The island of Cyprus, if it feeds on various influences, nevertheless cultivates its own culinary specialties. The loukanika are one of them, sausages with coriander marinated in red wine. The hiromeri offers the same flavors on a spicy pork shank, while the pastourma sausage mixes red peppers and fenugreek. And if you visit a tavern, try the koupekia, these delicious grape leaves stuffed with pork and rice! Pork always for the sheftalia, grilled meat crépinettes, or the lountza, a smoked tenderloin. As for the stifado, it combines beef or rabbit in a stew of wine, onions and spices. What about the lamb in all of this? He embodies the star of Cypriot cuisine with ofto kleftiko, cooked for long hours in a traditional oven and flavored with bay leaf.
From its neighbor Greece, Cyprus has retained the best:southern cuisine with a taste of spices and olive oil, symbolized by the famous moussaka! Found in most Cypriot restaurants, this mixture of eggplant and minced meat, covered in béchamel, is served with a Greek salad made with feta cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. The famous kebab, grilled meat served with potatoes, holds its place as a specialty without weakening. Souvlaki, on the other hand, consist of pieces of meat on skewers. Do you come across talaturi? It is a fresh yogurt very similar to Greek tatziki.
Emblematic of Turkish cuisine, the tradition of mezze occupies a special place in Cyprus. These miniature dishes, meant to serve as starters, are usually so filling that they fill up a meal! They can include up to thirty different dishes, all equally delicious. All flavors are represented, from vegetables to meat and fish. The latter sometimes take the specific name of psari savoro. All this accompanied by fragrant sauces and local wine. Generally, you will find in mezes an assortment of specialties in small portions, the problem not being the size… but the quantity.
