Welcome to my world

By Loulla Astin

A celebrity chef, Loulla Astin rose to fame in the early 90s. What began as a guest spot on the BBC’s Eggs n Baker quickly led to repeat guest appearances on This Morning with Richard and Judy, and then her own cookery show on Sky. Since then, she’s met Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver, cooked for Ant and Dec, and even hobnobbed with the Queen.

Before that she was behind a restaurant in Fallowfield, Manchester called Kosmos Taverna. “I wanted the whole world to taste Cypriot food!” Loulla told the Cyprus Mail. “Everyone was welcome to come and sit and eat, to try our avgolemoni, afelia, dolmades, koupepia, kalamari.”

She has now given up the restaurant and TV fame but has recently produced a cookbook of traditional Cyprus food called My Kosmos, My Kitchen.

She will also be sharing recipes with the Cyprus Mail on a monthly basis.

Lefkaritikos/ Paphitikos Tavas: Cypriot Style Chicken & Rice Traybake

Chicken and Rice traybake, packed full of flavours. This is my take on The Cypriot Lefkaritiko Tava, also known as Paphitikos Tavas. It’s not the traditional method of making it, it’s my method. Lefkaritikos Tavas contains rice, and sometimes potatoes too (but I don’t like using two carbs together).
In my village of Avgorou we never use rice in our Tava, we always make it with potatoes, well we do grow the best potatoes in the so called Kokkinohoria (red-soil villages). I love traybakes, they mean less washing up! But I want to say sorry if I upset anyone from Lefkara or Paphos, it’s made my way!

1 kilo chicken thighs with skin and bone on
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, grated
Juice of 1 lemon
200g arborio rice
100ml olive oil
1 large onion, sliced thickly
2 bay leaves
1-2 cinnamon sticks
2 carrots peeled
1 green pepper, cut into chunks
1 yellow or red pepper, cut into chunks
1 chicken stock cube
350ml hot water
2 tbsp tomato paste
150ml white wine
200g cherry tomatoes or 2 tomatoes quartered
3 tbsp chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 190C.
In a large bowl, mix the spices, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and 3 tbsp olive oil. Add the chicken pieces and toss together so they get completely coated with the spices.
Place the rice in a large, deep clay pot 29cm or a roasting tray (11 x 15 inch ) with the onions and all the vegetables, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves.
Dilute the chicken stock in the warm water into the mixing bowl that you used to mix the chicken with the spices, swirl the wine too to get out all the spices and flavours and mix in the tomato paste. Pour the mixture into the rice and mix well.
Place the chicken skin-side up, and season with salt and pepper, drizzle with the rest of the olive oil, cover with double foil and bake for 50 mins, remove the foil and give the rice a light mix with a fork.
Place back in the oven, without the foil and allow the chicken to brown for approx 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 mins, fluff up the rice with a fork and serve with a green salad and of course Cypriot yogurt.
Enjoy!

This is a popular Cypriot and Greek soup, it’s highly nutritious and vegetarian. It’s made with a handful of humble ingredients, chickpeas, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.

Chickpea Soup

300g chickpeas
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, cut in four
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
Few sprigs of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
300ml water
1 vegetable stock cube
100ml virgin olive oil
Juice of 1-2 lemons
1 tsp curry powder or paprika
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley

Soak chickpeas overnight. Drain chickpeas and cover with fresh water, bring to the boil and remove the white froth that is produced upon boiling.

Add the stock cube, onion, garlic, carrot, thyme, bay leaves, curry powder or paprika and half the olive oil and bring to the boil, semi cover with a lid and simmer until chickpeas and carrot have softened, it can take 1 hour, depending of the age of the chickpeas.

Remove bay leaves and springs of thyme, take a large ladle of the cooked chickpeas and juice, place in a small blender with the carrot, juice of 1 lemon and the remaining olive oil and blend until smooth. Pour back into the chickpeas, stir and warm through adding salt and pepper to taste and more lemon juice and water if needed. Serve in warm bowls and sprinkle with parsley.

Enjoy!

My Kosmos My Kitchen can be ordered from www.amazon.com or www.austinmacauley.com/book/my-kosmos-my-kitchen. For more traditional Greek and Cypriot recipes and inspiration, join Loulla’s Facebook group Loulla’s Recipe Share