Cypriot cuisine is shaped by the island's Mediterranean climate, geography, and history. The majority of its recipes are based on Greek cuisine and the Mediterranean Diet, which is one of the healthiest in the world, using fresh, wholesome ingredients. Cyprus's strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean, situated between the crossroads of three continents, had brought to the island many conquerors and thus its cuisine has evolved into an amalgamation of diverse tastes and textures, with an unmistakable mark that makes it undeniably Cypriot. You will see influences from the Ottomans and its neighbouring Middle Eastern countries but there are also remnants of French, Italian, and Anglo-Saxon influences stemming from the island's occupation by the French Lusignans, the Venetians, the Ottomans and the British. The cookbook is a collection of over 150 of the best traditional Greek-Cypriot recipes, fully revised and updated with a fresh, modern new look, a brief history of the recipe, clear instructions, useful tips and over 160 mouthwatering pictures. The recipes are written both in the U.S. and the metric system and substitutes are given for local ingredients. Cypriots are Orthodox and almost half of the year is fasting period, so a lot of the recipes are nistisima (vegan). Mediterranean food is delicious, easy, inexpensive and, of course, healthy. In the cookbook you will find a lot of recipes, which reflect on the simplicity of the Mediterranean style of eating, ranging from the classic makaronia tou fourniou (pastitsio) and moussakas, sheftalia, ravioles, koupepia, bourekia, flaounes, kolokotes, daktyla, loukoumia (delights), mahalepi, to more complicated recipes such as bombari, zalatina, pastitsia (almond cookies), shiamishi, loukoumia tou gamou and more. The author has included a small sample of her own recipes, always based on the traditional principles of the Mediterranean diet, such as louvanosalata, a dip with yellow split peas, galeos marinatos (marinated tope fish), moussakas and pastitsio nistimo (vegan), sykotakia me lahanika (chicken giblets with vegetables), caramelized spiced dry fruit in wine. The cookbook is not only addressed to the lovers of Greek food in general but is also a handbook to all the Greeks of "diaspora" who will not only get back to the simple hearty fare of their childhood by recreating the recipes of their ancestors but will also come closer to their culture and heritage. http: //kopiaste.org Kopiaste!
About the Author: Ivy Liacopoulou was born in Limassol, Cyprus. She worked in the Airline industry for many years and later on opened a bookstore, which she run for several years. After early retirement in 2007, she created her blog "Kopiaste" and decided to record the traditional recipes of her country, as a heritage to her children. The author is an experienced home cook, being married for many years. She worked in a family restaurant in Cyprus, as an Assistant chef and now is a culinary instructor, in Nafplion, Peloponnese, Greece, where she lives. Ivy belongs to a new generation of home cooks who loves to experiment and create new recipes of her own. Her creativeness and passion for cooking are depicted in her blog, "Kopiaste". For those who do not know Greek, "kopiaste" is an expression often used in Cyprus and is a polite way of inviting somebody to come inside. It literally means "make an effort to" but it is also synonymous to "welcome". In Cyprus, we say "kopiaste" when we want to invite someone in our house, to share our food with others or when we open our house to friends and invite them to come and make themselves at home. So, in her way Ivy is inviting you into her virtual kitchen to share with you her recipes and all her "little" secrets, behind hundreds of home-style recipes that have been part of her family's heritage for many years. After cooking her recipes, you will taste and scent the delectable, mouthwatering aromas of cinnamon, mint and blossom water, the predominant flavours of Cypriot cuisine, which hopefully will evoke wonderful memories.