Taste Cyprus

Afelia

Pork marinated overnight in red wine and crushed coriander, then cooked slow until it falls apart.

Keftedes

Pork, grated potato, mint and cinnamon, deep-fried — not the lightest dish on the island, and no one minds.

Makaronia me kima

Souvlakia

Charcoal-grilled cubes of meat in grilled pitta — the food on every corner, and what to ask for.

Makaronia tou fournou

Four layers — pasta, halloumi, spiced pork, béchamel — baked to a golden crust. The Sunday dish.

Cypriot koupes

Bulgur wheat shells filled with spiced pork mince and fried golden — breakfast, snack, or part of the meze.

Tzatziki

Known as talattouri in Cyprus: strained yoghurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon and dried mint. Ten minutes.

Greek salad

No leafy greens, big chunks, feta and oregano — the salad that arrives first at every taverna table.

Hummus

The taverna dip made properly at home: boiled chickpeas, tahini, lemon and a few ice cubes for creaminess.

Octopus salad

On the menu of every seafood tavern on the island — an hour in the pot, then balsamic, oil and pepper.

Elies tsakistes

Green olives cracked with a stone, soaked, then marinated 40 days with garlic, lemon and coriander seed.

Tahini (tashi)

The dip that goes with everything grilled — sesame paste loosened with lemon juice, garlic and water.

Cypriot olive pies

Olive bread in crescent form — chopped olives, onion and mint in a dough lifted with orange juice.

Portokalopita

Six ingredients, one orange — juice and zest both — and 45 minutes in the oven.

Traditional halloumi pies

Halloumi and anari with mint, rolled like a cinnamon roll, cut into eight and sesame-topped.

Cypriot tahinopitta

Tahini, sugar and cinnamon rolled into a twisted pinwheel and baked crisp in ten minutes.

Rolled kattimeri

Almond and cinnamon sheets coiled like a snail, baked an hour, then soaked in cold rose-water syrup.

Loukoumades

Deep-fried dough soaked in cool sugar syrup — crunchy outside, soft inside, best eaten hot at a paniyiri.

Mahalepi

Four ingredients, set overnight, served ice-cold under a pour of rose syrup.

Baklava

Twelve sheets of filo, walnuts with clove and cinnamon, and an orange-peel syrup poured over it hot.

Galaktoboureko

Orange-scented semolina custard between crisp buttered filo, drowned in cold syrup the moment it leaves the oven.

Koupepia

Vine leaves rolled around pork, rice and herbs, with lemon and tomato juice poured over the pot.

Eggplant in tomato sauce

Aubergine fried for a crisp edge, then simmered in a tangy tomato sauce — main course or side.

Spanakorizo

A tasty fasting option — spinach, dill and carolina rice, finished with lemon juice at the table.

Gemista

Whatever needs using up in the fridge, stuffed with pork mince, rice and mint, and baked an hour and a half.

Koupepia me kolokasi

A winter pot: pork and taro braised together, with fifty stuffed vine leaves laid on top.

Agrelia me ta avga

Two bunches of wild asparagus, four eggs, ten minutes — the seasonal light dinner Cypriots forage for.