Unique meat dishes in Cyprus that you should definitely try

Cyprus' Mediterranean cuisine is popular with foodies and health-food enthusiasts alike. It features an abundance of fresh vegetables, seafood and olive oil. National dishes of Cyprus consist of various vegetables, cheeses, fresh seafood, savoury sauces. Meat dishes are also a big part of the local cuisine and in this article we will tell you about the most delicious of them.

The most popular meat dishes in Cyprus

• Kleftiko. Deserves to be at the top of the list, as this is one of the most famous meat dishes on the island. Kleftiko is prepared with lamb (the classic recipe calls for the use of legs of lamb). Kleftiko is cooked in a clay oven but recipes for oven cooking are also common. The meat is served with baked potatoes and sprinkled with lemon juice if desired.
• Souvla. One of the favourite dishes of the locals. The meat for souvla does not require any preliminary treatment or marinating. The lamb or pork is simply cut into large pieces, sprinkled with spices and put on skewers. Cook the dish on a small open fire for about two hours. Souvla can be found in almost all local taverns and restaurants. Besides, the dish is very easy to prepare and anyone can do it, especially if you have cooked kebabs at least once. To make the dish as tasty as possible, during the first hour the skewers should be placed high on the charcoal and only shortly before serving should the meat be placed close to the fire. Then it gets delicious golden crust. The souvla is eaten with fresh Cypriot seasonal vegetables and pita bread.
• Stifado. Fresh beef is at the heart of this dish. It is stewed in a tomato sauce with onions, garlic and various spices. Before cooking, the meat is cut into large chunks and roasted. After that, the meat is stewed with the vegetables for two hours. For extra flavour wine is added in the cooking. The wines of Cyprus offer a wide variety of tastes and the choice may also influence the taste of the meat.
• Kotopoulo kolokasi. This is made with chicken and taro, a vegetable that resembles potatoes. The chicken is fried with onions and celery and then stewed together with large pieces of taro. Served with tomato and vegetable sauce.
• Loukanika. According to the legend, this dish was invented in Lucania in the times BC, where the Romans discovered it and since then, loukanika has become one of the most popular meat dishes in Cyprus. Loukanika is a long thin sausage made from mixed ground pork, lamb and beef meat. When the sausages are formed, they are soaked in wine, then smoked, dried and fried just before serving.
• Kefalakia. An unusual dish which not everyone will like. Kefalaki is the head of a lamb cooked in an oven. The whole head is used for the dish, it is cooked in the oven for over 10 hours.

All the dishes mentioned above can be found on the menus of the island's restaurants and cafes. And after you've satisfied your hunger, have a cup of Cypriot coffee or try one of the other popular Cyprus drinks.

Cyprus traditional meat dishes recipes which you can cook at home

Some meat dishes in Cyprus are really difficult to prepare as they require unusual ingredients, or the cooking procedure is quite complex and involves many steps, like cooking kefalaki, for instance. However, there are some really simple ones that everyone can cook at home. Below are some popular and delicious meat dishes of Cyprus.

• Kleftiko

Ingredients: 0.8kg lamb, 250ml white wine, 1 tbsp honey, 3-4 potatoes, 4 carrots, 3 onions, garlic, thyme, oregano and mint.

Procedure: Wash the lamb, cut into pieces and cover with marinade. The marinade is prepared with wine with honey and all the spices mentioned above. Mix all the ingredients and coat the meat with it, then bake with potatoes in rough foil. At the temperature of 210-260 degrees the dish is cooked for 20 minutes and then slow cooked at the temperature of 150 degrees for about an hour and a half more.

• Souvla

Ingredients: 1 kg pork, 1 onion, 1 pepper, 1 tomato, 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, oregano, black pepper, juice of half a lemon.

Procedure: Cut the pork into large cubes. The onion and pepper are also cut in large pieces, the garlic is squeezed and mixed with the olive oil, lemon juice and oregano. Mix the meat, peppers and onions with the marinade and season with salt. Put pieces of meat, alternating with the vegetables, on wooden skewers soaked in water. According to the classic recipe, souvla is cooked over charcoal like kebabs. They can also be cooked in the oven. In this case, a tray is covered with foil, a rack is placed over it, and meat skewers are placed on it. Cook the souvla in the oven for half an hour at 180 degrees.

• Stifado

Ingredients: 1 kg of beef, 750 ml of pureed tomatoes, 500 g of onions, 200 ml of olive oil, 250 ml of red wine, 2 tablespoons of wine vinegar, pepper, rosemary, oregano, sugar, bay leaf, spices, sage.

Procedure: First, prepare a marinade with olive oil, red wine, wine vinegar and bay leaf, pepper, garlic and sage. Coarsely chopped meat is placed in the marinade and left for 24 hours. Afterwards, fry an onion in a frying pan and remove from the fire. In the same oil, fry the marinated meat. Then transfer the meat to a deep saucepan, marinade, add grated tomatoes and spices, bring it all to the boil and stew. After about half an hour, fried onions are added to the pot, and everything is cooked together for about an hour more.

So, meat dishes in Cyprus are really worth a try. In addition, the island offers plenty of tasty and healthy vegetable dishes, a variety of cheeses, delicious desserts and refreshing drinks. The island is well worth visiting for its wonderful food, not to mention its extensive historical heritage, azure waters, modern Cyprus real estate and convenient infrastructure.