Food: GREEK - CYPRIOT CUISINE (By 4Ernesto)

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GREEK - CYPRIOT CUISINE (By 4Ernesto)
Monday, October 23, 2006

I hope that you enjoyed the three previous dishes of Cyprus Cuisine. Well there are many more. I will try to give you as many recipes as possible, so if you decide to visit the island one day you will know what to ask for your meal.

Loukanika

Ingredients

500 kg Pork minced meat
250 kg Fresh pork rind boiled for 2 hours, drained, and ground
250 kg Pork fatback ground
1 tsp Salt
1 Orange, grated rind only
1 tsp Crushed dried thyme
1/3 cup Dry red wine
1 tsp Ground allspice and coriander
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
Sausage casing

Preparation Method

Combine in a large bowl the pork minced meat with all the seasonings. Knead thoroughly. Store the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the casing.Τhe casing is usually salted (pork intestine) especially the interior, so it must be rinsed under cold running water several times (To avoid losing casing down the drain while doing this, be sure the casing is inside a very large pan). Allow to drain on a linen towel. Use a pastry bag (or a special machine) to force the stuffing into the casing. Pinch at 7 to 10 cm intervals allowing space between to form the sausage links. Normally the casing will not break, but if it does, that section must be discarded and a knot tied in the new "end". To cook, poach in water for 1 hour, then drain, discarding the cooking water. You can cook it in several ways e.g. fry the sausages in a frying pan over moderate heat, or put it in the oven for half an hour in 150 degrees F, or cook it on a barbeque grill turning occasionally, or use as suggested in any recipe. Serve hot.

Note: To store, freeze uncooked in meal-sized batches. The sausages should be used within a day or two if not frozen.

Loukanika can be served as a main dish with Greek Salad and fried potatoes. They can be a part of meze as well.

Koupepia (grape leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice)

Ingredients

500 gr Preserved vine leaves or 80 fresh leaves
1 Large onion, finely chopped
4 Tablespoon olive oil
500 g Finely ground pork
300 g Finely ground veal
3/4 Cup rice
4 Tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 Teaspoons finely chopped mint
Salt to taste
2 Teaspoons ground black pepper
2 Teaspoons cinamon
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
3 Cups light chicken stock
1 Cup tomato juice

Preparation Method

Rinse vine leaves (whether fresh or preserved) in cold water and put them in boiling water for 4 minutes in 4 or 5 lots. Remove to a bowl of cold water with a spoon, then into a colander to drain. Gently fry onion in oil until soft and then mix pork and veal until they become lightly brown. Then put salt, pepper, cinamon the tomatoe juice until well combined. 5 to 8 minutes later put the chopped mint and the chopped parsley. Place a vine leaf, shiny side down, on a work surface and cut any remaining stem. Place about a tablespoon of mixture near stem end, fold end and sides over stuffing and roll firmly. Line base of a pan with one layer of leaves (use damaged ones) and pack koupepia close together in layers. Cover top of rolls with remaining grape vine leaves. Add the lemon and chicken stock to pan. Cover koupepia with a plate and then cover the pan with the lid. Place over medium heat. Bring to a slow simmer, then simmer gently over a low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until there is no more stock left in the pan.

This is a part of meze as well but when it's cooked at home you can serve it with Greek salad or roasted meat. In Cyprus it is also a traditional food for weddings.

Stiphado (beef or rabbit stew casseroled with wine vinegar, onions and spices)

Ingredients

2 Kgs Beef cut into pieces or rabbit cut into portions
100g Plain flour
3/4 Bottle of good red wine
3 Tbsp Red wine vinegar
4 Cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1kg Baby onions or shallots
Olive oil for frying
1 Cinnamon stick, broken in half
3 Bay leaves
1 tsp Ground allspice
3 tbsp Tomato puree
300ml Beef stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation Method

Preheat the oven to 160 deg C/Gas mark 4. Cut your beef or rabbit into square pieces, the bigger the better, but around 5cm is about right. Season the flour with plenty of black pepper and a bit of salt, and coat the pieces of beef or rabbit. In a hot pan, heat the olive oil and when hot, fry your pieces of beef or rabbit until sealed on all sides and slightly browned. These can be done in batches of a few (5 or 6) at a time if required. Put into a large casserole or a pot with a lid when done. Add some more oil to the pan and fry the onions (chopped in half if they are too big) over a medium heat until they start to brown - about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute. Put this into the casserole with the beef or rabbit. Pour the wine into the pan; add the red wine vinegar, cinnamon, ground allspice and heat until it just begins to boil. Add this to the casserole along with the beef stock and the bay leaves. Stir in the tomato puree. Put the lid onto the casserole and place it into the oven. Occasionally give the stifado a stir. It will take at least 3 to 4 hours to cook, but 5 will be better. When it's done, the meat should be very tender and the sauce nice and thick. Traditionally, this dish is served with crust bread to mop up the gravy, but it's also great with a few vegetables and baked potatoes. Mashed potatoes and whole fried potatoes will suit fine! This dish is better to be served for lunch since it might be too heavy for the stomach.

Lountza

It is smoked pork, often served in sandwiches with halloumi (a delicious hard cheese, usually grilled if served as meze) made from sheep milk and sometimes spiced with peppermint.

Kolokasi

According to my taste this is a delicious casserole meal. According to my father's it is just something to fill in the stomach. Any way I think it's worth trying...

