Tsamarella

Tsamarella is goat meat that has been salted and dried in the sun, then finished with oregano. It belongs to the parts of Cyprus where goats were kept, mainly the Marathasa valley, Pitsilia and the Paphos hills, and it was a way of keeping meat through the year without a fridge. Turkish Cypriots make it too, under the name samarella.

The method is simple but slow. Boned goat meat, mostly from the leg and the fore-shank, is cut into large pieces, slashed with a knife and salted, then pressed overnight so the salt works in. The next day it goes out in the sun for five to ten days, depending on the weather, and is turned every day so it dries evenly. After that it is dipped a few times into very hot water, for two or three minutes each time, sprinkled with dried oregano and put back in the sun for one more day.

The result is dark, firm and very salty, with the smell of oregano and the gamey edge of goat. It is eaten in small amounts, sliced thin as a meze, usually with zivania, the Cypriot grape spirit, or with village wine, and with bread and olives on the side.

Apohtin is made the same way but with the meat left on the bone, sometimes from a whole animal opened out flat.

Tsamarella is still made at home in the villages as well as by meat producers. Because it is cured by drying in the open air, buy it from a producer who makes it to food safety standards rather than copying the village method at home.