What to cook with seasonal Cyprus vegetables

Peel and wiped and chop the taro into large chunks. Place in lightly salted water with a bay leaf, bring to the boil, cook for about 25 minutes or until fork tender, soft but not falling apart. Drain and let it cool slightly. Mash the taro and with a potato masher until smooth and cool a little. Grate the potato and squeeze dry, grate the carrot, and add carrot and potato to the mushed taro. Place the onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, celery-leaves in a small food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Add into the taro mixture with the egg and olive oil. Add the cinnamon, cumin and mix to combine well, adding enough breadcrumbs until the mixture holds together. It should be a thick consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover the mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer. Take large spoonfuls of the mixture and coat in flour, form into balls and lightly flatten them. Heat oil in a deep fryer (the oil must be very hot). Fry patties a few at a until golden brown all over, drain on kitchen paper. Serve warm with lemon wedges.

This dish has Greek roots but from a region that is now in Turkey, coming from the Cappadocian Greek tradition. This beautiful dip is like a melitzanosalata, but the roasted red peppers give it a deeper, smoky, sweet-and-sour flavour. It reminds me a little of Muhammara and even Ajar, the popular Balkan pepper relish. Perfect as part of a meze spread, served with toasted bread or pita, or alongside grilled fish and meats.

Preheat oven to 180-200C. Prick the aubergines with a fork and place them with the peppers on a baking tray. Roast until the skins are charred and the flesh is soft (about 40 minutes). Meanwhile sauté the chopped onion in 2 tbsp olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Cut the aubergines in half and scoop out the flesh. Peel the peppers if you like and remove the seeds. Place the aubergine, peppers, sautéed onion and garlic, tomato paste, sugar, paprika, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and parsley into a food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. To serve: Spread into a bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts. Serve with warm.

If you happen to have few bananas that are going very soft and you don’t know what to do with them, try my beautiful cake. This is based on my mum’s Cypriot Geography cake, also known as Marble cake. I just added three soft bananas and some cold coffee. It turns out beautifully – delicious and very moist!

Whisk the egg with the sunflower oil and sugar, then whisk the yogurt and coffee. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon then the blended bananas and mix well. Take half of the cake mixture and place it in a small jug and mix in the cocoa powder with 2 tablespoons of milk or water to make it a little runny. Mix in the chocolate chips. Place the white mixture in the greased and floured tin, pour the cocoa mixture around and with a knife mix gently to get a marble effect. Gently tap the tin to remove any bubbles and place it in a preheated oven at 180C for about 40 min or until the cake is cooked and is golden brown. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then remove from the tin and place on a baking rack to cool completely. Slice and enjoy.