BYZANTINE CUISINE
The Higher Hotel Institute, Cyprus is proud to announce the re-opening of its Student Training Restaurant as from the 07/02/2017. The Restaurant will be open to the public for lunch from 13:30 until 15:00 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and charges are set at cost price. Places are limited and you are advised to reserve a table in advance.
The Restaurant is operated by students under the supervision of their Instructors. It will continue to offer a superb variety of culinary delights for you to experience. During the Spring Semester, the restaurant will feature Cypriot Cuisine and other cuisines that have influenced it through the centuries.
For reservations TEL.: 22404847 and 22404800 FAX: 22314672
SALADS AND APPETIZERS
«Myttoton»: Olive Paste with Herbs, «Favata»: Broad Bean Spread, «Amanite»: Salad with Pears and Mushrooms, Boiled Spinach with Honey and Sesame Paste, Artichokes with Olive Oil, Beetroot Salad, Carrot and Cabbage in Vinegar, Rocket Salad with Dried Fruit, Fried Aubergines with Yoghurt and Cumin Seeds, Smoked Fish Platter, Salad with Lentils and Cereals, Salad with White Cabbage, Carrots and Parsley, Octopus and Squid Salad, Fried Fish, «Sfougato»: Omelette with Herbs, Onions and Leeks
MAIN COURSE
«Ornis Monthyleuti»: Stuffed Chicken with Dried Fruit and Pine nuts served with Sweet Wine Sauce and Prunes
DESSERT
«Koptoplakous»: Byzantine Baklava with «Anthina Tiros» Fresh Cheese with Honey
Price 8 euros
Glossary – Byzantine Cuisine
Upon hearing the word ‘Byzantine’, in our mind we conjure the image of a land of splendour, ritual and mystery. Its cuisine seems complex, secretive and mysterious. Historians can only speculate on the exact ingredients and cooking procedures needed to replicate the delicious meals we read about, since there are not many Byzantine cookbooks. What we know about this cuisine is based on what has been handed down to us from travellers, church rules and doctors writing about diets, and reconstruction of Byzantine cuisine is like the restoration of a damaged mosaic.
Byzantium, later named Constantinople, originally was a Greek fishing colony, founded in 667 BC by Greek settlers, led by a man named Byzan. During the Roman Empire, it became known by its Latin name Byzantium. In 324 AD, the Roman Emperor, Constantine I, designated Byzantium as the second capital of the Roman Empire to look after the eastern half of the empire, renaming it Constantinopolis in 330 AD.
Byzantine cuisine began as the merging of ancient Greek and Roman cuisines, and later became the bridge that carried the food of the ancient world into modern day Greece and Turkey. Byzantium, being a vibrant trading centre, had an influx of spices, herbs and other ingredients and Byzantine emperors placed the spice sellers just under the windows of the imperial palace so they could get a whiff of scented breeze every time the wind blew in their direction. Constantinople imported everything that could excite the discerning palate.
What has been lost from this cuisine is the use of the famous garum sauce (fermented fish sauce) of the Romans. The average Byzantine table had a special container for garum soup or sauce and it seems that garum was poured on all sorts of foods.
It was also in the Byzantine world that the culinary traditions of the Greek-Orthodox religion took root. These traditions survive today in Cyprus, since we follow the same Orthodox gastronomical heritage. As far as the cooking methods and recipes are concerned, we can easily spot similarities: the use of olive paste, herb and vegetable omelet, baklava-style desserts, the use of pulses (spreads or boiled), dry fruit, nuts and the combinaton of dairy products with honey.
“Myttoton”: Finely chopped garlic, combined with olive oil and black olive purée
“Favata”: Boiled dry fava beans (broad beans), crushed with a wooden spoon and mixed with olive oil, salt and pepper.
“Ornis Monthylefti”: Small chicken marinated in wine or vinegar, with some spices (pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg) and stuffed with bread crumbs, nuts and other spices. Raisins, pine nuts and finely chopped mushrooms are often also added. The chicken is simmered in wine or baked in a buttered, sealed clay.
“Amanite”: Sliced mushrooms with seasoning and fried with slices of pear
“Sfougato”: Shredded sauted onion with herbs and eggs
“Koptoplakous”: Byzantine Baklava: Dessert with baklava dough ‘leaves’, almonds and nuts. (This dessert survives to our day and can be identified as a popular specialty in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and the Middle East).
“Anthinas Tiros”: Cheese with Honey: An accompaniment touch for desserts – a tradition that survives to our days.
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