1. Avgolemono soup
Ingredients:
7 cups of good homemade chicken broth
3/4 cups rice
1/2 cup cold water
2 large eggs or 3 small eggs
juice of 1 large lemon
salt and pepper to taste
boiled fresh garden peas and freshly ground black pepper as garnish (optional)
Preparation:
1. In a medium pot, pour your chicken broth. (I usually use chicken drumsticks when making my chicken broth, and simply take some pieces of the cooked drumstick and add it to my strained chicken stock to form the base of this soup. Then I add my rice. You could also add pieces of raw chicken to an already made chicken stock, but ensure that the chicken is fully cooked prior to adding your rice.) Add the rice. Cook the rice in the chicken broth until it is ready. After the rice is ready, lower the temperature and add 1/2 a cup of cold water.2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with lemon juice until frothy.3. Start adding 1 to 2 cups of the broth slowly (slowly is important to prevent any curdling!) in the egg mixture a little at a time, continually beating it so that it doesn’t curdle. 4. Pour the egg mixture slowly back into the soup pot constantly stirring it to prevent curdling. Slowly raise the temperature of the soup and stir it a few more times. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.5. Optional: boil some shelled green peas and add them in the soup when you serve it. Add freshly ground black pepper on top of the soup for extra flavor.
Salad .
1. Choriatiki Salata
Ingredients:
4 salad tomatoes (the firm kind), sliced into wedges
1 onion, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, shredded
1 tbsp coriander leaves, shredded
100g Feta cheese, sliced
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
dried oregano, crumbled, to taste
olives
Preparation:
In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, cucumber and Feta cheese. Mix together the olive oil and lemon juice then drizzle over the salad ingredients. Season with salt, black pepper and oregano then toss to combine. Turn into a salad bowl and garnish with olives.
1. Pork Afelia
Ingredients:
1 kg/2 lb lean pork without bone, cubed
200ml red wine
2 tbsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
1 stick cinnamon
6 tbsp olive oil
salt & lots of freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
Make a marinade from the cinnamon, coriander seeds, salt and pepper and wine and pour over your pork. Refrigerate the meat in the marinade for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight if possible. When you are done marinating, lift out the meat and save the marinade. Heat the oil in a heavy based pan and brown your cubes of meat, a few at a time until they are nicely browned. Add more oil if necessary. Wipe any excess oil from the pan and return all the meat to it with the reserved marinade and enough cold water to just cover the meat. Bring to the boil then cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to cook the meat gently for about 30 mints or until tender. Most of the liquid should have evaporated to leave a thick sauce. If not, continue to cook uncovered until the excess liquid is gone. Garnish with parsley, serve and tuck in.
1. Pafos Meze
It is a meal consisting of a selection of local dishes, from delicious dips and vegetables to a variety of fish and meats. As a main meal the Meze usually comprises between 20 and 30 plates of food so even the fuzziest of eaters will not fail to find something to their liking.
Below, is a description of some of the dishes which are included in a Meze meal. Taramosalata: Fish roe blended into a creamy pink dip of pureed potatoes with olive oil, parsley, lemon juice and finely chopped onion.
Houmous: A dish combining crushed chic peas, sesame paste, olive oil and finely chopped parsley.
Crushed Olives: Crushed green olives with coriander, garlic and fresh lemon.
Tzantziki: Mixture of yogurt with finely cut garlic, cucumber, olive oil and a little pepper.
Tahini dip: Crushed sesame seeds with olive oil, lemon and garlic.
Pickled Green Olives: Marinated green olives in vinegar and olive oil.
Loukanika: Pork sausages soaked in red wine and smoked seasoned with coriander and red pepper.
Koupepia: (Also known as Dolmades) Grape leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice seasoned with mint, onions and spices.
Lountza: smoked pork soaked in red wine.
Halloumi: White soft cheese (usually grilled when served as part of a Meze) made from either goat or sheep milk and sometimes spiced with peppermint.
Souvlaki: Cypriot Kebabs. Served either as succulent lamb cutlets, pork fillets, grilled chicken or as a combination of any or all of these.
Sheftalia: Grilled fresh sausage made of minced pork, chopped onions, bread crumbs, chopped parsley, white pepper and salt.
Keftedes: Deep fried crispy & spicy meatballs cooked in olive oil.
Afelia: Pork cubes marinated in wine and coriander.
Moussaka: Popular dish made of layers of sliced aubergines, courgettes, potatoes and minced meat topped with creamy bechamel sauce, baked in the oven.
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 pepper and bay leaves.
Fried Zucchini: Mixed with scrambled eggs and fresh parsley.
Fried Eggplants: Eggplants dipped in flour, fried and served hot.
Village Salad: Made of cabbage, lettuce, rugola, coriander, celery, spring onions, cucumbers, capers, olives, green peppers and feta cheese with a dressing made of olive oil lemon juice and salt.
1. Glyko Karydaki – Fresh Walnuts Preserved in Syrup
Ingredients:
50 fresh green Walnuts
2 kilos of sugar
4 – 5 cups of water for the final stage*
The juice of 5 – 6 lemons. Reserve the juice of ½ lemon for the end
50 blanched and roasted almonds
1 cup of quick lime
6 – 7 cloves
1 piece of cinnamon stick
Preparation:
Thinly Peel outer skin of the walnuts but you should wear gloves otherwise your hands will go black. It takes a few days for the dye to wash off.
Take a skewer or a knitting needle and prick the walnuts, horizontally and vertically.
Wash each one separately and place them in a basin with water.
Leave them in a sunny place for six days changing the water twice a day.
Put some quick lime (‘asvesti’) – in a muslin cloth and place in the basin with the walnuts and let them soak for 5-6 hours. This is optional but it helps to keep the walnuts firm.
Wash the walnuts thoroughly and put them into a large saucepan with plenty of water to cover them.
Boil for 2 – 3 minutes and strain. Add cold water.
Make a slit on the top and insert a blanched and roasted almond inside.
Boil again for 2 -3 minutes, and again drain and put cold water.
Boil for a third time until soft. To know if the walnuts are ready, you should make the needle test. Take a skewer or a needle and prick the walnuts, if the needle passes through the walnut then the walnuts are ready for the final process and syrup.
Remove from the saucepan and put into a large bowl of cold water and add the lemon juice.
Leave in the water for 1 hour, this will make them crunchy and shiny. Change the water and place in a clean saucepan and cover with sugar and the water* (see above) and boil for 3 -4 minutes. Remove from heat.
Repeat this boiling procedure 8 times (twice a day) and by the end the syrup will thicken.
During the 8th time add the cinnamon stick, the cloves and boil until syrup thickens. Add the remaining lemon juice. At no time should you put the lid on the saucepan during the whole procedure..
Allow to cool in the saucepan then store in clean and dry sterilized jars.