Diples (pronounced diip-LESS), which means folded, is another traditional Christmas sweet pastry, made in many parts of Greece especially in the Peloponnese. These are the desserts they serve at weddings, christenings, engagements etc. but are also very popular during Christmas.
Greek Traditions
Pischies is a Cypriot traditional fried pastry dessert made with dough on which it is generously brushed with olive oil, cinnamon and sugar and after shaping them they are fried in olive oil and then bathed in syrup.
Vassilopita is a traditional Greek cake or bread with a coin inside, named after St. Basil, which is made for New Year’s Day. Vassilopita is made in two ways. One is a sweet kind of brioche bread called “tsoureki” and the other an orange flavoured cake.
Koupes, is a street food we find in Cyprus, made of bulgur wheat and filled with ground meat, which is served as a snack or as part of a mezes dish.
Galopoula Gemisti, is the Cypriot stuffed roasted turkey which is filled with finely chopped chicken giblets, rice, almonds and raisins.
The word soutzoukakia derives from the Turkish soujouk, which is a dry, spicy, sausage and the Greek suffix -akia, meaning “small”. The fact that it derives from the Turkish word does not mean, of course, that this is Turkish, as in Wikipedia we often see various things named as Turkish, when in fact they …
Potato croquettes (from the French verb “croquer”, which means to crunch, are mashed potatoes in which more ingredients are used for taste.
Kolokythokeftedes (pr. ko-lo-kee-tho-ke-FTE-thes) are fried patties made of grated courgettes (zucchini) – (kolokythia), as well as other herbs depending on preference, flour, bread crumbs. feta and egg to bind the mixture together.
Lamb or goat ofton kleftiko is an easy, rustic, traditional Greek dish made with lamb, cooked in the oven wrapped in parchment paper.
These Cypriot Kourabiedes are similar to the Greek ones but they are made with spry shortening, which makes them soft and fluffy.