CYPRIOT CUISINE

This Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest in the world. As in neighboring Greece, cooks make the most of locally available fresh ingredients: grains and pulses, fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, lean meat, seafood and olive oil. But the island’s geographical position and history have shaped its cuisine further – expect to see local twists on traditional Greek dishes, with tastes of Europe and the Middle East.

Gastronomic delights to try when in Cyprus

Halloumi is a wonderful cheese made from a mixof goat and cow’s milk. You cannot visitCyprus without tasting this cheese. Its texture isunique and delicious, lending itself to bothsweet and savoury accompaniments.

Loukanika, our village sausages are made from selected fresh pork meat, wine, salt and spices. The meat is minced,marinated with coriander seeds, blackpepper and salt, then left to mature in dry red wine for 7-15 days to absorb allthe flavours. Delicious barbecued orfried, and enjoy with grilled halloumitopped with a fried egg for a greatCypriot breakfast.

Shoushoukos is a grape-basedgastronomic delight made by threadingnuts...usually whole almonds or walnuthalves...onto string, then repetitivelydipping into a liquid jelly made of grapemust often flavored with a littlerosewater. If you are in Cyprus towardthe end of the summer during the grapeharvest, you will catch sight of strings ofshoushouko hanging out to dry frommany villages’ veranda.

Zivania is a centuries old local hooch common to all Cypriots. A pure white distillate produced from a blend ofgrape pomace and local dry wine, ithas a distinct taste and aroma. Otherthan enjoying Zivania as an alcoholicdrink, it is also used to treat wounds,massage aching bodies, and is a remedy for colds and toothaches.Warming too as a hot toddy duringour cold winter months..

Koupepia

• 2-3 tbsp olive oil• 2 onions, finely chopped• 1 kg coarsely minced pork• 400g can of chopped

tomatoes• ½ bunch parsley, finely

chopped• a handful of dried Cypriot

mint, crumbled• 1 tsp ground cinnamon• 200g pudding rice • salt and pepper to taste• 1 bunch of fresh vine

leaves, destalked • (or use canned leaves in

brine, drained)• juice of 1 lemon

Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the onions and cook gently to soften but notbrown. Crumble in the pork, cook gently for 5 minutes or until the pork hascolored. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, mint, cinnamon and rice. Season welland cook for a few minutes more. Have ready a stack of the vine leaves, veinside up, the pork mixture and a shallow circular ovenproof dish ready to putthe dolmades in. To form koupepia place 1 tsp of the filling up from thecentre base of the leaf, fold the leaf over the mince from the base then foldin the left and right side of the leaf. Now roll up, not too tightly. Continuemaking until all the koupepia are packed in the dish. Squeeze on the lemonjuice and cover with any remaining vine leaves, like a blanket. Place aninverted plate on top of the vine leaves. Carefully pour boiling water inaround the edge of the dish to come up to just touch the plate. Cover withfoil, cook in a preheated oven 200°C /Gas 6 for 30 minutes, then reduce theheat to 180°C /Gas 4 and cook for a further 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Makaronia tou fournou

• 500g makaroni (ideally no.1 long tubes)

• 1kg minced pork or beef

• 4 tbsp olive oil• 3 onions, finely

chopped• a bunch of flat leaf

parsley, chopped• 400g can chopped

tomatoes, optional• 1tsp ground cinnamon• salt and pepper to

taste• For the sauce• 2 litres fresh milk• 3 eggs, beaten• 3 tbsp cornflour• 100g grated halloumi

or kefalotiri cheese

Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta andcook until just ‘al dente’ then drain thoroughly and toss with 1 tbspolive oil.In another pan heat 3tbsp of olive oil and gently cook theonions until translucent. Add the minced meat and parsley, cook untilbrowned and crumbly. Season with salt and cinnamon to taste. Ifusingtomatoes, add at this stage.Make the sauce by heating ¾ ofthe milk in a pan. Mix the remaining milk with the cornflour in a largebowl to make a paste. Beat in the eggs. Now briskly beat in some ofthe hot milk then add this egg mixture back into the remaining hotmilk. Heat, stirring all the time until the sauce becomes smooth andthickened. Assemble the makaronia tou fournou. First pour a thin layer of sauce in the base of a largerectangle ovenproof dish, then cover with half of the pasta.Nowspread on the meat mixture, followed by another layer of pasta.Finally cover with the remaining cheese sauce and top with gratedcheese.Cook in a preheated oven at 180C/Gas4 for 40–45 minutes oruntil golden brown on top. Leave to cool a little before cutting intogenerous square portions.

