香蕉视频直播

Skip to content

Christina Loucas pens Cypriot food cook book

Cyprus Cuisine a lovingly curated collection of family recipes
27506766_web1_211217-BLVDCristinaloucasCookbook-Food_1

- Words by Angela Cowan Photographs by Lia Crowe

When Christina Loucas first started researching traditional Cypriot foods and flavours for a cookbook, she hoped to preserve a slice of her family香蕉视频直播檚 history along with the generations-old recipes, and Cyprus Cuisine absolutely accomplishes that香蕉视频直播攂ut it香蕉视频直播檚 also so much more.

The cookbook, published earlier this year, is a love letter to the food she grew up with, the family that loved and supported her, and Christina香蕉视频直播檚 own experience with strength, resilience and following her heart.

Though she香蕉视频直播檚 always loved food and grew up in Victoria as a 香蕉视频直播渞estaurant kid,香蕉视频直播 Christina never considered a career in the culinary world, largely due to her father香蕉视频直播檚 insistence. Harry Loucas built and ran the Victoria Harbour House until he sold it in 2006, he built the Beagle Pub (originally the Oxford Arms), he was named Restaurateur of the Year in 1992, and he actively discouraged his kids from going anywhere near the food industry.

香蕉视频直播淢y dad was adamant he didn香蕉视频直播檛 want us to go into the restaurant business! He always said it香蕉视频直播檚 long hours and it kills your family life,香蕉视频直播 says Christina.

So instead, she earned a law degree from Oxford University and became an international arbitration lawyer. Not that a law career offers a balanced family life either, she laughs, and despite her best efforts, food followed her everywhere.

香蕉视频直播淓ven when I was a lawyer and in Singapore going out for lunch with clients, inevitably I香蕉视频直播檇 end up talking about food,香蕉视频直播 she says.

She practiced law for six years in England and Singapore, and then life threw her a curve ball when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in her early 30s. When complications from treating the cancer caused her to lose her voice, Christina made some drastic changes.

香蕉视频直播淚t was a wake-up call for me. I knew I香蕉视频直播檇 wanted to make a change,香蕉视频直播 she says. 香蕉视频直播淭he illness was the catalyst to give myself permission to take a year off to heal, but also to pursue this.香蕉视频直播

She moved to Cyprus and devoted her days to researching Cypriot cuisine, from the ingredients and flavours to the methods and huge varieties of preparing common dishes.

Christina also took the opportunity to immerse herself in photography, developing her skills and her eye as a way to express herself, especially in the early days when she didn香蕉视频直播檛 know if her voice would return. (It did, within two months.)

Part memoir and part cookbook, Cyprus Cuisine is bursting with gorgeous, full-colour photographs of incredible dishes like the brilliantly red tomato soup with orzo, or the crumbly one-cup sesame orange biscotti. But some of the most beautiful pictures are the ones that show off the aged hands of her aunts. A collage of photos on pages 49 and 50, for example, shows her Aunt Evri香蕉视频直播檚 hands as she demonstrates how to roll out Cypriot crepes.

香蕉视频直播淗er hands are so expressive. It香蕉视频直播檚 like I can hear her telling me how to do it,香蕉视频直播 Christina says, with a laugh. Her Aunt Evri was the first person Christina started following around and asking questions of when she decided to embark on the cookbook project, but her entire family香蕉视频直播攁nd their extended friends and neighbours香蕉视频直播攅ventually got involved too.

And while by their nature, cookbooks are precise in their measurements and instructions, Cyprus Cuisine also includes a sense of flexibility so often common with old family recipes. Christina adapted some recipes to include easier-to-find ingredients and substitutions.

香蕉视频直播淥ne of my aims was to make sure you can make Cypriot food no matter where you are in the world,香蕉视频直播 she says.

One example香蕉视频直播攁nd something Christina prepared when I visited as part of an array of goodies on her table香蕉视频直播攁re the butternut squash pies (page 53). They香蕉视频直播檙e typically made with an enormous, long-necked squash that she香蕉视频直播檚 only ever found in Cyprus. So, for the pies we香蕉视频直播檙e about to snack on, she instead used cubed acorn and kabocha squashes. Similarly, the recipe calls for fine bulgur wheat in the filling (as well as aromatic cinnamon and fennel fronds, shallots, sultana raisins and a touch of brown sugar香蕉视频直播攜um!) but she suggests cooked quinoa could be a good substitute if bulgur is too hard to find. Many recipes are easily adapted to be vegetarian or vegan as well because so many people in Cyprus fast for religious reasons.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 its own unique cuisine,香蕉视频直播 says Christina. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 a nice mixture of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours. Lots of lemon and olive oil, which I love. It香蕉视频直播檚 comforting and really soothing.香蕉视频直播

Comforting seems the right word. The squash pies, with their sweet-savoury flavours and touch of cinnamon, present as quintessentially autumn, and the Easter butter cookies we nibble afterwards are gently sweetened and perfectly flaky. But perhaps another reason it all feels so comforting is the undercurrent of a mother香蕉视频直播檚 touch.

香蕉视频直播淭he person I owe the most amount of gratitude to is my mom,香蕉视频直播 says Christina. 香蕉视频直播淎 lot of the recipes that have been handed down are hers. This cookbook is as much hers as it is mine.香蕉视频直播

And indeed, Katherine Loucas is the first person Christina dedicates her book to, the loving text accompanied by a beautiful photograph of her mother. On the opposite page is a picture of Christina香蕉视频直播檚 daughter Clemmie, then five days old.

A lifelong love of food, a major life change and an unwavering dedication to following her passion came together when Christina wrote her cookbook, and preserved a family legacy she can now pass on. As anyone who has spent time in a kitchen with mothers and grandmothers can tell you, food is love. And Cyprus Cuisine is Christina香蕉视频直播檚 heart on the page.

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
Like Boulevard Magazine on and follow them on



About the Author: Black Press Media Staff

Read more



(or

香蕉视频直播

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }