Sotira event seeks to win new fans for kolokasi

Organisers of a kolokasi tasting evening on Friday are hoping to bring this love-it-or-hate-it vegetable new fans by pairing it with raspberries and making kolokasi cocktails.

The culture committee of Sotira, the designated home of the vegetable, even has church approval as the event to “show off and promote kolokasi” is being held outside the village church.

The municipality said the event is taking place as part of the biannual Pan-Cypriot kolokasi festival.

The aim is to get people to “to know the local product” as well as “introducing kolokasi to various innovative culinary recipes and options”.

“The aim of the event is to show off, get to know, and promote kolokasi as a local product of Sotira, as it has already received certification from the European Union as a ‘product with designation of origin’ [PDO],” they said.

Kolokasi, which critics describe as having the texture of a very slimy potato, in Sotira won the “best agicultural product” prize at the Gastronomos awards in 2015 and was named “product of the year” at the Time Out Eating awards in 2017.

Friday’s event will be attended by chef Andreas Paskouis, who will cook lemony mashed kolokasi with peruvian seasoning.

In addition, Chryso Lefou will cook risotto with kolokasi and parmesan chips, while Constantia Efstathiou will offer traditional kolokasi kappama with snails, and Maria Demetriou will cook sweet kolokasi croquettes with raspberries.

And then are drinks. Representatives from the Cyprus bartenders’ association will make kolokasi cocktails, bartending school Barology will be present making kolokasi liqueur, while students from the Paralimni technical school will make kolokasi muffins and kolokasi tarts.

The event will start at 7:30pm, with free entrance to the public.