Region
25 Greek Cypriot Recipes
Cyprus is its own culinary country: halloumi, flaounes, koupepia, souvla cooked slowly over coals, and a spice cabinet that leans on cinnamon and dried coriander.
Cyprus is its own culinary country. The spice cabinet leans on cinnamon and dried coriander, the meat is cooked slowly over coals, and the cheese is halloumi.
Halloumi is cooked in thick slices in a dry hot pan with dried mint, and it also goes into ravioli and onto the breakfast plate with honey. Koupepia are vine leaves stuffed with minced meat, rice and mint. Sheftalia are pork and onion wrapped in caul fat and grilled over charcoal. Afelia is pork braised in red wine with crushed coriander seed until the sauce turns to a dark glaze.
The sweets are the island's own as well: mahalepi, loukoumia, almonds dipped in grape must, fresh anari cheese with honey. Flaounes, the cheese pastries, are the Easter bake. If you cook one thing first, make the afelia. Three main ingredients, one pan.
Every recipe on Kalliopi's Kitchen carries the dish's Greek name and a pronunciation, its region where that is meaningful, ingredient quantities in both metric and imperial, and an honest note on what commonly goes wrong. Nutrition figures are calculated estimates and are labelled as such.
Get the free “Taste of Cyprus” guide, ten of these recipes in one downloadable PDF.
1. Grilled Halloumi
Halloumi · Χαλλούμι · hah-LOO-mee
Cypriot, protected, and made from sheep and goat milk. The curd is heated in whey before it is brined, which is why the cheese browns and softens on the heat and still keeps its shape. Mint belongs to it from the start: a dried sprig is folded in before the brine. Cook it last.
Yiayia’s tip: No oil, hot pan. Halloumi releases its own fat. Oil just makes it greasy and encourages it to spit.
Make Grilled Halloumi2. Cypriot Stuffed Vine Leaves with Meat
Koupepia · Κουπέπια · koo-PEH-pee-ah
In Cyprus the everyday word for stuffed vine leaves is koupepia, and the everyday kind has meat in it. This is what a Cypriot household makes on a Sunday. Mint runs through the filling where dolmades would have dill, and many families pour avgolemono over at the end. The rolling takes an hour.
Yiayia’s tip: Roll tighter than feels necessary. The rice triples in volume. A loose roll is a roll that opens in the pot.
Make Cypriot Stuffed Vine Leaves with Meat3. Cypriot Sausages in Caul Fat
Sheftalia · Σεφταλιά · shef-tah-lee-AH
A sausage with no casing. Cypriot cooks wrap the minced pork in caul fat, the lacy membrane from around an animal's abdomen, and over charcoal it does two jobs: it holds the shape, and it bastes the pork as it melts. Inside is onion, parsley and a trace of cinnamon that few people can name.
Yiayia’s tip: Ask a butcher directly for caul fat. It is rarely on display but most butchers carry it or can order it in for you, since several cuisines use it the same way.
Make Cypriot Sausages in Caul Fat4. Cypriot Pork in Red Wine and Coriander
Afelia · Αφέλια · ah-FEH-lee-ah
Pork, red wine, coriander seed and time. The list barely goes further, and nothing else cooked in Greece or Cyprus tastes like it. The seed flavours it, not the fresh leaf. The pork is marinated, browned and braised until the wine is a thick, dark, sticky sauce, with the lid off or half on.
Yiayia’s tip: Crush the seed fresh. Pre-ground coriander loses its aromatic oils quickly. Crushing whole seed just before cooking is what gives afelia its real character.
Make Cypriot Pork in Red Wine and Coriander5. Cypriot Black-Eyed Bean Salad with Chard
Louvi · Λούβι · LOO-vee
Fasting-day food in Cyprus, and nobody at the table feels deprived. Black-eyed beans are simmered with chard or spinach, given olive oil and lemon while still warm, then left to cool. It is a Lenten staple, vegan as it stands. Serve it as a full plate with bread and olives, not as a side.
Yiayia’s tip: No soaking needed. Black-eyed beans are thin-skinned enough to cook from fully dry in under an hour, unlike most other dried pulses.
