CYPRUSCyprus is an island country in theEastern Mediterranean Sea. It isthe 3rd largest island in theMediterranean. It covers an area of9 251 km² and its population is 840000 people. According to GreekMythology, Cyprus is considered tobe the birth place of Aphrodite(Venus), the goddess of love andbeauty.

Cyprus cuisine

Just take a glance at Cyprus history and you will seehow various empires, invasions, foreign settlers andtraders over the past 3,000 years have brought theirinfluence to the island. They have also brought theirrecipes and many of these have been introduced intoCypriot cooking, the main ones coming from Greece,Turkey, Armenia, Lebanon, Syria, Italy, France andlatterly Britain. These foreign flavors have beencombined with the food produced on the island to giveCyprus its own traditional cuisine. Cyprus cuisine is richin flavours, healthy and tasty. Enjoy it!

Trahanas soup (Cream of wheat soup)

Ingredients:

250 gr trahanas

4 cups water

1 chicken cube

salt

¼ gr halloumi cheese, in cubes

Method:

Soak trahanas into a bowl of fresh water (room temperature) overnight.

Put water in a casserole or large pot to warm – up and then drop in the chicken cube, while the water is still cold.

Add the trahanas as soon as the water begins to warm – up and start to stir.

Add the salt to the mixture.

Let the soup cook for a while and when it is almost ready, add the halloumi cheese and stir.

Trahanas soup is now ready and best served in bowls.

Cypriot children making Trahanas soup

Trahanas soup is a favorite traditional plate in cypriot cuisine. Trahanas, made of wheat andyogurt, was a must in the traditional peasants’ diet. For every cypriot household, trahanas wasa way of preserving milk in which the cracked wheat is steamed, mixed with sour milk, dried,and stored. Small amounts reheated in water or broth provide a nourishing and tasty meal,trahanas soup, especially with added cubes of aged halloumi.

Sieftalies

Ingredients:1 kilo pork minced4 onions finely chopped2 slices wet bread or ¼ cup dried bread crumbsParsley finely choppedSaltPepperCinnamon powder optionallyCaul fat

Method: Wash the caul fat with water and lemon juice.

Mix the meat, onion, parsley, cinnamon, dried bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a deep bowl and knead.

Form the mixture into small oblong meatballs and wrap each one in a small piece of caul fat. Grill over charcoal or broil.

Serve with pitta bread and fresh finely chopped vegetables.

In Cyprus usually sieftalies are accompanied with souvlaki (pork meat) served inside pitta bread. In this situation the food is called “mix pitta”.

Cypriot children making SieftaliesSieftalies is a popular cypriot food. It is a type of crépinette, a sausage without skin, thatuses caul fat, or omentum, the membrane that surrounds the stomach of pig, to wrap theingredients rather than sausage casing. They are typically stuffed into a pitta bread pocket,accompanied with a salad of cabbage, parsley, and raw mild onions, tomatoes and slicedcucumber. In Cyprus it is very common to find kebab or souvlaki restaurants that also sellsheftalies. In fact, it is so common that nearly every neighborhood has at least onesouvlitzidiko as the kebab restaurant is called in Greek.

Afelia

Ingredients:

1 kg pork meat, in cubes

1 cup red dry wine

¼ cup coriander, ground

½ cup olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Method:

Wash and strain the meat. In a deep bowl, mix the wine withthe coriander and allow the meat to soak in this mixture(marinate) for a few hours (overnight if possible).

Then, strain the meat, and keep the marinade for later.

Heat the oil in saucepan and gently fry the meat. In low heatturn the meat upsite down in order to get red in all sides.

Pour over the marinade and enough cold water to just coverthe meat. Cook jently until the meat is tender.

Season with salt and pepper, stir and cook jently until themeat is tender. Almost all of the liquid should have evaporatedto leave a thick sauce.

Serve hot, topped with the cooking sauce. Accompany withbulgur wheat pillaf, yogurt and salad.

Afelia (pork in red wine and coriander sauce)with pourgouri (bulgar wheat pilaf)

Pourgouri (bulgar wheat pilaf)

Ingredients: 1/3 cup olive oil2 onions, finely shopped½ cup vermicelli, coarsely crushed1 cup tomato juice1 cube vegetable stock5 cups hot water 2 cups bulgur wheat1 teaspoon sugarSalt

Method: Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion. Add the

vermicelli and stir until golden brown.

Add the tomato juice, stir for a little and then add the sugar.

Add the water and the vegetable stock. When the water gets hot, add the bulgur wheat to the simmering mixture. Add the salt.

Cook over low heat, for approximately 20 minutes, until all the liquids have been absorbed.

Then, remove from the heat, cover the saucepan with a towel, place the lid on top of the towel and set aside for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Serve hot, as a main dish or as a side dish for meat (afelia) accompanied with yogurt and salad.

Cypriot children making afelia and pourgouri

Afelia is a traditional cypriot recipe for a classic stew of belly pork cooked in a spiced red wineand coriander seeds. Pork meat was one of the most favorite types of meat used in Cyprus inthe older years, since every family raised its own pig. This classic plate was accompanied withpourgouri (bulgar wheat pillaf) or potatoes and vegetables also produced by each householdsince every family in the island was self-sufficient.

