Mint Cinnamon & Blossom Water Flavours of Cyprus Kopiaste!

Glyko Kydoni (quince preserve) is one of my favourite autumn fruit preserve.  Depending on the variety, once cooked it transforms into a nice pinkish to red colour and all its beautiful aroma is released.

Mahalebi is a Cypriot pudding made with water or milk and corn flour. The traditional way of making mahalepi is with water. No sugar is added in the cream but when served, always chilled, rose water and sugar are added on top, or triantafyllo (rose cordial syrup), which is sweet and no extra sugar is added.

Rolo me patates is made with ground meat in which we addd hard boiled eggs and make a roulade, like a meat loaf,  and bake it in the oven.   In Cyprus we enclose the roulade with caul fat, which melts as it is being baked in the oven and gives a wonderful flavour to the …

Kreatosoupa is a Greek soup made with veal and lots of vegetables. I also call this soup clean up your fridge soup, as you can use any or all optional vegetables in the recipe.

Vazania, as they are called in the Cypriot dialect, (in Greece they are called melitzanes), is a simple dish made withe fried eggplants and potatoes, which are cooked, together in a tomato sauce to make them “giahni” (stewed).  This vegan dish, uses only a few ingredients, so it’s not only frugal but also very delicious.

Baklavas is one of the most famous Greek desserts.    It is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo layers, filled with chopped nuts,  drenched with syrup.

Kaloirka is a traditional Cypriot recipe, which is a pasta dish filled with minced veal or beef, similar to meat ravioli or tortellini.

Sheftali pl. Sheftalia are Cypriot oval shaped crépinettes, made with minced pork, herbs and spices which are then wrapped in caul fat and barbecued.

Loukoumades are Greek doughnuts which are fried and shaped into small round balls, served with honey, cinnamon and walnuts or plain in Cyprus dipped in sugar syrup.

This pasta dish is very versatile so you can easily improvise with the ingredients you have at hand.  You can use mushrooms, broccoli, artichokes, courgettes, eggplants etc.   During fasting time (or for vegans) of course I don’t add the chicken and I don’t use cheese in the pesto and it is fantastic. Serve with feta! …