Ampelofassoula are the fresh green green beans (Vigna unguiculata) also known as cow peas, also called louvi in Cyprus. These beans are eaten before they mature,usually boiled and eaten as a salad with olive oil and lemon juice. When they ripen the seeds are dried become the well known black eyed peas.
Vegan
Revithia giahni sti gastra is a vegan dish with stewed chickpeas, traditionally cooked in a clay pot and baked in a wood burning oven. However, not all of us have wood burning ovens or clay pots but we can still cook it in a Dutch oven or any casserole dish in our home oven. If you don’t have any of the above, use a baking tin which cover with an aluminium tent.
Gemista (pronounced as yeh-mee-STAH), are Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers filled with rice and herbs, baked with potatoes, in a tomato sauce.
This Vegan Chocolate and Chestnut Cream Cake not only tastes great but is perfect when you cannot eat any dairy or eggs!
Falafels are street food sold in Middle Eastern countries and are made with dried legumes like chickpeas, fava beans soaked in water for many hours and then they are combined with spices and are bound together with flour or bulgur wheat and then they are shaped into small balls or patties and fried.
These Vegan Carrot Chocolate Cupcakes are super moist, full of flavour and slathered with a delicious chocolate ganache on top.
This vegan moussakas (nistisimos) is as delicious as the real one. It is layered with eggplants, potatoes and zucchini, with a vegan vegetable filling and a delicious vegan faux bechamel sauce.
Pastitsio nistisimo (pr. Pah-STEE-tsio Knee-STEE-see-moh) is a vegan pasta casserole dish made with tubular pasta, vegetable filling and topped with a vegan faux béchamel sauce. The same dish can be made vegetarian using the same filling but adding a real bechamel sauce on top.
Daktyla, also called daktyla kyrion (meaning ladies fingers) is the most popular Cypriot dessert made with phyllo which is very crisp and very juicy, filled with almonds, cinnamon and sugar. They are fried and then drenched in syrup, scented with anthonero (orange blossom water), which make them irresistible.
Greek Orthodox Easter is just around the corner. For those who want to fast during the last weeks, I have compiled a list with over 100 Lenten Recipes (most of which are also vegan).