Here are the ingredients and the method of preparation:

Ingredients

1kg Pork cubes
1kg Taro (kolokassi)
5 Sticks of celery, chopped
2 Large onions, finely chopped
1 Cup tomato juice
1/2 A cup of hot water
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for frying
1 tsp Lemon juice

Method To Prepare

Cut the ends of kolokasi and peel the skin. With a wet towel clean it. Never wash kolokasi with running water. With a sharp knife, cut across (2 cm thick) halfway then break off. Repeat to the end. Note: if slices are cut all the way across without breaking off, the vegetable will melt while cooking. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and brown the meat (8 - 10 minutes). Transfer onto a dish. Gently fry onion in olive oil until soft then add the kolokassi and celery. Fry them for 5 - 10 minutes or until they start to change colour. Add the lemon juice. Pour the tomato juice and the hot water into the saucepan. Add the pork cubes and season well. Ensure the food is covered in liquid (if not add some more hot water). Cover and simmer for 1 - 1.5 hours until the liquid is reduced, and the meat and kolokassi becomes tender. Serve hot.

You can serve kolokasi with radishes and Greek salad. You can also cook kolokasi with koupepia. My grandmother always used to cook these two dishes together, and believe me, it was delicious!!!

Moussaka

This is a traditional Greek dish of minced meat and mainly eggplants topped with creamy bechamel sauce. This dish could be a main course or a side dish as well. It is always served with green salad. You can also have it with meat cooked on the grill.

INGREDIENTS (10 - 12 servings)

6 large eggplants
3 large potatoes
7 large zucchini
1 kg pork minced meat finely chopped
1/2 kg lamb minced meat finely chopped
1 large onion thinly chopped
2 large cloves of garlic thinly chopped
3 ts olive oil
1 1/2 cup olive oil for frying the vegetables
2 ts salt
1 ts black pepper
1 ts cinnamon
1 cube of chicken stock
1 cup of tomato juice
4 tbs finely chopped parsley

For the topping

2 tbs butter (or corn oil)
3 - 4 tbs flour
2 cups fresh milk (hot)
2 egg yolks
2 tbs grated hard anari cheese
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp white pepper
A bit of salt

Method Of Preparation

Cut the eggplants into slices and put them in salted water for 2 hours approximately. Remove eggplants from water and squeeze them so they drain the excess water. Cut the potatoes and zucchini into slices as well. Heat olive oil in a deep frying pan with a heavy bottom and fry the eggplants, the potatoes and the zucchini until soften without getting brown. Arrange them on a kitchen towel paper to absorb the excess olive oil. (You can avoid frying the vegetables by putting everything in the oven until they become soft. NOT COOKED). In a clean frying pan heat olive oil and sizzle the onion and garlic until they become golden brown, without getting burned. Add pork and lamb minced meat, stir constantly, add all spices and chicken stock along with a bit of salt. Cook for 6 - 7 minutes or until all fluids are absorbed and minced meat becomes brown. Then add tomato juice and at the end the chopped parsley. Arrange potato slices on a large size baking dish. Then put a layer of eggplants and on top of that a layer of zucchini. Sprinkle minced meat and continue with another layer of vegetables in the same order.

Prepare bechamel sauce as follows:

In a small saucepan melt butter, remove from the heat and add flour, stirring constantly with a wooden ladle till the mixture thickens. Then put the saucepan back to the heat and add the hot milk stirring continuously until the mixture becomes creamy. Remove from the heat. Take a cup of that mixture and add the beaten egg yolks in it. Then mix everything together. Place the saucepan in the heat, in low temperature, stirring constantly till it becomes a thick and homogeneous sauce. Sprinkle cheese and add a touch of salt and nutmeg. Spoon the sauce over all the vegetables and minced meat. Bake for 30 - 45 minutes in a preheated 180 degrees oven until the sauce golden browns. Serve warm.

There are also the Greek classics, imagine something like a dip but instead of using nachos or vegetables to eat them we use Cypriot bread.

Taramosalata, is one of those dishes. It is fish eggs blended into a creamy pink dip of pureed potatoes with parsley, lemon juice and finely chopped onion (optional). In meze this is one of the first dishes that it is served. In taverns they always bring it along with salad, tzatziki and tachini. We will talk about the last two later. Well, let's see our recipe...

Ingredients

2 kg tarama (fish eggs)
1 large potato or two small ones
450gr of Cypriot bread
1 tsp of shredded and dried onion
1 cup olive oil
The juice of one lemon (medium size)

Tarama is the hardest ingredient to find, so it is a good idea to look at groceries that import Mediterranean food. It is usually sold in larger jars, but you can store the remainder in the freezer for months. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces. Boil them in water. Put just enough to cover them. They need to boil as long as it takes for them to be soft all the way down to their core. Instead of potatoes, you can use Cypriot bread. If you decide to use bread use one that is stale. Get rid of the crust and soak the rest in water. Then drain it and leave it on an absorbent paper towel to dry thoroughly. (I believe that using potatoes is better and easier). In a mixing bowl, mash together the potatoes (or bread) with the tarama. Then add the shredded and dried onion. It is best that you use an electric mixer or blender for the mixing of ingredients, as you have to mix them very well. Pour in seven equal doses and mix until fully absorbed before the next dosage. Do not just dump them in, and then mix them, because the mixture is likely to turn into an eternal sea of oil with clumps of tarama and potato (and there is no way to fix that). If you mix in gradually, the mixture will turn into a very nice, smooth dip. If the mixture peaks, then pour in a little water until it's smooth again. Chill the taramosalata in the refrigerator for a few hours (keep covered or the top will form a crust), and then serve cold.

Try these dishes and you will experience a totally new taste. I am sure you will find Mediterranean cuisine very interesting. All dishes can be accompanied with a good strong red wine. Try to use a Mediterranean one since it will suit better the food taste.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask. You can always buy off course a Cyprus Cook Book, where you can find anything that you might feel you want to taste...

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