsa loukoumade. Bougatsa is a Greek pastry favored by members of our project. It it a custard phyllo sandwich, one layer of phyllo, then custard, then phyllo. It is exceedingly tasty with coffee, and on many mornings some kind soul will stop by the bakery on the way to work and pick some up.

Bougatsa loukoumades did not live up to traditional bougatsa, trying to improve on a classic often fails.

We had loukoumades and beer, but I prefer them with coffee or tea.

More soon.