Kattoúes - shell pasta in the oven
«Καττούες» Πηγή: E. Michael Smith, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EMS-106929-MediumShells-rule.JPG
After being lightly boiled in a pot, the pasta shells are baked in the oven in a mixture of eggs, milk, halloumi and spearmint. A modern recipe from the village of Kourdali in the mountainous province of Nicosia.
Name - Recipe
Pasta shells -conchiglie with halloumi baked in the oven.
500 g shell pasta
2 ½ glasses of milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups of hard goat's and sheep's halloumi, grated
spearmint
salt
In a pot, add plenty of water, salt and olive oil and place on the fire. When it comes to a boil, add the pasta shells and boil them but not to become soft. Drain the pasta in a colander and place in a rectangular baking dish. In a bowl, beat the eggs and milk until well combined and pour the mixture into the pasta. Add the grated halloumi along with the mint and mix. Bake for 45 minutes in a medium, preheated oven (Eleni Tsolaki, Cooking Cypriot food and Nutrition Museum 2014, Cooking Cypriots 2013-2014).
Boiling.
Baking in the oven.
The liquid mixture should cover the pasta. Use village hard and salty halloumi for better flavour (Eleni Tsolaki, Cooking Cypriot food 2014).
Additional information and bibliography
Eleni Tsolaki. See Cyprus Food and Nutrition Museum (2014) Cooking Cypriot food 2013-2014 (ed. Petroula Hadjittofi), unpublished data.
Petroula Hadjittofi, Argyro Xenophontos
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