Sfougato of Crete and the Dodecanese (Σφουγγάτο)

Sfougato belongs to the islands, especially Crete and the Dodecanese, where zucchini, eggs, herbs, and sharp fresh cheese become a thick omelet for the table. It is not a thin pan omelet folded in haste. It is baked or cooked slowly, cut into wedges, and eaten warm, room temperature, or the next day from the plate by the stove.

The whole dish rests on the zucchini. Salt it, wait, and squeeze it harder than politeness allows. If the zucchini goes in wet, the eggs cannot hold it and the center turns watery. If it goes in dry, the sfougato sets soft and springy, the way its name promises.

Use sour myzithra if you can find it, xinomyzithra in Crete, because its clean acidity is what keeps the eggs from tasting flat. Feta will feed you, yes, but it makes another thing. Λίγα και καλά: a few things, and good ones.

I write this one down because it is exactly the kind of household dish that disappears first, too ordinary to be honored until no one remembers the right texture. A recipe written down is a recipe saved.