Kleftiko

Nicosia. Kleftiko takes its name from klefti, meaning stolen. Shepherds are said to have sealed meat into a pit dug in a hillside so that no smoke would give them away, and the modern version keeps the principle: lamb sealed in a covered oven for hours until it falls off the bone.

Cyprus. The flavour that marks Cypriot cooking out from Greek and Turkish is coriander seed rather than the leaf, crushed into afelia, pork marinated in red wine, and into loukaniko sausage, lountza and the olives cracked with lemon. Kleftiko takes its name from klefti, thief, and is lamb sealed in a clay oven so no smoke gives it away.

Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.