Cheese Pie with 3 Cheeses / Τυρόπιτα Με 3 Τυριά

Street food in Greece mainly features pastries and pies, especially in towns and cities; they are often eaten on the move as a snack in between meals. The most popular are Tyropita or Spanakopita, both delicious and easy to make.

Ingredients (serves 8):

For the sauce:
25g (1oz) butter
25g (1oz) plain flour
275 ml (½ pint) milk

For the filling:
250g (9oz) Feta cheese, washed and crumbled
250g (9oz) Myzithra or ricotta cheese
250g (9oz) Halloumi cheese, washed and grated
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 spring onions, finely chopped
3 medium eggs, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of ground nutmeg

For the pastry:
12-14 sheets filo pastry
100g (4oz) melted butter
Sesame seeds and Nigella seeds for decoration

Method:
Make the white sauce first; melt the 25g of butter in a small heavy saucepan, add the flour, stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Gradually stir in the milk until a paste has formed, stir continuously until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and cool. Place all the filling ingredients in a large bowl, pour in the white sauce and season with pepper and nutmeg (no salt needed). Butter a metal oven dish 31cm x 31cm round or 31cm x 20cm oblong.
Gently unfold the filo pastry and place the dish you are using on top of it to measure roughly. Allow the pastry to overlap the dish before cutting to size. Spread half of the filo pastry onto the dish, brushing each leaf with melted butter. Spread in the cheese filling, fold excess pastry on top of the cheese and cover with the remaining pastry as before. Tuck the overlapping pastry down the inside of the dish and brush the top with melted butter.
Score the top of the pastry forming diamonds or squares, whichever you prefer (do not cut too deep). Sprinkle with a little water to prevent the pastry curling up when baking and scatter the seeds on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°c/375°f for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Serve hot or cold with a mixed leaf salad.

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