Kefalotyri

Kefalotyri is the hard, salty grating cheese underneath a great deal of Greek and Cypriot cooking, made from sheep's milk or a sheep and goat mix and aged for at least three months until it is firm enough to grate to a powder. Its name comes from kefali, meaning head, a reference to the shape of the wheel it is pressed into rather than to anything about its flavour.

It does two jobs. Grated fine, it seasons pastitsio, makaronia tou fournou and any plate of pasta that wants salt and sheep-milk sharpness rather than the milder nuttiness graviera gives. Cut into a thick slab, floured and fried, it is the classic saganaki cheese, firm enough to brown in a hot pan and soften inside without running out across the surface.

Pecorino romano is the closest substitute outside Greece, nearer than parmesan, which is drier and sweeter. The one thing to watch is salt. Kefalotyri is genuinely salty, so a dish finished with a generous grating of it needs less salt earlier on, and a bechamel or meat sauce seasoned normally and then topped with kefalotyri usually arrives at the table over-salted.