Written by Chris Sunday, 04 October 2009 00:00

Keftethes are a Greek form of meatballs which probably originated from the Ottomon or Middle-Eastern kofta. The term originated from Persia and means ground or beaten refering to the meat or vegetable ingredients in the meatballs. They are usually rolled in balls or cigar shapes and egg and breadcrumb mix is used to bind the mixture together.

Here is a recipe that's more in line with the Greek or Cypriot version and which may form part of a delicious meze meal.

Written by Helga Sunday, 27 September 2009 00:00

I am a crazy garlic eater. I can actually eat small chunks of garlic soaked in vinegar! I can eat it raw, cooked, roasted, baked, in whole, grated or pressed. Tzatziki is just a civilized way to eat garlic in company. So its one of my favorite dishes here in Cyprus (apart from roasted pepper with garlic). It is a traditional Greek dip made of Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, salt, olive oil, and pepper. I usually also add lime or lemon juice and either parsley or dill. As garnish, you can use other herbs and olives but I prefer to stick with the original ingredients.

The dip is usually in the first round of a meze and stays on the table throughout the whole meal. Its used as a sauce for the grilled meat and as a dip for the fried vegetables. But I just simply like to dip my pita bread in it. It

Written by Chris Sunday, 20 September 2009 00:00

In the course of history food lovers have probably tried to stuff every kind of vegetable that exists with the exception of the very small or the very thin. Around Southern Europe and the Middle East people commonly stuff tomatoes, eggplant (aborigine), zucchini (curette), cabbage leaves, vine leaves, peppers, onions and even marrow flowers. The stuffing in most cases is a combination of meat (pork, lamb or beef) and rice. The variations on the stuffing are almost endless and depend on the region. The Armenians, for example, stuff vine and cabbage leaves with minced beef or lamb and rice with coriander, dill, mint, pepper, cinnamon and melted butter and sometimes even chestnuts and peas. The Iranians use a similar meat-rice mix with split yellow peas, and a variety of herbs In Greek cuisine there is a similar mix of pork/beef/lamb and rice with tomato, onion and parsley.

Above is a picture of my variation done with a Halloween feel to it :-) More vegetable stuffing below...

Written by Chris Wednesday, 29 July 2009 00:00

Here's a healthy little snack that can satisfy anyone with the munchies. Halloumi is a cheese made from sheeps milk and is now available almost everywhere. Its a salty cheese and when fried has a succulent chewy texture that is a great alternative to meat. Pitta bread is made for souvlaki - when grilled they puff up and can be cut or sliced in half and filled with grilled pork or lamb with salad. Both halloumi and pitta bread can be kept in the freezer for when you need them.

For a more hearty snack you can add slices of lounza as well. Lounza is a smoked loin of pork which matured in wine - another Cypriot speciality.