My family and I moved to Cyprus twice, yes that’s right, twice!
The first time, I was 2 years old up until 5 years old, so what I got to eat was largely controlled by my parents (and my big fat Greek family). The second time I was 13 years old and by this point I could feed myself.
The problem with feeding myself was that I over stuffed myself! Who could blame me? There was and still is bakeries on every corner, mass producing warm, fresh tiropittes (cheese bread), eliodes (olive pastry), spanakopittes (spinach bread), koubes (I’ll explain another time) ....oh and the best sandwich in the world, the lounza and halloumi franjola (bread roll) from the hut outside the school gates opposite the Limassol Court House.
I hated that school, St Mary’s Catholic School, most teachers were nuns, all students were girls, most subjects I failed and I got suspended for a couple of days for running riot. I was there for two agonising years of my life. I made good friends who I hold dear to me and the second best thing about my time there was the sandwich hut. The pounds piled on and stayed firmly put for the next 20 odd years.
My sisters and I love this sandwich, we often eat this for lunch with my grandfather at Chris Blue Beach in Episkopi ....with a side of chips! God forbid we save any calories on a side salad!
Ingredients
Greek Bread Loaf
Smoked Pork Loin
Halloumi
Tomato
Cucumber
Butter
Mayonnaise (optional)
Method
Wrap the bread in silver foil and place in the oven until it becomes nice and warm.
Slice the halloumi, around 1cm in thickness and grill.
Once the bread is warm, remove from the oven and slice the bread in half, buttering both sides.
Begin layering up with the sandwich fillings, pork loin slices first, then grilled halloumi, topped with tomato and cucumber.
Wrap this in foil again and place in the oven for a further 10 minutes! Enjoy!
Tips
Wrap the bread in foil to prevent it from burning.
Smoked pork loin can be bought in any supermarket either in slices or as one big piece.
You can remove any filling you do not like.
If you feel that something is missing, add mayonnaise!
This can be a long winded way of putting together a sandwich, so if you’re pushed for time, layer everything up in either bread slices, buns or rolls and place into a toaster for 5 minutes until the halloumi has softened and melted.
Cost
Cost under £8 for 4-5 persons.