To be aware of what exactly is worth trying in Cyprus, it is advisable for tourists to plan a trip for the Chocolate Week (sweet tooth will be delighted with all the chocolate - ice cream, cakes, drinks and a chocolate fountain where you can dip fruits), a wine festival (in addition to wine tasting, Cypriot sweets and dishes, guests will listen to songs and watch performances by creative groups), the Cyprus Fiesta gastronomic festival (products of food, brewing and wine companies are subject to tasting) in Limassol, the strawberry festival in the village of Derinya (everyone will be able to enjoy sweets and drinks based on strawberries), the Pastelli festival in the village of Anogira (guests will try the Cypriot sweet Pastelli, which is made from carob-based syrup). In addition, it is worth going to the village of Afinenou, where the Mesarka factory is located and you can enjoy anari and halloumi cheeses.
Food in Cyprus
Mediterranean cuisine dominates in Cyprus: meat, vegetables, seafood are eaten here. Marinated, grilled or stewed in wine octopus is especially held in high esteem in Cyprus. Most Cypriot dishes are served with a variety of sauces:
- tahini (sauce is made from lemon juice, sesame seeds and spices);
- dzatziki (a thick yogurt sauce with a slightly sour taste, to which garlic, mint and grated pickles are added);
- taramasalata (a creamy sauce made with olive oil, smoked cod caviar and mashed potatoes).
Top 10 Cypriot dishes
Meze
Meze
Meze is an appetizer made from pasta, sauces, green olives, black olives, seafood or meat (total ingredients 15-20). In the restaurant for the meze (there is meat from chops, sausages and kebabs based on beef, chicken and lamb, and fish with crabs, mussels, shrimps, octopus; it is advisable to try fish meze in a tavern on the coast) they serve an aperitif - Cypriot aniseed vodka ouzo, and also bean mousses, vegetable salads, cheese, croutons, pituas. Want to get to know Cypriot meze? Prepare for a small culinary show (in some restaurants, the waiters perform a change of dishes with an artistic touch). The average cost of a meze is 20-25 euros.
Stifado
Stifado is a dish based on beef, chicken or rabbit. Fried large cubes of meat are seasoned with spices, red wine, vegetables and onions are added to it (the onions are usually not cut, but added whole), and stewed for 2-2.5 hours. A deep plate is used to serve stifado (the traditional garnish for it is rice). You can try Stifado in Cyprus for 12 euros.
Kleftiko
Kleftiko
Kleftiko is meat baked in a clay oven (alternatively, an oven). Young lamb / lamb is simmering until it is fragrant and soft. Garlic, peppers, onions, baked potatoes or baked vegetables are served with kleftiko. Another addition is lemon: you need to pour the juice squeezed out of it on the meat. Want to try fresh kleftiko? Order it in the late afternoon.
A portion of this dish will cost tourists about 10 euros. In any case, it is better to try kleftiko in villages, for example, in the village of Fikardou (it is 40 km away from Nicosia).
Suvlaki
Souvlaki - Cypriot kebabs: they are prepared from chicken, lamb or pork (you can try them for 15 euros). The meat is not marinated before cooking over the fire (it is flavored with salt and oregano), so it will turn out to be a little dry. Souvlaki is served on the table, pre-seasoned with lemon juice, along with various sauces, as well as halloumi (grilled cheese) and rustic salad or coarsely chopped vegetables.
Moussaka
Moussaka is a casserole of meat (lamb or pork), tomatoes and eggplant, which is poured over with béchamel sauce. Often, moussaka is cooked with zucchini, mushrooms, grated cheese and potatoes (all ingredients are pre-fried in oil and then laid out in layers in a mold) for 60 minutes in the oven. 1 serving of this dish will cost visitors of Cypriot restaurants 13-15 euros.
Trahana soup
Trahana soup
The unique trahana soup is prepared on the basis of goat's milk, chicken meat and purguri cereals (it is obtained from a special type of wheat that grows only on the Cypriot soil). In addition, garlic, mint and lime juice are added to trahana. In the process of cooking, the dish becomes like a thick semolina porridge: sausages are formed from the cooled mass, which are subsequently dried. For filling sausages (before serving them you need to pour boiling water over them) use yogurt. Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
Keftedes
Keftedes are Cypriot oblong meatballs made from meat (pork, beef) and spicy herbs (it makes up almost 50% of minced meat), which gives the dish a fresh taste. Keftedes is fried in oil until brown.
An addition to keftedes (on the table there can be cold, heated or freshly fried meatballs) is dzatziki sauce, as well as tomatoes, cucumbers and french fries.
Lucumades
Lucumades
Lucumades is a dessert in the form of yeast dough donuts (often apples or cheese are added to the dough). They are fried in oil until they acquire a beautiful shade of golden color. Cypriot lukumades are poured with honey syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon and nuts / sesame seeds. In cafes, chocolate or ice cream is often served with lucumades. You can buy this dessert on the street - it will be packed in a paper bag or cardboard box.
Dolmades
Dolmades is a prototype of cabbage rolls: in Cyprus, small cabbage rolls (made from meat and rice; in some families, grape leaves are stuffed only with dill, oregano, thyme and pine nuts) are wrapped in grape leaves, and poured with lemon juice before use. You can try dolmades for 12 euros.
Suzukakya
Suzukakya is a food that has won love among meat lovers. From pork and ground beef, garlic, caraway seeds, eggs, onions, peppers, balls are formed, which are fried in oil. Garlic-tomato sauce is served with suzukaki, and parsley is also added to it. A portion of meatballs will cost 10 euros for 1 person.
