Looking at these pictures for Cyprus makes me so hungry. Even though I just ate dinner. I could definitely eat that whole plate again right now. I can almost smell it.
Cyprus celebrated its Independence Day on October 1st, so in honor of that I cooked some traditional Cypriot food.
As you can see in the picture above, halloumi is the “traditional cheese of Cyprus.” It’s made from sheep’s milk and has a firm, almost squeaky texture, like paneer or cheese curds. It’s great for cooking because it holds its shape and doesn’t melt like softer cheeses.
When halloumi is made, it’s wrapped in mint leaves, which is why you’ll find green specks when you open the package.
Since it has such a firm texture, it’s perfect for frying or grilling.
It only needs a couple minutes on each side to give it a nice brown color and crisp it up.
Unfortunately you can’t eat just cheese for dinner (I mean, I definitely could but probably shouldn’t) so I made some pickled cauliflower to go along with it. It is possible that cauliflower actually originated in Cyprus; it’s definitely known that it comes from the northern Mediterranean, but was associated with Cyprus in particular in the Middle Ages, and it used to be known in French as “choux de Chypre.”
There is a traditional Cypriot cauliflower dish called moungra, which involves adding yeast and letting it ferment. I didn’t go that route because I didn’t read about it until right before cooking and buying ingredients, so I didn’t have time for fermenting. Plus, fermentation still kind of scares me. Instead, I just pickled it in a mixture of red wine vinegar, bay leaves, and peppercorns.
I served the halloumi topped with mint and a drizzle of balsamic. The tanginess of the cauliflower definitely helped cut the saltiness of the cheese, meaning a slice of halloumi and a floret of cauliflower tucked into a piece of pita made for the perfect bite.
Speaking of pita, I had originally planned on making my own pita. I’ve successfully made flatbread before, so I figured I would try my hand at it. Unfortunately it did not go well. I think the ratios in the dough mixture were off on the recipe I used, so I may try again sone time, just with a different recipe.
Recipes Used: Halloumi // Cauliflower
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