I bought My Cypriot Table, by Irene Matys, partly to get free shipping on another book I was already buying. She’s a Canadian cook.
Most of the recipes are fairly typical of any basic Greek recipes, but there are a few Cypriot recipes that are distinct , like the Lamb Tava, and some Veg Yahnis, Falounes.
It’s interesting to me that the Cypriot equivalent of Pastitsio in the book calls for half beef and half pork, as does the meatball recipe.
More cumin, more coriander and more mustard powder seem to be the main differences in the meat preparations.
My family’s recipes are from Lesvos, and we don’t use much mustard in Greek recipes. We use a lot of cumin and cinnamon, as do Cretans and other Aegean Islanders and Cypriots, compared to most Peloponnesian home cooks, in Toronto , at least .
I will give the mustard in the marinade a try soon.
I end up buying almost every Greek or Cypriot cookbook that I see. This book is nice but it isn’t at the Diane Kochilas level for me. It’s more at a Home Cook level, made for home cooks who aren’t that familiar with Greek food and Cypriot food.
Here are some recipes from the book
