Every dish tells a story
I first came across bamia in Damascus. Otherwise known as okra, ladies fingers or gumbo, the bamia is a green, hairy vegetable, a few inches long and tapered at one end. Thought to be a native of Africa, this strange-looking vegetable is actually the seedpod […]
There’s nothing like a well-cooked roast potato. Cooks and chefs reputations have turned on the quality of their ‘roasties’. There have been more recipes and articles written on how to make the perfect roast potato than any other food. Well, not quite but it does […]
The colour was washed-out purple, like clothes that had accidentally been dyed in the washing machine. It looked nothing like the traditional Cypriot dish I had eaten in the local taverna the night before. However, the owner assured me that this was the genuine recipe.
This very colourful omelette was served to me in Cyprus as the Greek dish strapatsada. Not knowing any better, I cooked it and called it by that name for years until I discovered that the only ingredients they both have in common are tomatoes, eggs and olive oil.
I first came across these nutritious little beans in Paphos when I first went to live there in the early 1980’s. I thought they were like any dried bean, so I bought some from the grocer, took them home, soaked them overnight and next day put them in a large saucepan […]
Olives Love them or hate them, in the Middle East and Cyprus, they appear on the table at practically every meal. I can’t remember when I first tasted olives, but I know I didn’t like them. The first ones I tried were small, black and bitter. I […]
