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Afelia

08/04/2012 By
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Recipe from “Patrick Skinner’s Cyprus Kitchen”, illustrated by Alyana Cazalet

cartoon - pals in the kitchen

This is a popular Cyprus dish, and it’s easy to make a success of Afelia.

Ingredients for 4-6 Servings

450 g of lean pork meat cut into small chunks
450 g of potatoes, peeled and cut into similar sized chunks
2 tsp of crushed coriander seeds (more if you like)
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 wine glass (20 cl) of fruity dry red wine
1 wine glass (20 cl) of good meat stock (or half a pork or chicken stock cube in boiling water)
Ground black pepper
20 cl of olive oil

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large skillet (which has a lid) or shallow saucepan.
  2. Stir in the meat and brown quickly over a good heat (around five minutes).
  3. Add the diced potatoes and stir-fry for around five more minutes.
  4. Add coriander, pepper and cinnamon and stir well for a few seconds. Then tip in the wine and the stock and bring to the boil.
  5. Turn the heat down, put the lid on the pot and simmer for around 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender and the potatoes are cooked through but not falling apart. If your oven is hot the Afelia may be cooked there—I rather like the “casseroley” touch this imparts. Oven temperature:175?C
  6. Check the liquid level from time to time and top up with wine and/or stock if necessary. The sauce should be quite thick and rich.

    7. Serve as part of a Mezze, or as a main course with crusty bread, a green salad and maybe a Bulgar Wheat (Pour-gourri) pilaff.

Wine Accompaniment: a fresh, young, fruity red. If you’re in Cyprus then go for “Ayios Onoufrios”.

Filed Under: Mediterranean Recipes Tagged With: ,

Pork and Peas

08/04/2012 By
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Recipe from “Patrick Skinner’s Cyprus Kitchen”, illustrated by Alyana Cazalet

 

cartoon - large suckling pig

Ingredients 

500 g lean loin or fillet of pork, cut into 2cm cubes
1 good-sized onion, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp flour
45 cl stock (use home-made if you can, or a pork or chicken stock cube in boiling water)
230 g peas (freshly shelled or frozen)
1½ tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves
A couple of pinches of nutmeg
1 tsp of fresh oregano, or 2 tsp of dried
About a dozen black peppercorns

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180?C
  2. Toss the pork cubes in the flour, coating them well.
  3. Heat the oil in a medium flame-proof casserole and fry the pork until lightly browned all over. Add the sliced onion and carry on frying, stirring regularly.
  4. Turn the burner to low and, if there is any flour remaining, add to the pan and cook for a minute or two, stirring.
  5. Stir in the stock and cover the pan.
  6. In a mini food-mixer, or coffee grinder, whiz together the cloves, nutmeg, oregano and peppercorns until finely chopped and blended.
  7. Add to the pan and salt and pepper to taste
  8. Put the pan in the centre of the pre-heated oven for around 45 minutes.
  9. If you are using frozen peas, put these in just a few minutes before serving.
  10. Look in from time to time and give a stir of necessary.

Serving

The sauce should be plentiful and tasty, so my serving suggestions would be something plain: boiled potatoes, plain boiled rice or noodles. For added colour, a dish of sliced, very lightly boiled carrots, tossed in a knob of butter, some black pepper and a little chopped parsley.

Accompanying wine: a generously fruity white could go well here, a dry rosé like a Tavel or light red such as a Fleurie, or a modern light Spanish Rioja.

Filed Under: Mediterranean Recipes Tagged With: ,