pastries – Lessons I learned after I turned 30

Breakfast is best eaten abroad

Long-term memory works in fascinating ways. Mine certainly does. I remember some things in every single detail whilst others I completely forget.

And random memories come to me at random times.

Yesterday I woke up tired. It’s been a busy week. Somehow and out of the blue this vivid memory from three years ago suddenly came to my mind. Sheba and I were in Berlin, on the hunt for breakfast and we thought we’d check out the quirky cafe our AirBnb hostess suggested. That was one of the best breakfasts I ever had.

A great selection of fruit, warm bread, mozzarella, tomato, prosciutto, a boiled egg, olive pate. Everything was fresh and tasted amazing. Such a simple but delicious, full of flavour and full of goodness breakfast.

That got me thinking. A day earlier I was telling my colleagues how the best English breakfast I had was at a small hotel in the mountains, The Royal Ship Dolgellau in Wales. Every single ingredient was locally sourced and tasted incredible. Do you sense a theme here?

Food tastes better when on a holiday, a break, away from work and routine. Especially breakfast. The first meal of the day. It may just be that it happened that the quality of the food was way more superb in these two occasions but no…

The breakfast my wonderful AirBnb hostess Malvina served me every morning when I was in Bordeaux… (I can still taste the homemade honey)

…the fresh pastries the hotel owner we stayed in Rome brought us every day…

and the traditional ones we got from Prozymi bakery in Protaras last September (what I wouldn’t give for a tahinopitta right now)…

I came to the realisation that breakfast (well not just breakfast) tastes much better on holiday mode, weekend mode, break mode, especially in the sunshine, with beautiful views.

I got up, made some porridge and counted how many days I have left before I have a long-term hopefully, break from routine. I reckon breakfast will taste amazing from that day on.

I’d love to hear some of your favourite breakfast meals you had away. Or maybe that’s only me?

Eleni

A taste of Greece at Giagia Victoria cafe.

Right next to the Ledras barricade and crossing point to the ‘Turkish side of the city’, there’s a little cafe bringing some of the most traditional flavours of Greece to Cyprus, Giagia (Grandma) Victoria.

Its beautiful yard is literally right next to the barrels and barbed wire. Fascinating and deeply sad if you are Cypriot or know about Cypriot history.

We made it there on a sunny New Year’s eve, the city centre bursting with music, traditional New Year carols (καλαντα Πρωτοχρονιας) and delicious smells as people in the shops took out their foukou (BBQ), put the meat on the large skewers and waited for their souvla (large pieces of meat cooked on a long skewer over a charcoal barbecue, a Cypriot, largest version of souvlaki), Cyprus national dish, to be grilled. God we love our food in Cyprus and any occasion to make souvla, we take.

The cafe itself looks amazing, with vintage decor, as if it came out of a 50’s Greek movie. It’s known for serving traditional ‘Politika’ (Constantinople) and other treats. There’s something so nostalgic about it I can’t explain.

The food on offer: delicious.

Freshly made bougatsa (Greek breakfast/snack pastry) and pita (pastries not pita bread) with savoury (spinach, cheese, chicken) and sweet fillings (the traditional and infamous sweet and full of cream), other Greek traditional pastries such as tsoureki (sweet bread) and kourou (mini pies) and desserts, many, many desserts from simple cakes to complex chocolate puddings.

We went for spanakopita (spinach filled pastry), kotopita (chicken), tiropita (cheese) and the traditional mpougatsa me krema (sweet cream).

The coffee (Ι went for a Cypriot traditional one and co-incidentally they served the brand my dad has worked for over 30 years, Kafes tou Laikou) is served in the traditional briki (coffee pot) enhancing the already authentic experience.

The service is quick and friendly and the prices, very reasonable for what’s on offer.

Just before we left we got some puddings to have at home. Dessert heaven.

No wonder Paul Hollywood visited a while ago and the owner showed him how he made his delicious treats. How on earth he flips that fylo without breaking? Magic!

If I lived back home, I’d be there every day.

Eleni

PS Thank you to my little sister Anna for some of the wonderful pictures.

Summer in Cyprus- the Glorious Food

There’s always food when I visit home.

The fridge is full with left over dinner, vegetables, sandwich fillings and whatever else you can imagine, there’s something freshly made in the oven or on the hob and plenty of snacks if you are just feeling peckish. But every time I go, I make time to try the countless cafes, bakeries, tavernas and restaurants this little island has in abundance. Hope you have a snack in hand because this will quite possibly make you hungry.

Breakfast

A typical summer breakfast can vary, from just halloumi and watermelon, toast, halloumi and lountza in pita bread accompanied by freshly cut tomatoes and cucumber, olives, fried eggs and the list goes on but what I particularly love is an ice cold frappe and warm, fresh pastries from the bakery (you can literally find one in every corner). Again the fillings can vary from spinach and feta to chicken, olives or if you have a sweet tooth, tahini and have I mentioned halloumi?

Since we were on holiday I couldn’t resist. A local traditional bakery was only a 5 minutes drive, To Prozymi and it did not disappoint.

Lunch

I will not even attempt to list what you can have for lunch but there’s something for everyone, from delicious salads to souvlaki, or if you are feeling very hungry and you don’t mind the heat, casserole dishes are always on offer. The little sister and I tried a new cafe in the Nicosia city centre, a bit hidden, called Zest and oh my, it was a-m-az-ing. Beautiful, minimal decor and the food was I kid you not, to die for. Unique recipes, beautifully executed. We had the juicy, mouth watering courgette and chicken burgers in warm pita bread topped with yogurt dressing served with fresh salad and a slice of their superb raspberry and hazelnut cake.

Dinner

You can’t visit Cyprus and not have a souvlaki. On our short break in Protaras I had a delicious chicken souvlaki at the Butchery and Co Grillhouse. I also got to try their cheese stuffed sausage. Extremely unhealthy but finger licking. It is hard to find a decent restaurant in a highly touristy area but the food there was reasonably priced and very tasty. Definitely worth a try.

And of course you cannot not visit a taverna and indulge in a huge amount of scrumptious Cypriot meze, our version of tapas. On a family outing, on a warm Monday evening, we visited Louis Tavern in Nicosia, a little cute restaurant in the Pallouriotissa area and we loved every dish. Kefte, halloumi, paidakia (ribs), chicken and pork souvlaki, liver, mushrooms, fried courgette and eggs, halloumi, tzatziki, salads, the whole lot. And for dessert, traditional sweet, syrup-y pastries and fruit. Each taverna do their own meze with different dishes, so you may get different variety depending where you go.

Lemonade and halva in the mountains

After a beautiful afternoon walk in picturesque Kalopanayiotis (post coming soon) we were feeling a bit peckish so we sat at the first place we found. A gorgeous hotel and spa with a restaurant and cafe area overlooking the mountains. What an amazing view. And what an incredible place. We were unsure whether to stay there for a drink, we felt under-dressed, not worthy to be in such a scenery. But the waiters were so sweet, they made us feel welcome from the first moment we walked in.

Traditionally decorated to keep with the feel and the beauty of the little village is situated in but with a touch of luxury, Casale Panayiotis won my heart.

I fancied something sweet and I went for halva, but not any halva, oven baked with dates and little pieces of spoon sweet. A posh version of Cypriot halva. It was unbelievable. It went nicely with my fresh lemonade. Sweet and Sour. How not to.

This is just a tiny flavour of the local cuisine. There’s more, much much more and every opportunity I get I’ll introduce you to it.

Eleni