FLAOUNES

Flaounes....a little pastry parcel filled with a tasty cheese filling, traditionally made at Easter time in Cyprus. Sometimes food does not always just stimulate our taste buds, sometimes taking a bite might stimulate something deep inside us, a distant memory, a familiar feeling of surroundings lost in the past or fond memories of relatives that have passed away...flaounes always take me to a very special place,one bite takes me back to the happiest time in my childhood..my time in my beautiful little village, spent with my Grandmothers. You can only imagine the freedom felt by my brother and me as children, set free in an orchard,climbing trees,exploring the village and always treated with such fondness from the villagers because we were the grandchildren returned from England. Easter, though, was so special in the village, memories of my Grandmothers busy making koulourakia and of course these tasty flaounes, and going to Church on Saturday evening carrying my candle and a little basket filled with a flaouna and my bright red egg, ready to eat after the priest cried out 'Christos Anesti' at midnight!! I have never felt the same at Easter away from my little village, most of my relatives have visited Leonarisso in the North, always coming back with very sad reports, but I have never been, always feeling something stopping me from going...I feel I just don't want to spoil all those beautiful memories and just keep them special in my heart.... Christos Anesti!!!

For the dough

5 cups self-raising flour
2-3 tablespoons sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon baking powder
6-7 cherry mahaleb grains (available in local supermarkets)
6-7 small mastic grains (available in local supermarkets)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup oil
1.5 cup lukewarm milk

For the filling

1 kg flaouna cheese or any other hard cheese
1/2 cup semolina
1 sachet Yeast
6-8 eggs
6-7 small mastic grains
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
lots of fresh mint finely chopped
1 cup sultanas
1 1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 egg for brushing

Method

• Grate the cheese one day in advance and place it in the fridge to dry. Stir once or twice.
• Whisk the eggs for the filling and combine the cheese with the semolina and yeast.
• Add as many eggs as needed (about six) to make a rather firm mixture.
• Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside.
• Make the dough by mixing the flour , baking powder, mastic and the cherry mahaleb pounded with 1 teaspoon sugar. Pour in the oil and rub into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Knead with as much milk as needed to make a plyable dough.
• Cover with a kitchen towel for half an hour. 
• Before starting rolling out the dough, finish the filling by adding the mint, baking powder, sultanas cherry mahaleb and the mastic pounded with 1 teaspoon sugar.
• Stir well. Rinse the sesame seeds, drain and place on a kitchen towel.
• Roll out the dough thinly to give a square shape of medium size.
• Place each piece of dough on the sesame seeds and press on the bottom side only.Put some filling in the centre of each piece and fold the four sides to form a square shape, leaving the filling in the centre uncovered.
• Place the flaounes on an ungreased, lightly floured baking tray and brush them with some beaten egg.
• Bake for about 40 minutes in a pre-heated, moderately hot oven (160*C) until golden brown.