Greek feta cheese pies, rolled into individual servings (tiropitakia) are very popular in Greek cuisine and come into a variety of shapes and tastes. The main ingredient is always the one and only Greek feta cheese. These half-moon shaped tiropitakia remind me so much of my childhood. Engage your kids and make these together. Create beautiful memories that last for ever.
Hands on: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes
Serves: 40 small pieces
Ingredients
For the dough
500 g (1.1pound) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
200 g (7.1 oz) strained yogurt
200 g (7.1 oz) olive oil
1 pinch salt
1/2 tablespoon(s) vinegar
2 eggs
For the filling
300 g (10.6oz) feta cheese
2 tablespoon(s) strained yogurt
1 tablespoon(s) mint, dry
Pepper
How to do it
For the dough
In a bowl, combine vinegar, yogurt, olive oil and eggs.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt.
Mix with a spoon until all of the ingredients are completely combined and the mixture comes together nicely.
As soon as the dough starts to form, continue kneading by hand until the dough does not stick to your hands. Do not knead for too long so that it doesn’t release any oil.
For the filling
In a bowl, add the feta and break it apart with a fork.
Add the mint.
Mix with the fork and add the pepper and the yogurt to help keep the mixture together.
To assemble
Lightly knead the dough on a clean working surface.
Lay a sheet of parchment paper on your working surface and place a piece of dough (size of a big walnut) on it.
Spread it out with your hands and then roll it out with a rolling pin until it is 1/4 cm thick.
Use a cup or a round cookie cutter to cut the dough in to circles.
Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center and brush the edges all the way around with water so that it can stick together when closed.
Fold the dough over, using the parchment paper to help you and press down on the edges with a fork to seal and form a little pie (half-moon shape).
Repeat the same process until all of the pieces of dough are filled.
Bake for 20-25 minutes (preheated oven to 160o C (320o F) Fan, until golden.
When ready, remove from the oven and serve.
Tips
· A mature feta cheese gives this traditional tiropitakia recipe a bold and salty flavor, so be careful. No salt in the seasoning!
· Besides dry mint you can add dry oregano or dry nutmeg. If you want to add fresh herbs double the dose and finely chop them.