Make Cypriot Black-Eyed Bean Salad with Chard6. Cypriot Easter Cheese Pastries
Flaounes · Φλαούνες · flah-OO-nes
Easter baking in Cyprus, done once a year and in huge batches, because every relative expects a share. A yeasted dough scented with mahlepi and mastic is folded around grated hard cheeses, egg, dried mint and often raisins, then topped with sesame. It is a project that fills most of a day.
Yiayia’s tip: Make the filling a day ahead. It firms up overnight in the fridge, which makes shaping far easier and lets the mint and cheese flavours settle together.
Make Cypriot Easter Cheese Pastries7. Cypriot Bulgur Shells Stuffed with Meat
Koupes · Κούπες · KOO-pes
Cyprus sits between Greece, Turkey and the Levant, and here it shows. These are close relatives of Middle Eastern kibbeh: a thin bulgur and semolina shell around spiced minced meat, shaped into small torpedoes and fried. The shell has to be kneaded hard, like a dough. They freeze well, so cooks make a large batch.
Yiayia’s tip: Squeeze the bulgur properly. Excess water in the shell mixture makes it impossible to shape thin without tearing. Wring it out hard in a tea towel before kneading.
Make Cypriot Bulgur Shells Stuffed with Meat8. Cypriot Grape Must and Almond Candy
Soutzoukos · Σουτζιούκος · soo-JOO-kos
Almonds or walnuts are threaded on a string and dunked over and over in grape must cooked thick, each dip adding a layer until the coat is firm and chewy. Cyprus makes it in autumn, when there are fresh grapes. It has no refined sugar. The work is slow, not hard.
Yiayia’s tip: Reduce shop-bought grape juice first. Simmering it down by about a third before you start concentrates the flavour closer to genuine fresh must.
Make Cypriot Grape Must and Almond Candy9. Mahalepi
Μαχαλεπί · mah-hah-leh-PEE
A milk pudding set with cornflour and no eggs, which makes it a soft blancmange more than a custard. The Cypriot one takes a pinch of ground mastic, which leaves a faint resinous scent. It is eaten cold under a syrup of rose water or orange blossom. Hot-weather food, not for after a heavy meal.
Yiayia’s tip: Whisk the cornflour into cold milk first. Adding it directly to hot milk gives you a lumpy pudding no amount of stirring afterwards fixes.
Make Mahalepi10. Cyprus Delights, Rose and Mastic
Loukoumia · Λουκούμια · loo-KOO-mee-ah
Cyprus's own Turkish delight, flavoured with rose water and mastic, and the town of Geroskipou near Paphos has protected status for its style. It is patient work, not difficult work: a syrup, a cornflour paste, a long slow cook, then cubes rolled in icing sugar.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not stop cooking early. The long, slow cook is what sets the texture. A mixture that looks done at twenty minutes is not done.
Make Cyprus Delights, Rose and Mastic11. Cypriot Fresh Cheese with Honey
Anari me meli · Ανάρι με μέλι · ah-NAH-ree meh meh-LEE
Three things on a plate: anari, honey and crushed walnuts. Anari is the soft whey cheese left over from making halloumi, close to ricotta, mild, milky and faintly sweet. With so little there, a thyme honey with character does far more than a bland one. One of the oldest desserts in Cyprus.
Yiayia’s tip: Fresh, not dried anari. Dried anari is salted and firm, meant for grating over pasta. This dish specifically wants the soft, fresh, unsalted version.
Make Cypriot Fresh Cheese with Honey12. Cypriot Baked Macaroni
Makaronia tou fournou · Μακαρόνια του φούρνου · mah-kah-ROH-nyah too FOOR-noo
Cyprus's version of pastitsio, and the difference is on top. There is no bechamel. Halloumi is grated into beaten egg and poured over the pasta, where it sets like a savoury custard, salty and springy. The meat sauce underneath has the same cinnamon. With no roux to go wrong, it is the easier dish.
Yiayia’s tip: Grate the halloumi coarsely. A fine grate disappears into the egg. Coarse shreds keep some texture in the finished topping.
