Dips, pickles and bean salads are typical meze openers, but you're not meant to fill up on them -- a great meze comprises at least 20 dishes and takes all evening to polish off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Editor's note: CNN's On the Road series brings you a greater insight into the customs and culture of Cyprus. CNN.com explores the places, the people and the passions unique to this eastern Mediterranean island

(CNN) -- Pizza joints, sushi bars, "British" pubs, curry houses and Thai restaurants rule in Cyprus's sprawling resort areas, far outnumbering humble Cypriot places.

But you can find true indigenous dining in urban parts such as Limassol, Larnaca or Nicosia if you follow groups of determined-looking Cypriots around lunch or dinnertime.

The search is easier if you head for the hills, to smaller villages with fewer visitors.

Either way, you'll find menus that blend flavors inherited from Greece, Venice, Turkey and the Middle East.

Spices such as cumin, cinnamon and coriander enrich many dishes.

Cypriot cooks also use lots of wild and foraged ingredients, including greens such as kapari (wild capers), the tiny snails called karaoli and game including rabbit, hare and partridge.

1. Meze time

A meze meal is a great way to sample the best of Cypriot food at one sitting.

Meze isn't unique to Cyprus -- the tradition of serving a generous array of small savory dishes is common all over the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Squeaks in .. grilled haloumi comes after the cold starters.

But many of the individual meze dishes you'll find in Cyprus are peculiar to the island.

A typical meze table begins with dips such as tahini, pickles, stuffed vine leaves and cold bean salads.

Grilled halloumi cheese will likely follow, along with spicy sausages such as loukanika, often simmered in red wine.

Then comes more meat -- grilled on the spit, skewered or barbecued over charcoal. Pork gets top billing, but lamb and chicken play supporting roles.

A meze that mixes fish and meat is heresy, so if you have a yen for something maritime, you must seek out a taverna that specializes in seafood.

Here, the platters will be piled with fried or grilled red mullet, whitebait, shrimp, fried baby squid and octopus or cuttlefish simmered in red wine and spices.

Tip: pacing is essential. It's all too easy to eat your fill from the first round, leaving no room for dishes to follow.

A great meze comprises at least 20 dishes -- it should take all evening to polish them off.

Top places to spend a meze evening include 7 St George's Tavern(Yeroskepos, Paphos; +357 2696 3176; reservations essential) in Geroskipou, just a few kilometers from downtown Paphos.

In Nicosia, many residents say the lountza and haloumi at Mezostrati(Evagorou 31; +357 2266 2727) are the best in town.

READ: 10 things that make Cyprus unique

2. Karaoli yahni

The tiny wild snails called karaoli emerge in vast numbers with the autumn rains.

Karaoli are gathered by the bucket-load and served in tomato sauce.

They're especially common in the Akamas peninsula, the island's wild western tip, where they're gathered by the bucket-load and served simmered in tomato sauce.

A good place to try them is at Kouppas Stone Castle (Neo Chorio, Akamas; +357 2632 2526) in the old fashioned stone village of Neo Chorio, five kilometers south of the fishing harbor at Lakki.

3. Koupepia

Tender young vine leaves are at their best in spring, when they're used to wrap minced lamb or pork and rice to make this typical snack, served hot or cold.

In winter, cabbage leaves are used instead of vine leaves.

4. Poikilia

A glass of Cypriot wine or zivania (grape spirit) should rarely be served alone. It usually comes accompanied by an assortment of savory dishes -- poikilia.

Among the best are cold cuts such as tsamarella (sun-cured goat thigh), hiromeri (pork thigh marinated in wine, then pressed and wood-smoked) or pastourma, Cyprus's take on salt beef.

5. Afelia

Cypriot food isn't all about small plates -- hearty eaters will be more than satisfied.

Pork plays a leading role in traditional cuisine, and afelia can claim to be the country's signature dish.

Lean chunks of pork are marinated in red wine, flavored with cumin, cinnamon and coriander, then simmered in a clay casserole until meltingly tender.

6. Sheftalia

Sheftalia are herb-flavored sausages of minced pork or lamb, which often anchor a meze platter but are also served as a meaty main course.

Esteemed for its sausages is Agrino (Lofos village, 12 kilometers north of Limassol; +357 2581 3777), the gourmet restaurant at Apokryfo, a boutique hotel in a hill village above Limassol.

7. Kolokasi

A dish unique to Cyprus, kolokasi (taro) has been grown here since Roman times.

Chunks of taro root are simmered with chicken or pork in a sauce of caramelized tomatoes, onions and celery, spiked with lemon juice and served with olives and radishes.

It's also often made without meat for the Lenten fast.

