Yia sou, Delhi! A week-long culinary celebration ‘Cyprus On A Plate by Coração Do Vale’ in association with The Cyprus High Commission, brought the flavours of island nation Cyprus to Roseate House. What set the evening apart was the use of traditional, yet innovative dishes by Mumbai-based Cypriot Chef Eleni Michael, working with the chefs at Roseate House, headed by Chef Gagandeep, using Coração Do Vale Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Guests, which included H.E. Mr Evagoras Vryonides, High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus, and Raksha Kotian, Business Head, Leads Brand Connect, Coração Do Vale, enjoyed a five-course menu that included vegan Cypriot mezze (Tsakistes (crushed green olives with coriander, garlic and lemon), Tashi (tahini and garlic dip, made silky with olive oil), Melitzanosalata (smoked aubergine dip), Village Salad, and Louvi Hummus made from black-eyed beans.

“The baba ghanoush you get in the Middle East contains yoghurt, but ours is vegan since we don't put yoghurt in our smoked aubergine dip,” says Chef Eleni, “It's from a recipe they make in monasteries in Cyprus. They just prepare it with just aubergine, olive oil, and lemon. Olive oil and lemon are the biggest heroes in our cuisine.”

The warm selection included the famous salty Halloumi, Sheftalia (traditional Cypriot pork sausages), and freshly made Cypriot pita, that tasted heavenly when dipped in olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

“I’m excited to present a small taste of Cyprus, as it’s a diverse cuisine,” says Chef Eleni, “So we have some cold starters today, trying to recreate that taverna experience, how you would be served in Cyprus. Then you will be served individual hot dishes, and then dessert.”

Olive oil is omnipresent in Cyprus, we learn during dinner. “Every family in Cyprus, rural or urban, has an olive tree in the backyard,” says Chef Eleni. “Every family produces its own olive oil. It’s a form of exchange between people. They gift it out, they receive it.”

The Salad course comprised of a Patzarosalata, a vibrant, purple-pink beetroot and potato salad with coriander chutney and pasta, a tasty combination that came as a delightful surprise to diners. “Potatoes are very big in Cypriot cuisine,” says Chef Eleni, of the dish that is made from her grandmother’s recipe. “If you go to top London department stores, the most expensive potatoes will be from Cyprus!”

This course was followed by Pasta, which was Ravioles, a handmade , deliciously fluffy Cypriot pasta filled with halloumi cheese and spearmint. The Main Course, for the non-vegetarians, featured Tavas Lefkarítikos, a slow-braised lamb with rice, potatoes, tomatoes, cinnamon and cumin, and for the vegetarians, Gemista, roasted vegetables stuffed with Arborio rice, herbs and mint, topped with feta and served with herby potatoes, served on a bed of tangy, ruby red tomato sauce. “The sauce is made from a reduction of the tomato sauce, with feta cheese on top,” says Chef Eleni, “I’ve used very few spices here, only salt, thyme, and oregano.”

The entire curated menu, of course, had flavours of Coração Do Vale, the special extra virgin olive oil from Portugal, given Cypriots’ fondness for olive oil. “It’s a single origin olive oil, harvested, processed, and bottled within four hours in Portugal,” says Raksha Kotia, Business Head, Leads Brands Connect, Coração Do Vale to India. “Once you taste it, you will understand why we are so proud of this product that we have brought in India. The refined, elevated taste is felt in each dish served today, made by Chef Eleni and Chef Gagandeep. “

During the course of the meal, we learn a few facts about Cypriot cuisine. In Cyprus, halloumi is trademarked and cheese-making and provenance registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) within the European Union. “Traditionally, halloumi cheese is made from a mixture of sheep’s milk and goat’s milk, or sheep’s milk alone,” says Chef Eleni, “But due to industrialization, some producers had started to make it using only cow’s milk. There is now a law in Cyprus, for a minimum percentage of sheep’s and goat’s milk to be used in halloumi cheese-making. So now, any halloumi only made with cow’s milk can’t be called halloumi.”

About the typically Cypriot pork sausages, we learn that it’s made of pork mince mixed with parsley and onion, wrapped in pork fat (a layer of fat from the pork’s belly). “I have hand made them so it’s the best possible we can make in India.” Traditionally, Cypriots love their meat. The Tavas Lefkaritikos, the braised lamb, originally from the village of Lefkara, is traditionally stewed in a clay pot, the ‘tavas’, similar to the tawa in India (but also dissimilar as the tawa is flatter), Chef Eleni explains. “So we have rice, vegetables, slow-cooked potatoes and slow-cooked lamb shoulder, all cooked in our special pot,” she says.

Both the stuffed bell peppers and the braised lamb have used olive oil generously. “To prepare both, onions are cooked in olive oil, and in the pan, when we braise the meat or the veggies, we pour olive oil together with water,” says Chef Eleni.

Desserts featured Anarokrema, a whipped ricotta (a by-product of the halloumi-making process) cream with cinnamon, crisp, flaked filo pastry, honey and walnuts and was followed by Petit Fours that included Soutzioukkos (walnuts in preserved grape must), Loukoumi (Cyprus Delight dusted with icing sugar), and Daktyla, crisp pastry fingers filled with almond and cinnamon soaked in rosewater syrup. “The Daktyla is filled with almonds, fried and topped with crushed almonds,” says Chef Eleni. “The circular petit four, the Soutzioukkos, is basically nuts that are dipped in grape must (fresh juice that contains skin and seeds, heated with flour to create a sticky sauce), and dried, very similar to how Indians make aam papad (mango leather).” The dinner was paired with Cyprus Coffee and Fresh Mint Tea.

‘Cyprus On A Plate by Coração Do Vale’ is the first culinary celebration by Roseate House as a part of Coração Do Vale’s ‘World On A Plate’ series, that is set to celebrate the rich food cultures of different countries through curated gastronomic experiences. ‘World On A Plate by Coração Do Vale’ will spotlight the richness of international cuisines, with premium Coração Do Vale Extra Virgin Olive Oil playing a central role.

“We grew up eating olive oil with everything,” says Chef Eleni, “My grandma tells me that, growing up, in times of scarcity, they would deep fry stale bread in olive oil, and dust it with sugar. So the bread retained some freshness and was also nutritious.”

Cyprus has a large centenarian population. “My grandparents all lived until 95, probably because of the healthy habit of consuming olive oil,” says Chef Eleni, “We have olive oil, raw in our salad, but also all to cook vegetables, meats, potatoes. Everything we bake or fry, is with olive oil. “