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Traditional Cyprus cuisine includes lots of fresh fruits and salads and the very popular meze.
Cyprus has an abundance of fresh fruits, salads, vegetables and the freshest of fish which comes straight from the sea. Another reason why the food is so good is that olive oil and olives form the basis of cooking on the island. A slice of crunchy bread, olives, cheese, tomatoes and cucumber are a traditional snack or breakfast in Cyprus.
MEZE
Meze can be eaten as a snack, for lunch or dinner. These bite size dishes are a great introduction to the cuisine of Cyprus. These delicious dishes include stuffed vine leaves, cheeses (haloumi and kaskavalli), calamari, a variety of olives, spicy sausages such as loukanika and pastourma, kebabs and keftedes (meat balls) or keftedakia - small meatballs.
Lots of fresh lemon is squeezed over food in Cyprus and there are always bowls of Greek salads and mountains of sizzling chips. Dips include humus, taramosalata, aubergine and tzatziki (yogurt, shredded cucumber, mint and garlic).
Fish Dishes
The fishing boats bring the freshest of fish and seafood straight to the restaurants of the island. Amongst the most popular local dishes are calamari (fried squid) and barpooni (red mullet).
Vegetarian Dishes...
Vegetarians are well catered for as most of the Cyprus food accompanying meat and fish dishes is a meal in itself and is often eaten separately.
Just a few examples are the stuffed vegetables (Yemista) and Lahana (a green vegetable similar to spinach but not so sweet) with black eyed beans, drizzled with olive oil and lemon.
Meat Dishes...
There are many tasty meat caserole dishes and as the juice is so delicious it's customery to mop it up with wedges of fresh crusty bread.
Meat eaters will enjoy Cyprus foods such as the tender lamb and pork dishes of Kleftiko and Afelia and traditional beef, pork and lamb dishes such as stifado and tava... and of course the classical dish of Moussaka.
Pasta Dishes...
Pastichio is made with layers of mince meat, herbs and thick macaroni and another classical Cyprus dish is ravioli filled with haloumi cheese and mint... (haloumi is the traditional cheese of Cyprus).
Breakfast is normally a simple meal such as a handful of olives, juicy tomatoes and baby cucumbers.
It can also include fried/grilled haloumi with eggs and fresh crunchy sesame covered bread such as goulouri (daktila-fingers). Or, if you prefer, yogurt and fruit drizzled with honey.
If you don't have time for this, you can pick-up the popular Tiropita (cheese pies) or hot sesame-seed covered hoops of bread and cheese from street vendors and bakers.
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