Make Cypriot Baked Macaroni13. Cypriot Lenten Tahini Spiral Bread
Tahinopita · Ταχινόπιτα · tah-hee-NOH-pee-tah
Baked for Lent, when butter, milk and eggs are not allowed, and it does not taste like going without. The dough is only flour, oil, sugar and yeast. It is spread with tahini, sugar and cinnamon, rolled, then wound into a coil, much as a cinnamon roll is built. It keeps well.
Yiayia’s tip: Stir the tahini well first. It separates in the jar, with the oil rising to the top. Mix it back together before measuring, or the filling will be uneven.
Make Cypriot Lenten Tahini Spiral Bread14. Pan-Fried Halloumi with Honey Breakfast
Halloumi me meli · Χαλούμι με μέλι · hah-LOO-mee meh meh-LEE
Halloumi has a high melting point and a salty, squeaky bite, and both make it a good match for honey. Fried golden, it gets honey and sesame seeds or crushed walnuts. It works for breakfast and as a dessert. With so few ingredients the honey matters, and thyme honey suits it.
Yiayia’s tip: Cut the slices properly thick. About a centimetre holds together well and develops a good golden crust without drying out.
Make Pan-Fried Halloumi with Honey Breakfast15. Cypriot Halloumi and Mint Ravioli
Ravioles · Ραβιόλες · rah-vee-OH-les
Cypriot, not Italian, whatever the shape suggests. The half-moons are filled with halloumi, egg and dried mint, boiled in chicken broth and eaten in it, with no sauce. A household makes dozens at the kitchen table and freezes them raw, which is why they belong to Sundays and name days.
Yiayia’s tip: Use fresh halloumi, not a hard brined block. Fresh, young halloumi softens and binds properly and is not overly salty once enclosed. A hard, heavily brined block stays rubbery and can turn the whole dish too salty.
Make Cypriot Halloumi and Mint Ravioli16. Cypriot Jute Mallow Stew
Molehiya · Μολόχα · moh-leh-HEE-yah
This reached Cyprus from elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean and stayed, as a village favourite. Dried jute mallow leaves, left whole, cook gently with onion, tomato and either chicken or pork. Lemon is the thing to understand. It goes in during cooking and in quantity, so the meat never makes the stew heavy.
Yiayia’s tip: Stir as little as possible. The Cypriot version prizes whole, separate leaves rather than a smooth slippery sauce. Too much stirring breaks them down and changes the texture entirely.
Make Cypriot Jute Mallow Stew17. Cypriot Yogurt and Mint Dip
Talattouri · Ταλαττούρι · tah-lah-TOO-ree
Tzatziki's Cypriot cousin, and in the bowl you could barely tell them apart. The difference is the herb. The mainland uses dill, and talattouri is built on mint, dried for depth and fresh for brightness, which makes it cooler and sharper. It sits beside whatever comes off a Cypriot grill: souvla, sheftalia or halloumi.
Yiayia’s tip: Squeeze the cucumber hard. Grated cucumber holds a lot of water. Wringing it out well is what keeps the dip thick and stops it going watery in the bowl.
Make Cypriot Yogurt and Mint Dip18. Cypriot Lentils and Rice with Onions
Moutzentra · Μουτζέντρα · moo-TZEN-drah
Lentils and rice in one pot, which every Cypriot household makes without a recipe, most often in Lent. The onions carry it: close to half a kilo, fried slowly until dark, sweet and jammy, half stirred in and half left on top. It is kin to Lebanese mujaddara, with brown lentils and more lemon.
Yiayia’s tip: Cook the lentils separately first. Lentils and rice need very different times. Getting the lentils almost tender before the rice joins them is the only reliable way to have both right at the same moment.
Make Cypriot Lentils and Rice with Onions19. Cypriot Trahanas Soup
Trahanas · Τραχανάς · trah-hah-NAHS
Cyprus eats this through the winter, feeds it to the sick and says it fixes a cold. The base is dried trahana, cracked wheat fermented with soured milk. The Cypriot bowl is thicker and more sour than the mountain version from Epirus, and halloumi is never left out: cubes that soften but keep their shape.
Yiayia’s tip: Keep the soaking water. Much of the sourness that defines trahanas has come out into it. Tipping it down the sink gives you a blander soup for no benefit.
