New recipe at last! Mediterranean Greek Flat Flour Pie: crispy, soft, hearty and severely cheesy pie. In all seriousness, it is the easiest and most delicious pie you can make with minimum time and effort. Promise.
The days are getting longer, the sun warmer and it’s one of my favorite weeks of the year, food-wise. Can’t get better than this! We are in the middle of a special week called “Tirini” here in Greece. The word is coming from the word “τυρί” (pronounced “tiri”) meaning cheese in Greek. And guess what! It is the week that dairy products, and eggs, are consumed in abundance and that’s why I become a weeeee bit obsessed with cooking. Tremendous cheese lover and I couldn’t let this week go without a recipe to fit the occasion.
No meat is allowed because actually, this week is transitional: the religious people are prepared physically and mentally for the Great Lent. The following week is beginning with Clean Monday (Ash Monday), the first day of a 40-day lent until Easter. During that period the religious Greeks abstain from foods deriving from animals, their meals are humble and based exclusively on food provided by nature.
Countless traditional recipes from all over Greece based on dairy, and eggs celebrate this special week and I love all of them. The food during this “dairy week” is my personal food paradise. All kinds of sweet and savory pies, pasta pies, traditional dishes with plenty of cheese, yogurt and fresh butter, homemade pasta with tons of cheese, rice pudding. Oh, boy! I wish I had the time to make all of them and share the recipes and the joy coming from this divine food.
For now, all I can do is share this amazing milk pie, called Galatopita which is the flagship dessert of these days and this traditional cheesy pasta. I believe this pie is an outstanding savory representative of the “dairy week” food. This traditional Mediterranean Greek pie called alevropita (=flour pie in Greek) originated from Epirus in northwestern Greece, a well-known region for the amazing local pies. Friendly advice: if you visit this part of Greece, don’t you even consider leaving without tasting the amazing pies. All of them. Once tasted, never forgotten.
I have already posted the basic recipe of this pie two years ago (say what? Gosh, time flies!). Please be good to me. It was my fourth post. I mean the recipe is perfect but the photos are just horrible… Sorry about that. Blogging is an ongoing process that makes you better on so many levels along the way. I just love it and I am grateful for all I have learned! So, please skip the photos and go straight for the recipe, in case you want to make the basic traditional recipe. Otherwise, stick with this post because this year I decided to get into variation and just add mint, green onions, and cream cheese. I am so glad I made it. It is really scrumptious.
Mediterranean Greek flat pies are such ridiculously easy recipes that a young child would have a blast making them. By all means, call your children into the kitchen to join you. It is an excellent way especially for picky eaters to establish another relationship with food. You are going to have so much fun together and the pie will be even tastier because it will be their culinary creation.
MEDITERRANEAN GREEK PIE: THE RECIPE
What can I say about the recipe? Dairy products, eggs, flour, mint, green onions in a baking pan and in the oven. In 40 minutes you got a house that smells heavenly and if your windows are opened, your neighbors will surely look for the source of this divine smell, sniffing all around. Hurry up, people, close the windows! This Mediterranean Greek pie is yours and yours only. Just kidding! Share, my friends! Give happiness, make relationships providing homemade, real food. When I make this pie, I give extra pieces to my son’s and husband’s lunch boxes in order to share with their friends and colleagues. I just love to hear all those nice comments and share the recipe, if asked!
COOK IT LIKE A GREEK YIAYIA (=NICE OLD LADY)
This is a no-fail recipe BUT if you follow these tips, you will take it to another level. As always your ingredients should be fresh and of the best quality, you may find.
The feta cheese: I prefer a hard and extra spicy feta cheese because spicy feta cheese… well, it just spices things up. For sure.
I propose to use a thin rectangular or round baking pan because the heat is perfectly conducted and gives a crispier pie. I used a 14-inch (36 cm) round baking pan which is the ideal size for the number of ingredients mentioned. No matter what pan you are going to use, keep in mind that this is a flat pie and it should be thin, meaning no more than 0.5 inch (1.5 cm). We want to be cooked through and remain crispy at the edges and slightly soft in the middle.
