- 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 family91裸聊视频檚 history along with the generations-old recipes, and Cyprus Cuisine absolutely accomplishes that91裸聊视频攂ut it91裸聊视频檚 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 Christina91裸聊视频檚 own experience with strength, resilience and following her heart.

Though she91裸聊视频檚 always loved food and grew up in Victoria as a 91裸聊视频渞estaurant kid,91裸聊视频� Christina never considered a career in the culinary world, largely due to her father91裸聊视频檚 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.

91裸聊视频淢y dad was adamant he didn91裸聊视频檛 want us to go into the restaurant business! He always said it91裸聊视频檚 long hours and it kills your family life,91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淓ven when I was a lawyer and in Singapore going out for lunch with clients, inevitably I91裸聊视频檇 end up talking about food,91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淚t was a wake-up call for me. I knew I91裸聊视频檇 wanted to make a change,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淭he illness was the catalyst to give myself permission to take a year off to heal, but also to pursue this.91裸聊视频�

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 didn91裸聊视频檛 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 Evri91裸聊视频檚 hands as she demonstrates how to roll out Cypriot crepes.

91裸聊视频淗er hands are so expressive. It91裸聊视频檚 like I can hear her telling me how to do it,91裸聊视频� 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 family91裸聊视频攁nd their extended friends and neighbours91裸聊视频攅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.

91裸聊视频淥ne of my aims was to make sure you can make Cypriot food no matter where you are in the world,91裸聊视频� she says.

One example91裸聊视频攁nd something Christina prepared when I visited as part of an array of goodies on her table91裸聊视频攁re the butternut squash pies (page 53). They91裸聊视频檙e typically made with an enormous, long-necked squash that she91裸聊视频檚 only ever found in Cyprus. So, for the pies we91裸聊视频檙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 sugar91裸聊视频攜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.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 its own unique cuisine,91裸聊视频� says Christina. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a nice mixture of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours. Lots of lemon and olive oil, which I love. It91裸聊视频檚 comforting and really soothing.91裸聊视频�

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 mother91裸聊视频檚 touch.

91裸聊视频淭he person I owe the most amount of gratitude to is my mom,91裸聊视频� says Christina. 91裸聊视频淎 lot of the recipes that have been handed down are hers. This cookbook is as much hers as it is mine.91裸聊视频�

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 Christina91裸聊视频檚 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 Christina91裸聊视频檚 heart on the page.

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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