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Stuffed Vine Leaves

Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the onions and cook gently to soften but not brown. Crumble in the pork, cook gently for 5 minutes or until the pork has coloured. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, mint, cinnamon and rice. Season well and cook for a few minutes more.

Have ready a stack of the vine leaves, vein side up, the pork mixture and a shallow circular ovenproof dish ready to put the dolmades in.

To form koupepia place 1 tsp of the filling up from the centre base of the leaf, fold the leaf over the mince from the base then fold in the left and right side of the leaf. Now roll up, not too tightly, to make a little cigar shape.

Continue making until all the koupepia are packed in the dish. Squeeze on the lemon juice and cover with any remaining vine leaves, like a blanket. Place an inverted plate on top of the vine leaves. Carefully pour boiling water in around the edge of the dish to come up to just touch the plate. Cover with foil, cook in a preheated oven 200°C /Gas 6 for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C/Gas 4 and cook for a further 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

 

Source: Cyprus Tourism Organisation

Recipe

Potato Dumplings with Sheep Cheese

The most typical Slovak national food is Bryndzové Halušky with bacon. This is made from potato dough mixed with a special kind of sheep cheese – „bryndza“ that tastes best in the so called cottages of shepherds or mountain chalets. The dish is topped by fried bacon lardons and some of the fat. Bryndzové halušky is best eaten with buttermilk or acidified milk. Slovakia can boast a remarkable world curiosity. Every year, in the mountain village of Turecká at the foot of the Veľká Fatra mountains, lovers of bryndzové halušky meet at the European championship for cooking and consuming of this dish.

Recipe

Slovenian Cottage Cheese

Sirovi Štruklj is one of the most characteristic dishes, known all over Slovenia. Štruklji are made from different kinds of dough and can have a wide range of fillings; they can also be baked or cooked, sweet or savory. Until the 1930’s they used to be prepared at holidays and festivities and to celebrate the end of major farm work. The most special kind of štruklji, especially during spring and summer, is prepared with tarragon filling. Other widely known varieties are those with cottage cheese filling, walnut, apple and poppy seed štruklji, along with many others.

Ingredients

  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 1 kg coarsely minced pork
  • 400 g can of chopped tomatoes
  • ½ bunch parsley, finely chopped
  • a handful of dried Cypriot mint, crumbled
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 200 g pudding rice
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 bunch of fresh vine leaves, destalked (or use canned leaves in brine, drained)
  • juice of 1 lemon

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