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Irene Matys penned a love letter to Cyprus and Canada in her cookbook debut
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By Laura Brehaut
Published May 23, 2025
Last updated 3hours ago
8 minute read
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Our cookbook of the week is My Cypriot Table by Oakville, Ont.-based author Irene Matys.
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Jump to the recipes: elies tsakistes (cracked green olives with coriander, garlic and lemon), keftedes (Cypriot meatballs) and patates antinaxtes (tossed potatoes with olives, lemon and coriander).
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In some ways, the seed for Irene Matys‘s culinary calling was planted in Sarnia, Ont., building boxes at her father Nick’s pizza place. “He would pay me 10 cents,” says Matys, laughing. “That’s how I started my career in the restaurant.” In others, it goes back even further — to Famagusta, Cyprus, where she was born. Her paternal grandfather, Christopher, tended olive trees in the north, and her mother, Zoe, comes from a long line of vegetable farmers.
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Now based in Oakville, Ont., Matys is a farm-to-table advocate, recipe developer, food stylist and photographer. Alongside more than 100 recipes, Matys charts her family’s story in her cookbook debut, My Cypriot Table (Appetite by Random House, 2025), from leaving Cyprus as refugees during the 1974 Turkish invasion to creating a new home in Ontario.
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“We’re very grateful to Canada for the life they’ve given us. So, a lot of my recipes are a marriage of my two homelands. I wanted to pay tribute (in) some of the recipes.”
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Take kremopita, for instance. The Cypriot version of Greek bougatsa typically features rosewater-scented custard. In a decidedly Canadian twist, Matys uses pumpkin pie filling. When she first served it to her father, he was skeptical. ”He’s my biggest advocate, and he’s my biggest critic,” she says. After one bite, Nick’s tune changed from, “You ruined our cream pie,” to, “This is the best.”
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The bounty of the Canadian fall harvest and signature Cypriot flavours come together in her apple, tahini and carob cinnamon rolls. She merges two classic desserts in her baklava butter tarts, and, in her strawberry, spinach, arugula and feta salad, uses tahini in the perennially popular poppy seed dressing and combines local produce with crumbled pastelaki (sesame honey nut snaps) playing the part of croutons.
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“I wanted people to relate and feel comfortable trying a different cuisine. Who doesn’t love a Canadian butter tart — why not try something different? Or cinnamon buns with tahini. Tahini is such a huge staple in a Cypriot kitchen, and there are so many creative ways to use it. Why not put it with apples and cinnamon in a cinnamon bun with tahini? The cultures just wove together so deliciously and beautifully. And (I wanted to) introduce people to a different pantry. To be a little bit more creative and bring more world culture into their kitchens.”
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Matys always had a passion for cooking. As a teenager, she aspired to own her father’s restaurant. But he dissuaded her, pushing for a nine-to-five job instead. “My dad just didn’t want us to work seven days a week,” recalls Matys. “(He had) such a deep passion for his business and quality, and loyalty to his customers, that my dad had to be there seven days a week.”
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After a career in finance, with her three daughters in school, Matys decided it was time for a change. In 2014, she got her break as a food stylist and on-air expert on The Marilyn Denis Show. Looking for a way to give back, she started volunteering at Plan B Organic Farms in Flamborough, Ont., a year later. Despite initially being against Matys leaving a career in finance for food, her father recognized she had found her place. Watching her first TV segment, Nick said, “This is what you’re meant to do.”
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Matys’s work in the intervening decade has brought her back to her roots. “My dad’s restaurant was a community, and I think that’s where a lot of my values come from now — feeding people and gathering people around my table. It’s part of my upbringing,” she says. “Now, with all my expertise and all the years behind me, I was able to photograph and style my own book.”
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Writing a cookbook had long been a dream of hers, in large part to leave a legacy for her daughters, grandchildren and the generations to come.
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“They need to know our story: Where we were. Where we came from. Gratitude. And also, I want them to continue to celebrate our heritage — not only our Canadian but our Cypriot — and how Canada gives us that privilege,” says Matys. “And the other thing is, I’ve realized here in Canada, people don’t know about Cyprus. When I talk to them about it, they say, ‘Oh, we love Greece. What Greek island is that?’ It’s like, ‘No, no, no, no!’ We love our Greeks. We love our Greece, but (it’s different.)”
