Lunchtime in Apollona, a small village situated in the khaki-tinged hinterland of Rhodes, and all is quiet – save for one terrace set on a small side road above the houses. Here, a mix of locals and visitors sit around wooden tables, on which half-drunk carafes of wine, platters of roasted meats and feta-freckled salads are placed next to bowls of homemade bread. Between the tables, a stout man in an apron bustles around, explaining dishes, telling stories and pouring the wine he sources from friends’ vineyards on the island. This is Giannis, owner and creator of the taverna, Paraga, and a man consumed by a passion for the rich foodie heritage of Rhodes.
Lunch begins with three types of bread and an aubergine dip thick with sesame and yoghurt. Many of Paraga’s recipes have been handed down through the generations. Our main course, a rich beef stifado, has been cooked in clay since the morning, giving Giannis a wonderfully theatrical moment of gently cracking open the ceramic pot to reveal an unctuous stew, served alongside succulent, stock-soaked potatoes. We eat gluttonously, gazing out over the lush green hills, holm oaks and Italian cypress popping up between the silvery-grey olive groves and spindly vineyard lines.
