Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
Vegetable of your choice (i.e. wild asparagus, wild greens, spinach or chopped spring onion)
4-6 eggs
1 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper to season
Lemon juice
Preparation:
Wash the vegetables in cold running water.
Sauté the vegetables in a little olive oil until just tender or wilted.
Add the eggs, salt and pepper. Stir until cooked.
Add a squeeze of lemon juice to serve.
Ingredients:
1 small piece of pork loin
2 tbsp crushed coriander seeds
1 tbsp crushed cumin seeds
1 bottle dry red wine
Salt & pepper to season
Preparation:
Season the pork loin with salt and half the spices. Place in a deep bowl and cover with wine.
Leave to marinate for eight days, turning daily and adding more wine as necessary.
Drain and season well with the remaining spices. Hang to dry in the sun or a well ventilated place.
Cut into slices and serve raw, grilled or fried.
Ingredients:
(Serves 6-8)
100ml olive oil
1½ kg lean beef, cubed
1½ kg shallots, peeled
4 cloves garlic, chopped
5 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
1 tsp whole cloves
1½ tsp aniseed or fennel seeds
2 whole star anise
3 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
Salt & pepper
Preparation:
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy based pan and brown the meat in batches.
Add the shallots, cooking gently to turn them golden and caramelised.
Add the garlic, vinegar, spices and tomatoes. Season well.
Stir in a 200ml glass of water. Cover tightly and simmer for 1½ -2 hours or until the meat is tender and the sauce richly thickened.
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
800g minced pork
⅓ tsp Cinnamon
1 onion, finely chopped
Half bunch parsley, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp breadcrumbs (optional)
1 pork or lamb ‘panna’ (caul fat)
Vinegar
Salt & pepper to season
Preparation:
Wash the caul fat well with water and vinegar.
In a bowl, thoroughly mix the minced meat, salt, pepper, cinnamon, breadcrumbs, onions and parsley and mould into small egg-size shapes.
Place the mixture over the caul fat and wrap each separately into tight packages.
Cook over charcoal barbeque or on the grill, turning regularly until cooked evenly on all sides.
Serve in pita bread accompanied with kebab, or just by itself. One portion is about five pieces of sheftalies
Note: Sheftalies can also be made with chicken mince.
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
½ kg boneless pork (loin and belly pork), cut into cubes
Salt & pepper to season
Preparation:
Thread the meat cubes onto the skewers and season with salt and pepper. Cook over hot charcoal, turning regularly, until cooked evenly on all sides.
Serve with finely chopped parsley and onion.
Note: You can marinate the meat with oil, lemon and oregano. When threading the meat cubes on the skewers, you can also put cubes of onion, green pepper and tomato in-between the pieces of meat.
Ingredients for the Afelia:
(Serves 4)
1kg (shoulder) pork cut in small cubes (3x3cm) (marinate in 500ml of red dry wine with 2 tbsp of crushed coriander seeds and a tsp of ground cumin for at least 2 days in the refrigerator and stir twice a day)Salt & pepper to season
4 tbsp olive oil
½ bottle or 350ml Cypriot red wine and a shot of Commandaria if you have some
3 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 tsp of ground cumin
Ingredients for the Pourgouri:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 nest dried vermicelli or angel hair pasta
200g pourgouri (bulgur wheat)
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
In a large pan, heat the oil then fry the pork in batches until brown all over. Add the wine, let it bubble for a minute, add the coriander seeds, the cumin, salt and pepper to your liking.
Partly-cover the pan and gently simmer for 30 minutes or until the meat is nice and tender. Do not over-cook or allow it to dry out, add an extra splash of wine, if necessary. As the sauce reduces the flavour intensifies.
For the pourgouri, heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion until softened. Crush the vermicelli and add it to the pan with the onion, add some seasoning then add the bulgur wheat.
Add 400ml of hot water and the canned tomatoes, stirring over a low heat for 2-3 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Adjust the seasoning, to taste.
Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a clean tea towel and let it stand for 10 minutes to allow the pourgouri to absorb all the flavours.
Drain the Afelia and pour over a bed of steaming pourgouri. Add a dollop of thick Greek yogurt on the side and top the yogurt with some dried spearmint for extra aroma.
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
25 vine leaves
½ cup olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
250g minced lean pork
3 red tomatoes, grated
⅓ cup tomato juice
⅓ cup short grain white rice
¼ cup lemon juice
Half bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp dry or fresh chopped mint
¼ cup olive oil
Salt & pepper to season
Preparation:
Sauté the onions in the oil. Add the mince and stir until cooked.
Add the grated tomatoes and tomato juice, and bring to the boil.
Add the washed rice, salt, pepper, mint, parsley and lemon juice and parboil.
Blanch the vine leaves in boiling water for a few seconds only, and drain.
Stuff the vine leaves by placing the leaf upside-down on a clean surface. Take some of the meat mixture, place it on the vine leaf near to the stem end and fold the stem end over the mixture, then fold in the sides of the leaf and roll up to make a neat package. Be careful not to overfill, as the rice will expand when fully cooked.
Pack the koupepia into a saucepan, add some additional grated tomato on top, plus the ¼ cup of olive oil and a little water to just cover.
Place an inverted plate on top to prevent the koupepia from unravelling.
Cover the pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.
Leave to cool a little before serving.
Note: With this filling you can also prepare stuffed cabbage leaves or other vegetables (Gemista).
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
1 kg kolokasi (taro) root
½ kg pork (lean belly pork or shoulder) cut into large cubes
6 tbsp olive oil
1 head of fresh celery, diced
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
4 firm red tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 small stick cinnamon
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt & pepper to season
½ cup dry red wine
Water or stock
Preparation:
Peel but do not wash the kolokasi. Kolokasi should never be sliced or diced as it will not become soft during cooking. Instead, prepare it by inserting a firm knife into the root, then twisting it to break off bite-sized pieces.
Sauté the kolokasi in a little olive oil until lightly browned.
Transfer to a deep saucepan and add the meat together with all the remaining ingredients except the parsley and lemon juice.
Cover with water or stock.
Simmer gently until the meat is fully cooked, then add the lemon juice and parsley.
Tip: Never add lemon juice during cooking, as the kolokasi will become hard.
Kolokasi can be also cooked with chicken instead of pork, or even without meat for a vegetarian dish.
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
1 kg octopus
½ tsp dry oregano
Pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
Preparation:
Clean the octopus thoroughly under cold running water.
Place the octopus in a pot with hot olive oil (1 spoon), cover and cook.
Simmer to bring out all the juices and continue cooking until the liquid is reduced and the octopus is tender. Add some water if needed.
Remove from the heat and drain.
Serve hot or cold, seasoned with oregano and olive oil/vinegar dressing or oil oil/lemon juice dressing.
Note: You can also cook the octopus on the grill. If the octopus is thick, cut it into small pieces before serving.
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
1 cup Trachana (cracked wheat in soured milk)
8 cups water or stock
Halloumi cheese
Salt (optional, as Trachanas is usually already salted)
Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
Soak the Trachana for a few hours with some of the water.
When soft, place in a pot, adding the rest of the water or stock.
Bring to the boil, stirring all the time until cooked.
Cut the Halloumi into small pieces and add to the soup.
Add pepper and salt if needed.
