Cyprus Cuisine

If you want to try some of the best meat dishes the island has to offer, you can choose any of the following:

Meze:
You can find meze in almost any restaurant in Cyprus and it's a great way of sampling a number of different small dishes - sometimes as many as 30, so make sure you leave plenty of room! The staple dishes of meze are vegetarian - hummus (chick pea paste), tahini (sesame seed paste), olives and fried haloumi (goat or sheep's milk cheese - delicious and very salty). However, to be on the safe side, make sure you ask for the vegetarian meze - most restaurants will be happy to oblige.

Souvla- Cyprus kebab:
Souvla is the national food of Cyprus. It is meat, cut in big pieces mainly lamb or chicken grilled on charcoal grill.

Yemista:
Yemista are vegetables all kinds (peppers, tomatoes, onions, courgettes, aubergines), filled with a mixture of rice, grated tomatoes, different spices and sometimes minced meat. It is a great meal especially in summertime. You can order it as a starter or as a main dish and it can served hot or cold.

Sheftalies:
Grilled Minced Meat Rolls
A tasty Cyprus dish is the small sausages of minced meat, called "Sheftalies". In a square piece of Pork or lamb net fat, they put 1 tablespoon of meat mixture (minced meat, onion, parsley, salt and pepper). And cook Sheftalies over glowing coals on a barbecue or under grill and turn to brown on both sides.

Kleftiko:
"Kleftiko" is served in Cyprus for every single celebration. kleftiko is usually a big piece of lamb or goat and wrapped in foil. It baked in special ovens which are closed airtight, until the Kleftiko will be cooked. The history tells us that the origin of this food goes back to the Cypriot freedom fighters of the 19th century that lived in the mountains. They cooked the stolen meat with this way in order no one could smell it or could see it.

Mousakas:
You can find the famous and delicious `mousakas" on every menu. It is prepared with potatoes, minced meat, onions, courgettes, aubergines and other and covered with a tasteful cream (Béchamel). Mousakas can be eaten warm or cold.

Haloumi:
Haloumi is a cyprus cheese and it is tratitional made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk by hand. It is white, with layered texture, like mozzarella. Halloumi has distinctive and salty flavor and it is often garnished with mint witch add taste and increase the life of the cheese. It can be grilled, marinated, grated, fried or eaten plain.

Beans:
Bean dishes are a delicious, hearty alternative to meat and can be found in most restaurants. Fava beans are pureed into a delicious soup called louvia. This should not be confused with another popular type of bean, the louvia, or black eyed bean. The general term for dishes made with beans or pulses is ospria.