Kritharaki is a Greek/Cypriot pasta made from durum wheat. It is traditionally cooked in tomato sauce and served either on its own or with a side of salad and yoghurt. I’ve added aubergine rolls stuffed with soft anari cheese and topped with a basil, pine nut and a hard anari cheese crumb and baked in the oven.

The aubergine is found in many cuisines around the world and is known by many different names. The word is derived from the Sanskrit word vātin-gāna literally translated ‘anti-wind vegetable’ as it was thought to cure flatulence. The Persians transformed that into badingan, and, after the Persians invaded Arabia, the Arabs added the indefinite article al calling it al-badhinjan. When the Arabs swept through Spain, al-badhinjan lost its al, becoming berengena. But the northern Spanish retained al, transforming the word to alberginia, which the French mispronounced aubergine. Indians call it brinjal, Americans eggplant, Finnish munakoiso and Cypriots Vazania. The plant was first domesticated in Asia, but most of its wild relatives originate from northeastern Africa.

Anari is a fresh, mild curd cheese that is exclusively produced in Cyprus. The whey used is a by-product in the production process of other harder cheeses like halloumi or kefalotyri. In its simple form, anari has a very soft consistency, similar to ricotta. Salt is often added and the product dried (traditionally in the sun) to further mature to create a hard cheese. I have used both in this recipe.