9 Refreshing Summer Foods to Have
With the high summer temperatures reaching 40+ °C, sometimes the tasty dishes of Cypriot cuisine may be too heavy to digest as you beach hop, and you might want a lighter meal to feed your belly. With a lot of seasonal produce, here are some foods to opt for in the summer that the locals love to consume.
Watermelon with Halloumi
The ultimate Cypriot summer meal which can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner is watermelon. Locals go crazy for this fruit throughout June until the end of August, and supermarkets sell out of them quickly. The finishing touch to a meal of watermelon is accompanying it with fresh halloumi slices, offering you the perfect mix of sweet and salty. Trust us, it’s a hit combination!
Pitta with Halloumi and Tomato
If you’re on the go and want a fast snack, try the sandwich-alternative pitta bread with grilled halloumi and tomato. It’s a refreshing yet filling snack; some like to replace the tomato with lountza (slices of cured pork tenderloin), which is equally as delicious.
Mahalepi
Mahalepi and loukoumades (round, fried dough balls) / Photo by theislandstories
Mahalepi, or muhallebi/mahlebi as it also widely known, is a dessert originally from the Middle East that is popular in Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. Made from maize flour or rice flour and sugar, it is the perfect dessert to get a cool, sweet kick during the island’s hot months. It has a really soft, creamy texture and most of its flavour comes from the addition of rose water.
Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad
An easy salad you can also make at home / ©Getty Images
A relatively new recipe in the salad game is this interesting mix of watermelon and feta cheese sprinkled with mint. Told you we like eating watermelon with cheese! And we recommend you try it, too. It’s common to add cucumber and onion to the salad, according to preference. Besides being a light, tasty salad bowl, it’s so colourful you’ll want to Instagram it.
Prickly Pears
Another popular summer fruit in Cyprus are the prickly pears which grow on cacti. You’ll spot them easily around the island as there are lots of cacti spread around, though be careful if picking and cutting them as they have tiny thorns which are nightmare to get rid of because they are barely visible. To cut and clean them, the trick is to stick a fork in them and use it to clean off the skin. Some supermarkets sell them already cleaned.
Yoghurt with Honey
This yoghurt treat could works as a snack or light meal
This is a snack you’ll find a lot in Greece, and Cypriots indulge in it too, mixing Greek yoghurt with honey to create a creamy texture. For a more filling and flavoursome treat, chop up various fruits like apricots, peaches, bananas and so on, and crush some walnuts on top to really up this yoghurt game.
Fresh Black-Eyed Peas
Mix black eyed pea in a salad of your choice for a more refreshing, filling meal / ©Getty Images
Boiled beans is a typical meal in Cyprus, usually eaten at the beginning of the week. Black-eyed peas are a lot of people’s favourite and are usually served with boiled zucchinis or boiled Swiss chard, olive oil and lemon. This dish can easily be turned into a salad, and some like to add canned tuna. During the summer, you’ll find fresh black-eyed peas, which are considered to be the tastiest.
Stuffed Zucchini Flowers
If you haven’t tried these before, it’s a must / ©Getty Images
In the summer months, when zucchinis blossom, Cypriots like to pick those flowers and stuff them with a delicious filling made from rice, chopped onions, cinnamon and other spices. They are cooked in a casserole with vegetable stock and tomato slices and are added to meze throughout the summer. It’s a rare dish; some recipes add minced meat or cheese to the filling.
Local Ice Cream Flavours
A good ice cream is summer’s best friend and what a lot of us look forward to when the weather gets warmer. With a lot of flavours to choose from, there are a couple distinctive to Cyprus as they are made from unusual local ingredients. Those to definitely try are rose, masticha (Greek plant made also into a liqueur), carob syrup, prickly pear and the very rare risogalo (rice pudding with cinnamon sprinkles).
