I visited my friend abroad in Athens, Greece over fall break, and while I was there, I had the opportunity to take part in her Greek cooking class. We learned the secrets to crafting all kinds of delicious Greek food — roasted potatoes soaked in olive oil, white bean soup, fish with sauteed tomatoes, onions and dill and tiropita (baked cheese pastries made with phyllo dough). Slaving over the stove under the watchful eye of Stavros, the consummate Greek chef, we were continually berated for being stingy with the olive oil and garlic as we cooked. The class ended with a multicourse feast — we got to eat all of the food we had cooked and wash it down with gallons of Greek wine poured from classy two-liter plastic bottles.
Depending on their size, tiropita are great as appetizers or small meals. The recipe below was prepared as an appetizer in our aforementioned feast. These cheese pastries are sold everywhere in Greece, from fancy tavernas to a 24-hour convenience store chain that I can only assume is Athens’s version of Wawa.
Tiropita
Ingredients:
1 lb feta cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
½ tablespoon pepper
Lots of olive oil (and a pastry brush)
1 package phyllo dough (buy it frozen, then let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours before using)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the feta cheese, eggs, parsley, pepper and one tablespoon olive oil. Mash the mixture around with your hands until it is creamy and well-blended. Place one large spoonful (about 1/3 cup) of the cheese mixture in the center of the phyllo. Roll the phyllo around the cheese, stopping after each roll to brush it with olive oil. When the dough is half-way rolled, tuck the ends in and continue rolling until the cheese is enclosed completely.
Place the phyllo tubes onto a greased baking sheet (you should have enough cheese mixture for 15-20 tubes) and bake for about 20 minutes, until the dough has turned golden-brown. Serve hot.
