Cypriot Recipes
Cypriot Curd Cheese Pie (anaropitta)
Fresh Anari is a traditional Cypriot cheese made of cheese whey (mostly Halloumi/Hellim) with the addition of small quantities of fresh milk. It’s a white and soft cheese and is similar to the Italian cheese Ricotta. Fresh Anari has a delicate, pleasant taste and less fat content compared to other cheeses. Most commonly, Fresh Anari can be found in the market as unsalted or salted. It has a mild sweet taste and many Cypriots tend to have it for breakfast along with some honey or jam. It can also be served on its own with some fresh tomatoes, green or black olives and some bread or used in sandwiches. It is used as an ingredient for cheese pies and other Cypriot sweet pastries.
Ingredients
Pastry
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
grated orange zest (optional)
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
Filling
800g unsalted anari (Cypriot curd cheese) or ricotta cheese
3 tbs of sugar
fresh mint
cinnamon
3/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped
Preparation
– Beat 2 eggs with the sugar.
– Add the oil, milk, vanilla and grated orange zest.
– Add the flour and baking power and mix well to form a soft dough.
– Cut pastry in half. Roll out half the pastry on a floured surface and line a 30X20 cm ovenproof dish.
– Mash the anari and mix in sugar, mint, cinnamon and almonds.
– Spoon the anari mixture into the dish.
– Roll out remaining pastry and cover filling.
– Brush over with beaten egg.
– Pierce the pastry here and there with a fork.
– Cook in moderate oven for about half an hour until golden brown.
Source: moa.gov.cy
