Traditional Greek Souvla

By Dani Gavriel

We ask our local butcher to prepare our meat as it makes life so simple. As with traditional Cypriot cooking, we love to use a belly of pork for Souvla, as it is delicious portioned with a mix of boneless and bone on. But nothing compares to tender, beautiful lamb and the kids always love chicken souvlakia!

The meat is swiftly taken home and skewered, with larger pieces to go on to the rotisserie and smaller ones to be placed closer to the charcoal. We very simply use olive oil, seasoning and dress with dried mixed herbs (usually oregano) with a squeeze of lemon for that extra flavour. Cook till the meat is done and gently charred – of course this is to your own taste and specification depending on the type of meat. It’s preferable to cook holding a beer or brandy, although this is of course optional. Cooks also get to taste the meat to see if it’s done, so you will need a small knife to hand to facilitate this task and a tea towel to wipe everything away, from the juices of the meat to the sweat from your brow!

One of our favourite barbecue side dishes is a traditional herby Greek potato salad, prepared as follows:

Salad: 1 x 1 kg packet of baby new potatoes, washed and skin on, cut into quarters 1 x 25g pack of fresh parsley, washed & finely chopped 1 x 25g pack of fresh coriander, washed & finely chopped 1 x 25g pack of fresh chives, washed & finely chopped 1 x 25g pack of fresh dill, washed & finely chopped 1 bunch of spring onions, washed & finely chopped

Dressing: Drizzle of the best extra virgin olive oil you can get your hands on Juice of one lemon 1/2 tsp of dried mint 1/2 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt

Cook your potatoes in salt water for 15 to 20 minutes until tender, drain and set aside to cool. Once cool, add your herbs, spring onion and dressing and give the salad a nice big mix through: the flavours come together beautifully - it’s well worth a try!