8. Oktapodi krasato

Add coriander, cumin, red wine, then eat.

You're never far from the sea in Cyprus and seafood restaurants abound.

Many are mediocre, serving farmed and frozen fish to unwary tourists.

MORE: Is this the world's oldest wine?

For something distinctively Cypriot, there are places offering dishes such as oktapodi krasato -- chunks of tenderized octopus spiced with coriander and cumin and simmered in red wine.

Zephyros (Piyale Pasa 37, Larnaca; +357 2465 7198), where the seafood comes straight from the little harbor right next door, is a good choice.

9. Vegetarian dishes

The Cypriot menu is meat-heavy, but -- because devout Orthodox Christians eschew meat during Lent -- there are plenty of veggie options, including anthous (courgette flowers stuffed with rice and feta cheese) and louvi me lahana (black eyed beans served cold with wild greens, oil and lemon juice) and dips, such as tahini.

Vasiliki (Digeni Akrita 28a, Nicosia; +357 2234 9803; lunch only) has a good array of dips, pulses, salads and other vegetarian dishes.

10. Ravioles

Ravioles are part of the culinary legacy left by the Venetians, who ruled Cyprus from 1489 to 1571.

Similar to Italian ravioli, these pasta parcels are stuffed with haloumi cheese, then simmered in chicken broth.

Delicious, and filling, they're especially good at Erinias restaurant (Archbishop Kyprianos 64A, Nicosia, +357 224 22860).

11. Pasteli

And so to sweet things.

Anogyra is the place to find sticky toffee called pasteli that's still made the old way from the juice pressed from the carob bean. It's known as mavros chrysos ("black gold").

The Pasteli Museum (daily, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; +357 2522 2357) tells the story of carob growing in Cyprus, and you can sample and buy pasteli and other carob items in the nearby Pasteli Factory (+357 2522 1500).

驟降，鹹菜和豆腐沙拉是典型的開胃菜嘆為觀止，但你不是為了填補他們 - 一個偉大的開胃菜包括至少20種食品，並採取一切傍晚擦亮了。

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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梅澤的起來

 

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故事突出

• 塞浦路斯菜餚融合了希臘，威尼斯，土耳其和中東風味
• 但快餐店遠遠超過原住民餐館在度假村
• 你可以找到真正的交易在山上的村莊 - 一個開胃菜餐提供了多達20小菜餚嘗試

編者按： CNN的論道系列為您帶來更大的洞察的習俗和文化塞浦路斯。CNN.com探索的地方，人民和激情獨有的地中海東部島國

（CNN） -比薩關節，壽司店，“英國”的酒吧，咖哩屋和泰國餐館排除在塞浦路斯的蔓延度假區，遠遠超出了謙虛塞的地方。

但你可以找到在城市部件，如利馬索爾，拉納卡或尼科西亞真正的土著餐飲，如果你按照各地午餐或晚餐來確定前瞻性塞組。

搜索更容易，如果你前往岡，小村莊，遊客相對較少。

無論哪種方式，你會發現菜單，調味來自希臘，威尼斯，土耳其和中東繼承。

香料，如小茴香，肉桂，芫荽，豐富了很多菜。

塞廚師還使用大量的野生和覓食的成分，包括蔬菜如Kapari酒店（野生花蕾），微小的蝸牛叫karaoli和遊戲，包括兔子，野兔和鷓鴣。

1，梅澤時間

一個開胃菜餐是一個偉大的方式來品嚐最好的食物塞在一個會議。

梅澤是不是唯一的塞浦路斯 - 服務小鹹味的菜餚豐盛陣列的傳統是常見的遍布地中海東部和中東地區。

在..烤haloumi尖叫聲而來的冷起動後。

但許多個別的開胃小吃美食，你會發現在塞浦路斯所特有的島嶼。

一個典型的開胃菜桌開始驟降，如芝麻醬，泡菜，釀葡萄葉和冷豆腐沙拉。

烤halloumi奶酪很可能會跟隨，連同辣香腸等loukanika，經常煮紅酒。

然後是更多的肉 - 烤就吐，肉串或烤過的木炭。豬肉得到最優先的檔期，但羊肉和雞肉發揮支持作用。

混合了魚和肉一個開胃菜是異端，所以如果你有東西海上一日元，你必須找出一個小酒館，專門從事海鮮。

在這裡，盤片就會越積越用油炸或烤紅鯔魚，銀魚，蝦，炒小魷魚和章魚或烏賊煮紅酒和香料。

提示：起搏是必不可少的。這一切都太容易從第一輪吃個夠，不留下任何餘地菜餚遵循。

一個偉大的開胃菜包括至少20種食品 - 它應該採取一切日晚擦亮它們趕走。

頂部的地方度過一個開胃菜包括晚上7聖喬治酒館（Yeroskepos，帕福斯，+357 2696 3176，預約s 必需）在Geroskipou，距離帕福斯市中心僅有幾公里。