Χalvas katsarolas (Semolina pudding)

Ingredients for syrup:5 glass water

½ glass flower blossom water

2 ½ cups sugar

1 cinamon stick

4 carnation cloves

Cinnamon

Other Ingredients:2 cups dry wheat semolina¼ cup cooking oil½ half cup of almonds, cut in piecesCinnamon

Method:

Removal of almond skin Place almonds in a large pot/caserole and put in heat to warm –

up. Then lower the fire and let them boil for another 2-3 minutes. Dispose of water. Remove the almond skins using a knife. Then cut the almonds in pieces.

Syrup Place all the ingredients for the

syrup into a large caserole andput it to warm – up.

When they start to boil, let themwarm- up for another 5 minutesuntil the syrup mixes well.

Cooking the Semolina pudding Put the cooking oil into a large caserole and roast the almonds for 1- 2 minutes. Add the semolina and cinnamon. Let them all roast for another 1-2 minutes, and stir well. Remove the caserole from the cooker and add the syrup to bur mixture without the carnation

gloves, and stir well. We place our caserole back to the cooker and continue to stir using a large wooden spoon, until

it warms – up well. Remove from cooker after 2-3 minutes. Empty the mixture into a plater. Garnish with the almonds and sprinkled with a little cinnamon. Our halva is now ready to be served – warm or cold.

Cypriot children making xalvaHalvas Katsarolas means pot halva to distinguish from the one we bake in the oven. Halva is asemolina pudding that is sweetened with syrup and studded with nuts (almonds and pine nuts).It is a dessert that has Arabic origins but has been adopted into the cypriot cuisine and iswidely served during fasting periods because there are no eggs or dairy in the recipe.Thus, halvas is a popular Lenten recipe in Cyprus and it is usually prepared on Kathara Deftera(Green Monday).

Daktila kirion (ladies’ fingers)Ingredients:

For the pastry:8 cups flour1 tsp salt1 cup vegetable oil2½ cups of water

For the filling:

3 cups almonds (skin on), coarsely ground6 tbsp sugar1½-2 tbsp cinnamon powder8 tbsp flower blossom waterCup dried ground bread crumbs

For the syrup:

4 cups sugar4 cups water3-4 cinnamon sticks cinnamon wood6-8 drops of lemon juice4 spoons rose water

For garnishing:

½ cup almonds, ground

Method First prepare the syrup. Mix sugar with water, add the cinnamon sticks and lemon drops and let it

boil in high heat. As soon as it boils, low the heat and boil for another 5-7 minutes until itbecomes a thin syrup. Turn the heat off. Add the flower blossom water and take out the cinnamonsticks. Allow it to cool.

Mix the flour and the salt in a deep bowl, shape the mixture into a mount and form a hole in themiddle. Pour in the oil and work the mixture with the tips of your fingers until it resembles finebreadcrumbs.Add in the water gradually, knead into a soft ball and cover with a towel. Allow to“rest” for about half an hour.

Mix almonds, dried ground breadcrumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Pour as much flower blossom water needed to “tie up” the ingredients.

Roll out the dough into thin large sheets ¼ thick. Spread 1 tsp of the filling on the edge of the sheet and roll up lengthwise. Using a fork, press down and seal the edges of the “daktila”. Transfer them in a floured serving tray.

Fry them in hot oil on both sides until golden brown, frying only a few at a time. Remove from thepan using a slotted spoon, hold them up in the spoon for a while to drain and add them in the coldsyrup for a couple of minutes.

Transfer them into a serving tray and allow to cool. Before serving, garnish with the groundalmonds.

For frying:oil

Cypriot children making daktila (ladies’ fingers)

Daktila is a favorite sweet in Cyprus. The word means fingers because it is shaped like ladies’fingers filled with ground almonds and cinnamon sugar. It is a traditional sweet served duringfasting periods. Cypriots love syrup soaked pastries and daktila is one of the most populartraditional desserts.

Mbourekia me anari (anari cheese pies)

Ingredients:

For the dough:

4 cups of flour

½ cup vegetable oil

¾ -1 cup water, lukewarm

For the filling:1 kg fresh anari cheese ½ cup white sugar1 tbsp cinnamon powder3-5 tbsps flower blossom water

Method: In a deep bowl, mix the flour and salt, shape the mixture into a mount and form a hole in the

middle. Pour in the oil and work the mixture with the tips of your fingers until it resembles fine

breadcrumbs. Then, add in the water, little by little and knead into soft dough. Cover the bowl with a clean

cloth and allow the dough to rest. In a separate bowl, mash the anari cheese using a fork, add the sugar, cinnamon and flower

blossom water and mix well. Using a dough rolling machine or a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a thin sheet. Spoon 1

tablespoon of the anari mixture over the surface of half the sheet at equal spaces and thencover up with the other half.

Using a cup or a glass or a knife, cut the stuffed sheet into round or rectangular pieces. Using a fork, press and seal their edges and deep fry the pies in hot oil until golden brown. Mbourekia can be served either hot or cold, sprinkled with a little cinnamon and icing sugar.

Cypriot children making mbourekia

Mbourekia are small, rectangular or half-moon pastries, filled with a mixture of anari, sugarand cinnamon, deep-fried and sprinkled with granulated sugar. Anari or mizithra is a softwhite cheese made from whey. Bourekia are similar toturnovers, empanadas, calzone, borek, samosa and can also be made savory as well with otherkind of salty cheese, such as halloumi or feta but also with minced meat, mushrooms, potatoesor other fillings.