Make sure that your oiled and/or buttered baking pan is super extra hot when you pour in the batter because this will give extra crispiness.
READY! NOW, WHAT?
You may serve this Mediterranean Greek pie all day long. It is so versatile. Make it for breakfast, dinner with a nice salad, snack, lunch box, for your picnic, road trip. It covers all the bases and it will never disappoint you.
I particularly enjoy it with a glass of cold white wine like Assyrtico.
That’s it, guys! I should leave you now. I have to make the next “dairy week’s” recipe. I will just give you a hint: Greek traditional cheesy pasta. I say no more so stay tuned!
Make me happy! Show me your Mediterranean Greek pie, if you decide to make it. I would be thrilled to see your creations in the social media of your choice in my Instagram and Facebook. Just tag me and/or leave your comment below. You should check out my Pinterest account. I am so proud of it because I have gathered almost 5.5k pins of Mediterranean friendly recipes and it’s definitely worth visiting and following!
MEDITERRANEAN GREEK FLAT FLOUR PIE
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
- 3 cups feta cheese crumbled
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 cup cream cheese
- 1 cup kasseri cheese or provolone or mozzarella
- 3 eggs
- 3 spring onions chopped
- ⅔ cup fresh mint chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- Butter or olive oil optional
- A pinch of salt
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 482°F (250°C). Grease the bottom and sides of a 14-inch round (36 cm) baking pan.*
- Beat lightly the eggs in a small bowl. In a big bowl, add all the ingredients except for the flour. Sift the flour to avoid any lumps and stir lightly the batter. It will be smooth and runny.
- Place the greased pan in the preheated oven and leave for a couple of minutes until it is hot enough. Carefully remove the baking pan from the oven and immediately pour in the batter.
- Top with some butter or/and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil (optional).
- Reduce heat to 392°F (200°C). Place on the lower oven rack and bake for about 40-45 minutes. It is ready when the sides of the pie pull away from the pan and the surface is golden brown.
- Serve hot or/and cold.
This trend in Greek diet continued in Roman and Ottoman times and changed only fairly recently when technological progress has made meat more available. Wine and olive oil have always been a central part of it and the spread of grapes and olive trees in the Mediterranean and further afield is correlated with Greek colonization.
Thank you for your comment!
This is so easy and delicious! I cut it down by 1/3 and baked in a 9 x 13 inch glass pan – we LOVED it.
I am so thrilled you liked it! I would be grateful if you give your rate. Thank you for your kind comment.
Can u use filo dough?
Hello Nancy! Of course, you can. Layer 6 phyllo sheets at the bottom of your baking dish and make sure you brush them with olive oil. Pour the flour-cheese mixture into the baking dish over the phyllo. Turn in the overhanging edges to form a ring. You are good to go! Hope you like it!
xxx
Sylia
my favourite pie
Thank you so much. You made my day! 🙂
Loved it, easy to make and tastefull!
Dear Jane, thank you so much for making my recipe. I am honored and excited that you liked it.
xxx
Sylia
My grandmother emigrated from Ioannina at the turn of the 20th century and my parents generation was raised on something similar and I think you finally helped me make the connection. It was a very similar batter –those cheeses were not available so she used a fresh farmer cheese, a hard grated cheese — and instead of being baked it was fried. It was on my family table until my aunt passed about 10 years ago..By chance would this resemble something else? I should point out that my family is Greek Jewish (I know a rarity)
Ioannina
Hello Esther! So glad you stopped by. I did research on Greek sites specializing in traditional Jewish-Greek cuisine but I wasn’t lucky. Are you sure it was a fried no-phyllo pie? Maybe it was fried bread stuffed with cheeses? Maybe if you give me some more info I could try to replicate it. So pity delicious, traditional recipes to get lost in time.
xxx
Sylia