Tiropita - Greek Cheese Pie

Being back in my home town brings all sorts of feelings. One of my favourites is catching up and cooking a nice meal for someone I love and haven't seen much of in a long time.

Monday night was one of those nights. I'd had a hard start to a second week in my new job and had forgotten plans with a dear friend I'd hardly seen since being in Adelaide. I dragged my sorry bones home wondering where I was going to muster the energy to cook dinner and hang out. Our guest arrived as I did and the pure luxury of having her there gave me all the energy I needed. I had a great night, made this pie from what was in the fridge while catching up on the latest gossip and news and just hanging out with an old friend and too much wine - I was full of beans and feeling much happier!

80 grams baby spinach
4 eggs, lightly beaten
400 grams feta cheese
few shavings fresh nutmeg
salt and pepper
10 sheets filo pastry
6 tbs melted butter
1 tsp kalonji (black onion seed)

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Place the spinach, eggs, cubed feta, nutmeg and salt and pepper and blend together with a bamix till just smooth.

Lay pastry on flat work surface, covered with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. Brush one sheet with melted butter and top with second sheet of filo. Repeat until filo is finished. Brush the remaining butter into the pie dish, line with the buttered filo and spoon the filling in and fold the sides onto the top. Cut pieces from the sides if too long and place over the filling to cover. Brush the top with butter and sprinkle on the kalonji or sesame seeds and place into the hot oven for 20 minutes or till golden and firm to touch.

Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving with salad (we chopped 1/2 cucumber, 1/4 red capsicum & 4 tomatoes into chunks and tossed them in glug of olive oil, juice of half a lemon & salt and pepper).



Sathya-rating ****

Cheese Please!

You. Must. Try. This.

I'm sure I've probably said this before, and I suspect I shall say it again, but, this little dish I tried out on the weekend is sensational.

Matt over at Matt Bites, raved and ranted about it recently on his site and I had an inkling it would be right up my alley.

Its not expensive (I'm broke and used the cheapest Feta cheese I could find at the supermarket $2.50 or something) it takes 10 minutes and the flavour? Oh, heaven! Its soft and sweet and salty and I could go on and on.

Just try it, ok?

Here's Matts recipe, the way I did it:

1 x 250g slab Greek feta, blotted dry
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
Freshly ground black pepper
Pita bread, toasted and cut into wedges
Tomatoes, nuts or pickled vegetables (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Select a small oven-to-table earthenware dish or a small ovenproof sauté pan lined with aluminum foil to help transfer the cheese to a plate after roasting. Place the feta in the dish and cover with the olive oil. Bake until the cheese is soft and springy to the touch but not melted, about 8 minutes.

Preheat the grill and drizzle with honey. Grill until the top of the cheese browns and just starts to bubble. Season to taste with black pepper. Serve immediately with pita wedges and, if desired, sliced tomatoes, nuts or pickled vegetables.

Serves 4 to 6. Adapted from Sara Dickerman.

S