Most religious celebrations often have a culinary aspect attached to them. In the case of Easter, two very different diets follow from the preparations for Easter, in the form of the Great Lenten Fast to the attitude towards food after Great Saturday on the eve of Easter.
The Great Lenten Fast begins 40 days before Easter, a fast which is typically vegan except for certain feast days whereby seafood is allowed. On feast days like 25 March which marks the Annunciation to the blessed Virgin Mary, fish is allowed. This day is typically celebrated by lighting up the BBQ and serving up all sorts of fish, red mullet or parpouni is often number choice in Cyprus.
Great Lent teaches Orthodox Christians to abstain from all meat and dairy based products, teaching discipline and sustenance from good and healthy earthy foods, and spiritual growth enabling oneself to appreciate food. The fast is of course not an excuse to diet, however it does provide a great opportunity to explore Cypriot cuisine, it’s not all about milomena, loosely translated as animal produce, as Cypriot food is bursting with a variety of vegetarian and vegan dishes.
It is difficult for one to appreciate the diversity in Cypriot cuisine, as non-meat dishes are not promoted by the average Cypriot. The most popular dish attributed to Cyprus is of course, souvla, large marinated cuts of meat slowly rotating on a custom BBQ. However, by focusing all our attention solely on souvla presents a kind of injustice to the richness that Cypriot dishes that have evolved over countless generations.
Cypriot vegan recipes range from beans and pulses to pastas and veggie stews, however the fast also offers up the opportunity to experiment with the usual ingredients and put a spin on things, creating new dishes, receiving tips and exchanging recipes on how to turn our usual milomena dishes into vegan equivalents. It can often be a good excuse to get together and prepare dishes with fellow ‘fasters’ to feed the entire family. Those that are fasting can have a profound influence on those that are not by showing the variety of dishes available, for many it will be an eye-opening experience, I for one have wondered why these foods haven’t been a part of my diet my entire life!
A much simpler way to abstain from milomena is by simply preparing raw veg, drizzling Cypriot olive oil, lemon and sea salt, or one can grill veg like aubergines served with a simple side salad, then using left over aubergines, if any, can be blended and made into a dip, as one naturally is taught to be resourceful and selective about which ingredients they buy and how they can be used for the week ahead.
Many find it very challenging to fast 40 days and tend to only fast during Holy week, as understandably it is difficult to go from an omnivorous to a vegan diet. A great way to sustain oneself is to open the recipe books at the multitude of pasta dishes available and simply take out the milomena produce. The champion of Cypriot pasta dishes is of course Cypriot makaronia usually with plenty of halloumi and mint and the giant boiled chicken that normally accompanies it. However, this dish tends to take a back step without the poultry and cheese element included and fide, a thin pasta soup dish, which is ordinarily not allowed due to chicken stock, is replaced by vegetable stock, providing a filling replacement. There are also many dishes that can be made with the very versatile kritharaki (pictured) with boiled courgettes and broccoli, seasoned with herbs and drizzled with Cypriot extra virgin olive oil, as it’s not all about eating chips and crisps all day, every day!
The Great Lenten Fast ends with the celebration of the resurrection of Christ and his triumph over death and marks the resumption of their culinary lives. The transition from vegan to one’s normal diet can be a tricky one as you may feel a strong craving to behave like a fully-fledged carnivore. So, this Easter, be sensible, smaller portions will make it much easier for your body to adapt back to an omnivorous diet, so don’t go stuffing your face with souvla or a eat an entire spring lamb until you have the meat sweats and find it difficult to breathe!
The CyWIneFest team looks forward to opening its doors in just under 40 days’ time, until then we wish you all a very Happy Easter, Kali Anastasi!
Credit: CyWineFest team
Photo credit:
(1) Sidebar – Design by Louis Loizou
(2) Grilled aubergines with an aubergine dip – CyWineFest team
(3) Fresh bread served with olives, chives and fresh lemon- AnnaMaria Demetriou
(4) Fasolia Giahni: tomato-based bean stew with celery and greens- AnnaMaria Demetriou
(5) Kritharaki (orzo) pasta with courgettes and broccoli –
CyWineFest team
