The seasonal delights of Cypriot meze by Aileen Torrance 
A typical spread of meze-and there's more on the way.
Photo courtesy of Aileen Torrance. |
Meze is the jewel in the crown of Cypriot cuisine, best experienced in a village taverna far from the crowds on the beachfront. Like Spanish tapas, a meze meal consists of a selection of small taster dishes allowing you to sample the full range of house specialties. The great thing about them is that they are truly seasonal and therefore rarely the same each week.
Grada Taverna in Oroklini village, less than a mile from the big hotels on the beach outside Larnaca, is a great place to sample meze, boasting more than 40 dishes. A tiny place buzzing with locals who come from as far away as Nicosia and Agia Napa to sample the cooking, it's overseen by Jasmine, with husband Nicos in the kitchen (although he frequently ventures into Jasmine's territory to check that everyone is happy). The first cold dishes are brought swiftly to your table almost as soon as you've ordered, but you're not expected to clear one dish before the next comes. Dishes vary, but here's a sample to whet your appetite from a couple of my recent visits:
Cold appetizers: village salad with pita bread, tzatsiki, skordalia (garlic dip), spicy tomato dip, a selection of olives, pickles and beetroot, roasted red pepper, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, smoked lamb, beef and ham, garlic and lemon mashed potatoes, feta dip, smoked eggplant dip, tyrokafteri (pepper and feta dip), two types of carrot salad, pomegranate and onion salad, red cabbage salad, avocado dip… Hot appetizers: grilled oyster mushrooms, mushrooms stuffed with cheese, lunza (smoked ham) grilled with haloumi cheese, village sausage (not for delicate stomachs), spicy village sausage, eggs scrambled with mushrooms and zucchini, deep fried artichokes… These may be followed by stews and grilled meat: snails in red wine and coriander, liver in red wine, afelia (pork stewed in coriander), stifado (beef stew), chicken kebabs, spicy pork kebabs, grilled pork fillet, minced lamb kebabs… If you're still hungry, there's fruit, coffee and a local liqueur included, all for 9 Cypriot pounds (that's about $18) a head. Grada Tavern, 5 Pedias Street, Oroklini; tel. +357-2464-7122. |
