The Essence of.....Cyprus An exploration of the world through food and drink

www.visitcyprus.com Essence -ial Information UK Tourist Office 17 Hanover Street London W1S 1YP Currency  Euro Capital Nicosia Language Greek & Turkish Main Airlines British Airways, easyjet, Cyrprus Airways Flying Time from UK 4 hrs 25 mins Visa No up to 90 days for EU

PROFILE Cyprus cuisine is closely related to that of Greece, but the island’s unique position at the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East has added exotic dimensions that make it particularly varied and delicious. Cypriot cuisine is shaped by the island's Mediterranean climate, geography, and history. Reflecting the two dominant populations, Cypriot cuisine has evolved as a fusion of Greek and Turkish cuisines, with local twists on well-known dishes. Cypriots grill over charcoal. They grill halloumi cheese, olives, mushrooms, loukaniko (pork sausages), and of course kebabs. These are souvlaki (shish kebab), sheftalia, or gyros (doner kebab in Turkish cuisine). Kebabs are made from various cuts of lamb, pork, or occasionally chicken, and very rarely beef. They are typically served stuffed into a pita pocket or wrapped in a thin flatbread, along with a salad of cabbage, parsley, and raw mild onions, tomatoes and sliced cucumber. Dishes Meze is short for Mezedhes, or little delicacies, and wherever you travel round the Mediterranean they appear in some form or other. Share a meze in Cyprus and you have tasted the true flavours of the island, for you may be served anything up to 30 dishes. It is a complete meal, but, beware, don't be tempted to finish every dish that arrives on the table, or you may feel as though you've eaten for a week by the end! Loukanika, coriander-seasoned sausages, soaked in red wine and smoked Koupepia, grape leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice Lountza, smoked pork, often served in sandwiches with halloumi, a delicious soft cheese, (usually grilled) made from thyme-fed sheep and sometimes spiced with peppermint Sheftalia Grilled pork sausage Afelia, pork marinated in wine and coriander Stiphado, beef or rabbit stew casseroled with wine vinegar, onions and spices Ofto kleftiko, chunks of lamb cooked in a sealed clay oven and seasoned with bay leaves. Seafood dishes include calamari, octopus in red wine, barbouni (red mullet), and sea bass. Some common vegetable preparations are potatoes in olive oil and parsley, pickled cauliflower and beets, zucchini, kolokasi (a sweet potato-like root vegetable) and asparagus. There are also the Greek classics, like Taramosalata, fish roe blended into a creamy pink dip of pureed potatoes with parsley, lemon juice and finely chopped onion, Talatouri, cool mint and cucumber flavored yogurt with a dusting of garlic, a variation on the Greek tzatziki, Greek salad (horiatiki salata) with tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, feta cheese, green olives and local herbs, Moussaka, the traditional Greek dish of minced meat and eggplant topped with creamy bechamel sauce and Souvlakia, kebabs of pork, lamb and chicken. Cypriot desserts often consist of fresh fruit, served alone or with a selection of sweet pastries or fruit preserved in syrup. These include loukoumades, Cyprus doughnuts with honey syrup, daktyla, ladyfingers with almonds, walnuts and cinnamon, and shiamali, orange semolina cakes cut into squares. In cafes, popular snacks include kolokoti, a pastry triangle stuffed with red pumpkin, cracked wheat and raisins, and pastellaki, a sesame, peanut and honey syrup bar. There is also galatopoureko, a cream-stuffed phyllo pastry. A traditional sweet treat is loukoumia, cubes of gelatin flavored with rose water and dusted with powdered sugar.