在尼科西亞，很多居民說，lountza和haloumi在Mezostrati（Evagorou 31; +357 2266 2727）是最好的位置。

閱讀：10的東西，使塞浦路斯獨特

2。Karaoli yahni

所謂karaoli這種微小的野生蝸牛出現在廣大的秋雨。

Karaoli由鬥載荷收集和番茄醬。

它們特別常見於阿卡馬斯半島，島上的野生西端，在那裡他們被鬥載荷收集並擔任煮番茄醬。

一個很好的嘗試他們是在Kouppas石城（新絨毛膜，阿卡馬斯; +357 2632 2526）在老式的石頭村新絨毛膜，在南方的Lakki漁港五公里。

3。Koupepia

投標年輕的藤葉長得最好在春天，當他們用來包裹切碎的羊肉或豬肉和大米，使這個典型的小吃，熱食或冷。

在冬季，白菜葉來代替藤葉。

4。Poikilia

中塞葡萄酒或zivania（葡萄靈）玻璃應該很少單獨提供。它通常是伴隨著鹹味的菜餚品種 - poikilia。

其中最好的是冷盤，如tsamarella（曬煙羊大腿），hiromeri（大腿豬肉醃製酒，然後按下並木熏）或pastourma，塞浦路斯的採取咸牛肉。

5。Afelia

塞食物是不是所有的中小板 - 豐盛的食客將超過滿意。

豬肉起著傳統美食主導作用，並afelia可以算得上是該國的招牌菜。

豬肉的瘦肉塊被浸泡在紅葡萄酒，調味用小茴香，肉桂，香菜，再燜在砂鍋粘土熔化地，直到招標。

6。Sheftalia

Sheftalia是剁碎的豬肉或羊肉香草味的香腸，這往往錨的開胃菜拼盤而且還擔任過肉的主菜。

尊敬它的香腸是Agrino（Lofos村，利馬索爾以北12公里; +357 2581 3777），美食餐廳Apokryfo，一家精品酒店，在一個小山村里上面利馬索爾。

7。Kolokasi

阿菜獨特的塞浦路斯，kolokasi（芋頭）一直在這裡自羅馬時代開始增長。

芋頭根塊被煮的雞肉或豬肉焦糖西紅柿，洋蔥和芹菜汁，摻入檸檬汁和橄欖和蘿蔔擔任。

它也常常使無肉的四旬期快。

8。Ø Ķ tapodi krasato

加入香菜，小茴香，紅葡萄酒，然後吃。

你永遠不會遠離海洋塞浦路斯和海鮮餐館比比皆是。

很多都是平庸，養殖及冷凍魚類供應給粗心的遊客。

更多：這是世界上最古老的酒？

對於一些獨特塞，還有的地方，提供的菜餚，如oktapodi krasato - 五香香菜，小茴香煮紅酒嫩章魚塊。

澤菲羅斯（Piyale婆娑37，拉納卡; +357 2465 7198），那裡的海鮮直接來自小港口隔壁，是個不錯的選擇。

9。素食菜餚

塞浦路斯菜單是肉重，但 - 因為虔誠的東正教基督徒在四旬期避開肉 - 有大量的素食選擇，包括anthous（西葫蘆花塞滿了大米和羊奶酪）和louvi我lahana（黑眼豆冷​​食與野生蔬菜，油和檸檬汁）和凹陷，如芝麻醬。

瓦西莉奇（Digeni Akrita 28A，尼科西亞; +357 2234 9803;午餐只）有蘸料，豆類，沙拉等素食菜餚的好數組。

10。Raviole s

Ravioles是烹飪遺產由威尼斯人，誰統治塞浦路斯1489年至1571年留下的一部分。

類似的意大利餛飩，這些麵食包裹都塞滿了haloumi奶酪，然後在雞湯燜。

美味，灌裝，他們在Erinias餐廳（尤其是良好的大主教Kyprianos 64A，尼科西亞，+357 224 22860）。

11。Pasteli

因此，對於甜的東西。

Anogyra是找到粘太妃糖稱為pasteli這仍然從刺槐豆壓汁做舊的方式的地方。它被稱為MAVROS CHRYSOS（“黑金”）。

該Pasteli博物館（每日上午8時至下午5時; +357 2522 2357）告訴豆角塞浦路斯成長的故事，你可以在附近的Pasteli廠（樣片和購買pasteli等長豆角項目+357 2522 1500）。