Stifado• 100ml olive oil• 1.5 kg lean beef, cubed• 1.5 kg shallots, peeled• 4 cloves garlic, chopped• 5 tbsp red wine vinegar• 3 pieces cinnamon bark• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tsp whole cloves• 1½ tsp aniseed or fennel seeds

or • 2 whole star anise• 3 x 400g cans chopped

tomatoes• salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a largeheavy based pan and brownthe cubed meat in batches.Then add the shallots,cooking gently to turngolden and caramelize. Nowadd the garlic, vinegar,spices and tomatoes.Season well. Stir in a 200mlglass of water. Cover tightlyand simmer for 1½ -2 hoursor until the meat is tenderand the sauce richlythickened.

Slow-cooked oven-baked lamb (kleftiko)• lamb forequarter pieces• potatoes, peeled and halved if large• salt and freshly ground black pepper• olive oil• rosemary leaves• oregano leaves• whole unpeeled garlic cloves• lemon juice• 250 ml (1 cup) water• Greek salad, to serve

• Work on one lamb forequarter and one large potato for each person and scatter the olive oil, herbs, garlic and juice as liberally as you like.

• To preheat a fourno (wood-fired oven), light it 2–3 hours before cooking, so the coals burn down to embers and the heat is radiant at about 350°C. If you like meat browned, make sure the oven is hotter at the start (see Note).

• Place the lamb in a roasting pan. Push the potato in and around the meat. Season with the salt and pepper, then drizzle generously with the olive oil. Scatter over the herbs and garlic, then squeeze lemon juice over the meat and add the water. Cover and seal tightly with foil. Roast for 4 hours.

• Serve with Greek salad.

Baklavas• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough • 1 pound chopped nuts • 1 cup butter Land O Lakes Butter Light, 4

Sticks • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon • 1 cup water • 1 cup white sugar Market Pantry

Granulated • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1/2 cup honey

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.

• Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.

• Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.

• Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

• Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Mahalebi• 1.2 litre cold water• 200g corn flour• 100ml rosewaterTo serve• rose cordial• sugar to taste • very cold water, sometimes ice too

In a pan gently heat all the ingredients together being very careful not to burn the bottom of the pan. Stir all the time until the mixture turns from cloudy white to a transparent glue-like consistency. Very slowly bring to the boil, stirring for approximately 10 minutes. Pour into individual saucers, which isthe traditional way, or into one big dish to cool and set. Cut the Mahalebi into cubes, place a few into a dessert dish, pour over 1 tbsp of rose cordial, sprinkle with sugar and add ice cold water, sometimes crushed ice.

Daktyla(ladies fingers)For the dough• 6 cups self-raising flour• pinch of salt• 1 cup vegetable oil• 2-3 cups lukewarm waterFor the filling• 3 cups almonds, finely ground• 6 tablespoons sugar• 1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon• 8-10 tablespoons rose waterFor the syrup• 4 cups sugar• 4 cups water• 3-4 cinnamon sticks• 6-8 drops of lemon juice• 4 tablespoons rose water

• 1. To prepare the syrup, place the sugar, water, cinnamon and lemon juice in a saucepan. Stir and place over medium heat. As soon as it reaches boiling point, reduce the heat and boil a further 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat, pour in the rose water, take out the cinnamon sticks and leave to cool.

• 2. To prepare the dough, mix the salt with the flour and add the oil. Using your fingertips rub the oil into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Knead with as much water as needed to make a firm dough. Cover and leave it aside for half an hour.

• 3. To prepare the filling, mix the almonds with the sugar and cinnamon and add some rose water to make a firm mixture.

• 4. Roll out the dough into thin sheets and cut each sheet into pieces of about 8x10 cm. Place some filling on each piece and roll to the shape of a finger. Press the edges firmly with a fork.

• 5. Heat plenty of oil in a medium pan. Fry the daktyla, a few at a time, over a low heat until golden brown on both sides. Remove them from the heat and dip into the syrup for about 10 seconds. Drain them in a strainer and transfer to a platter. You will get about 140 daktyla.