Makarounotes Chylopites (or hilopites) are traditional Greek egg and milk pasta. They are either cut long like tagliatelle and fettuccine or in very small pieces of about 1 cm long which are ideal as a side dish or in soups. Makarounotes are the long ones, which take their name after the word “makaroni”, which is a description of the long pasta to distinguish them from the smaller ones.
Greek Traditions
Glyko Bergamonto or Bergamot fruit preserve is one of the most delicious and aromatic Greek fruit preserves (glyka tou koutaliou in Greek).
Akoumia Symiaka (means doughnuts or donuts from Symi island). Symi is a small island of the Dodekanese to the north of Rhodes. These akoumia are not widely known even by Greeks because they are Symi’s local traditional doughnut recipe and are made only on the island of Symi.
Kalon Prama, which is the Cypriot name for Samali, is a moist, eggless, semolina cake, made with sheep’s milk yoghurt, flavoured with mastic and bathed in syrup.
Melitzanosalata is a traditional Greek vegan dip / appetizer made with eggplants which have been charred over charcoal or over an open flame, until the skin blisters, to get a smoky taste. The skin is then removed, as well as the seeds, if any, and the eggplant is either finely chopped, mashed with a fork or pureed.
Melitzanes Papoutsakia (pronounced pah-pou-TSA -kya) are stuffed eggplants with meat sauce, topped with a rich bechamel sauce and then baked. The word “papoutsakia” in Greek means little shoes and probably they are named after their shape.
Giouvarlakia, pronounced yiou-var-LA-kia, is a Greek soup with meatballs using ground veal, pork or chicken, rice, herbs and spices cooked and thickened with a lemony avgolemono sauce.
Koupes with Mushrooms is a snack we love eating in Cyprus, during the fasting period. These are available in most bakeries but you can also buy them frozen in the supermarkets.
Skordalia is a dip made by combining crushed garlic and mashed potatoes or stale bread (soaked in water) and nuts, and then olive oil is added to make a smooth emulsion.
Spanakoryzo also written spanakorizo, pronounced spah-nah-KOH-reeh-zoh, is a traditional healthy and delicious Greek vegan dish, made with spinach and rice.