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While writing My Cypriot Table, Matys compiled a list of places, foods and experiences she wanted to capture during a research trip. Then, she “called in the army” (her family in Cyprus) and assigned each person a task. From making halloumi on a sheep farm in the village of Dali to reuniting her dad with a long-lost childhood friend while seeking “the best” rainbow trout in the foothills of the Troodos Mountains, Matys travelled from one end of the island to the other.
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“What better way to give my readers the actual experience of Cyprus in Canada,” she says. “I saw Cyprus in a different light. I got to experience Cyprus as a tourist.”
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The Mediterranean island nation is one of the world’s most ancient wine-producing regions and home to the oldest named and recorded style, the 3,000-year-old Commandaria. It’s where halloumi cheese was created, which the European Commission registered as a protected designation of origin in 2021. At the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe, Matys describes Cypriot cuisine as “a marriage of countries,” with influences from the Arab world, Turkey, Greece, France and Italy.
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Cyprus has much to offer, says Matys — from its agriculture and wineries to beaches and mountains. “These are things that a lot of people don’t know. People don’t even know it’s its own island. That it’s a country of its own,” she adds. “This book is to bring light to a beautiful country that I think more people need to explore.”
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ELIES TSAKISTES
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Cracked Green Olives with Coriander, Garlic and Lemon
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Serves: 6-8
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2 cups cracked green olives (see Tip)
3 garlic cloves, crushed with skins on
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 medium lemon), squeezed lemon reserved
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp cracked coriander seeds
1/2 tsp sea salt
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Step 1
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In a medium bowl, mix the olives, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, coriander and salt. Quarter the reserved lemon halves and mix into the olives. Marinate in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.
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Step 2
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Serve at room temperature. Olives can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week. The longer they marinate, the more flavourful they become.
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Tips: Use the leftover marinade in salad dressings or for sautéing your potatoes.
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You can find already cracked green olives in jars at your local grocer in the Middle Eastern or Mediterranean section. If you can’t find these, using a pestle and mortar, gently pound small green olives until slightly cracked.
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KEFTEDES
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Cypriot Meatballs
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Serves: 6-8
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1 cup finely chopped stale eliopita (Cypriot olive bread) or other bread or 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup 2 per cent milk
1 lb (450 g) ground pork
1 lb (450 g) lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups grated russet potato (1 large potato, skin on, scrubbed well)
1 cup grated cooking onions (1 medium)
1 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems
2 tbsp dried mint or 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Light olive oil or sunflower oil, for frying
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Step 1
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In a large bowl, mix the bread and milk. Add the pork, beef and potato to the bread mixture. Mix until well combined. Mix in the onions, parsley, mint, eggs, salt and pepper.
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Step 2
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Brush the top of the meat mixture with lemon juice to keep the meat from browning. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 30 minutes on the counter. Bringing meatballs to room temperature before cooking will result in a fluffy meatball.
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Step 3
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Fill a deep pot about a quarter full with oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350F (177C).
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Step 4
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Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture and roll into a ball. Deep-fry meatballs in batches, turning with a fork for even cooking, until medium dark brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan. It’s always good to fry one and test it before frying a whole batch. With a slotted spoon, remove meatballs from the oil and place on a platter.
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PATATES ANTINAXTES
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Tossed Potatoes with Olives, Lemon and Coriander
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Serves: 4-6
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3 lb (1.4 kg) mini yellow potatoes, skin on, washed
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 garlic cloves, crushed with back of knife
1 cup large green olives, pitted
1 large lemon, peeled in wide ribbons and juiced (about 1/4 cup juice)
1 tsp flaky sea salt
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Step 1
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Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise.
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Step 2
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Crack the coriander with a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have one, place the coriander between two pieces of parchment and press down with the bottom of a water glass to crack.
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Step 3
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In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until soft and translucent. Remove garlic from oil and set aside.
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Step 4
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Add the potatoes to the hot oil and fry for 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Add the coriander, garlic, olives and lemon peel ribbons and fry for an additional 5 minutes, until the potatoes are crisp and golden. Turn off the heat and toss the potatoes with the lemon juice and salt.
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Tip: You can substitute the olives, garlic and coriander with a cup of the Elies Tsakistes (see recipe).
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Recipes and images excerpted from My Cypriot Table by Irene Matys. Copyright ©2025 Irene Matys. Photographs by Irene Matys. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
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