Make Cypriot Trahanas Soup20. Cypriot Salted Yogurt Drink
Ayrani · Αϊράνι · ah-ee-RAH-nee
Yogurt, cold water and salt, whisked hard and poured over ice. Cyprus drinks it in hot weather and beside grilled meat. Leaving out the salt is the usual mistake: without it, diluted yogurt is bland and a little chalky. Cypriots make it on the thick side, with a pinch of dried mint.
Yiayia’s tip: Loosen the yogurt first. Whisking the yogurt with a splash of water before adding the rest is the only way to get it smooth. All the water at once leaves lumps you cannot whisk out afterwards.
Make Cypriot Salted Yogurt Drink21. Cypriot Clay-Pot Lamb and Rice
Tavas · Ταβάς · tah-VAHS
Named for the pot, not for anything in it. A tavas is the round, wide clay dish Cypriots bake this in: lamb, a great many onions and rice, with cumin and cinnamon. Half stew, half pilaf. Thick unglazed walls give a gentler heat than metal. A heavy cast iron casserole is the next best thing.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not lift the lid. Every check releases heat and steam that a two-and-a-half-hour covered bake depends on. Trust the time and check only near the end.
Make Cypriot Clay-Pot Lamb and Rice22. Cypriot Smoked Pork with Eggs
Lountza me avga · Λούντζα με αυγά · LOON-dzah meh av-GHAH
The meat is the dish here. Lountza is Cypriot pork tenderloin, brined and smoked, tasting partly of good bacon and partly of mild ham. It is fried alone first, until the edges crisp, and only then do the eggs go into the same pan. A standard breakfast in Cyprus, eaten at any hour.
Yiayia’s tip: No oil needed. Lountza renders enough of its own fat to cook the eggs in. Adding oil dilutes the smoky flavour that is the whole point of the dish.
Make Cypriot Smoked Pork with Eggs23. Cypriot Pickled Cauliflower and Turnip
Moungra · Μούντρα · MOON-drah
The sharp thing on a Cypriot meze table, there to cut the richness of everything fried and grilled. Cauliflower and turnip sit in vinegar brine with mustard seed, turned yellow by turmeric, and sour over about a week. This is no quick fridge pickle. Start tasting on day four. Once ready it keeps for weeks.
Yiayia’s tip: Keep everything submerged. Vegetables poking above the brine line can spoil rather than pickle. Weigh them down with a small clean stone or a folded cabbage leaf if needed.
Make Cypriot Pickled Cauliflower and Turnip24. Brandy Sour
Μπράντι Σάουρ · BRAN-dee sowr
The unofficial national cocktail of Cyprus, and it began as a disguise. Hotels in 1930s Cyprus, then under British colonial rule, wanted a drink that did not look alcoholic. Brandy mixed pale and long passed. It outlived the reason for it. Cypriot brandy, softer and slightly sweeter, is what it is built around.
Yiayia’s tip: Use lemon squash, not fresh juice. This is the detail that makes it taste like the real thing. Sweetened cordial gives a rounder sourness than fresh lemon juice alone.
Make Brandy Sour25. Cypriot Taro with Chicken
Kolokasi me kotopoulo · Κολοκάσι με κοτόπουλο · koh-loh-KAH-see meh koh-TOH-poo-loh
Built around taro, a root hardly used elsewhere in Greek cooking and everyday food in Cyprus. It tastes somewhere between potato and yam and turns soft, almost creamy, braised with chicken and celery. Its starch thickens the sauce the way potato thickens a stew. Cypriot households finish with a lot of lemon.
Yiayia’s tip: Handle raw kolokasi with care. It contains calcium oxalate crystals that can irritate skin. Peel under running water or wear gloves, and this concern disappears entirely once the root is cooked.
Make Cypriot Taro with Chicken
More Greek Cypriot Recipes
11 more, 36 in all.
KleftikoKleftiko ΚλέφτικοMain Courses · 4h 25m · serves 6
DolmadesDolmades ΝτολμάδεςMeze and Appetisers · 1h 50m · serves 8Browse other regions
Get one proper Greek recipe a week
No round-ups, no filler, no fifteen-ingredient shortcuts. One dish, written out in full, with the reasoning included.
One email a week. Unsubscribe from any of them.