Savory Filo Pie With Cheese Recipes

PHYLLO CHEESE PIE

Steps:

• Filling: In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients. Whisk until ingredients are completely integrated. Heat oven to 390°F (200°C).
• Assembly: Grease a baking pan. Layer one phyllo sheet on the bottom of the pan. Brush a thin layer of (butter and oil) coating over the sheet. Add another sheet of phyllo on top of the first one and repeat the coating.
• Grab a generous amount of filling (about 4 tablespoons), and spread evenly over the top sheet. Layer two sheets on top of the filling, coating each before adding the next layer (just like in step two). (If phyllo is larger than the pan, you can fold, crumple or cut it until it fits.) Top with the filling again and spread it evenly. Repeat phyllo, coating and filling layers until you run out ingredients. Make sure the last, top, pie layer has at least 2-3 sheets of phyllo. Brush it with coating last time and put the pan in the oven.
• Bake 15 min. Rotate the pan and continue baking another 15-20 minutes. Monitor the pie so it doesn't blush too much (or burn). If it blushes too much lower the temperature to 360°F (180°C) or cover with foil.
• Topping: In a small pan combine milk and butter. Warm up the milk just until the butter melts. Take the cheese pie out of the oven. Using a teaspoon distribute the topping evenly over the pie. Turn the oven off and return the pie inside for a few minutes.
• Serve 20-30 minutes (an hour is even better!) after baking. Store in a cool place (outside) for up to a day. Transfer to the fridge for up to 2-3 days. (Cover in plastic wrap.) Use your favorite reheating method, or eat cold. Do not freeze.

SAVORY FILO PIE WITH CHEESE

Steps:

• Mix and combine cottage or ricotta cheese, sea salt and eggs with a fork.
• On a clean surface lay out a sheet of filo pastry and sprinkle with some mineral water and sunflower oil. Fold the sheet in half on the long side and smear a tablespoon of the cheese mixture over it. Starting from the long end, roll the sheet loosely over the filling until you have a long filo crepe. Do not press or squeeze - leave the room for the cheese and eggs to spread while baking. Slowly twist the crepe round and round to form a spiral. Repeat for the remaining mixture - should make between 10 and 12 spirals.
• Place one spiral quite near another in a shallow, greased oven proof dish. Do not squeeze them together. Leave enough space for the pie to expand during baking.
• Mix and combine the remaining filling and oil with sour cream. Smear the top of each spiral with this mixture.
• Bake in the oven at 200°C for 40 minutes. After 20 minutes, if the pie top browns too quickly, cover with Alu foil.
• Cool the pie a little, divide into pieces and serve with yogurt, kefir or alone.

TIROPITA (GREEK SAVOURY CHEESE PIE)

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo dough completely.
• Melt the 6 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan.
• Whisk in the flour and cook slightly (1-2 minutes) to get rid of 'raw' flour taste.
• Slowly whisk in the milk.
• Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens.
• Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
• Quickly whisk the eggs into the sauce one at a time.
• Then stir in the cheese.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Butter a 13 X 9" Pyrex baking dish generously (you can also use a larger baking pan - the tiropita just comes out a little thinner, but is nicer for appetizer servings).
• Flatten phyllo dough and cover with a sheet of wax paper and a lightly dampened towel (to avoid drying out).
• Take one sheet at a time and place in baking dish.
• Brush phyllo generously with butter.
• Use about 6 sheets this way and then add 1/2 of cheese filling.
• Layer 3 more sheets of phyllo (brushing each one with butter) and then top with remaining cheese filling.
• Finally, layer 6 sheets of phyllo over top (brushing each one with butter) and fold in the edges to make the tiropita look neat.
• Brush top generously with remaining butter.
• Score top of phyllo carefully with the point of a sharp knife, just cutting through pastry (only cut through the top layers of pastry, do not cut all the way down to the bottom layer), into the size of pieces you will want to serve.
• Make sure you don't cut right through pie.
• Bake for about 45 minutes to one hour, or until golden brown.
• (Make sure bottom crust is nice and golden- if it isn't- put it directly on floor of oven for about 10 minutes to brown faster. You don't want a soggy, uncooked bottom pastry).
• Variation: I often add 8 oz. of a good-quality, chopped, smoked ham to the cheese filling.

SAVORY SQUASH PIE

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo dough following package directions.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Peel and seed winter squash. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
• Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in oven for about 30 minutes, or until squash is tender. Remove from oven and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• In a large bowl, mash cooked squash. Add parsley, mint, and Feta. Stir to combine.
• Wash and chop the white and light green parts of the leek. Peel and mince the garlic.
• Heat a little olive oil (about 2 teaspoons) in a small frying pan. Add the chopped leek and garlic. Cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add to the squash mixture.
• Grease an 8-inch cake pan. Layer 7 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with olive oil, and overlapping each sheet until the entire cake pan is covered.
• Stir a beaten egg into the squash mixture. Spread mixture over the phyllo in the pan.
• Cover with 5 sheets of phyllo dough, once again brushing each sheet with olive oil. Tuck the edges into the side of the pan. Make a few cuts in the top with a knife.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until the pie is golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm or at room temperature.
• Note: This recipe will use less than one package of commercial phyllo dough. Save the remainder for another pie or refreeze for future use.

SAVORY FILO PIE WITH ZUCCHINI AND FETA

Steps:

• Remove the filo from the refrigerator. Grate the zucchini using the large holes of a grater. Place it in a colander and sprinkle with ¼ tsp. of salt. Let it sit for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes, squeeze the zucchini between the palms of your hands to remove all the excess water. This is necessary so your filo does not get soggy (as a reference, I was able to remove about a cup of liquid from mine). Place the drained zucchini in a medium bowl.
• Chop the green onions, mince the dill and crumble the Feta. Add them to the bowl with the zucchini then stir in the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest, spearmint, salt and pepper. Stir gently to incorporate and set aside. If there is time, refrigerate the mixture for 20-30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line a 10" springform pan with a piece of parchment paper and secure it to the top edges of the side with clips (a regular 10" tart pan can be used as well as long as the sides are about 2" tall.).
• Open your room-temperature filo. Unroll it and place it on a clean surface. Position the long side in front of you. The filo will measure 13" x 18". Cut through the center of the stack of filo so you have a 13" x 9" stack. You will need only half of the package (8oz.), so cover the remainder well and refrigerate it.
• Take two filo sheets and place the springform pan on top of them. With a sharp knife, cut the filo around the pan so you have two round pieces of filo. Brush a little olive oil on each of them and stack them at the bottom of the pan (they will form the base of the filo pie).
• Brush three sheets of filo lightly with olive oil and stack then on top of each other. Spread about 3 TBSP. the filling on the top layer of the filo stack, using the back of a spoon (do not worry if it is not spread evenly). Gently scrunch the filo lengthwise to create a pleat (see photos). Once it is all scrunched, form a small coil and place the coiled and filled filo in the center of the pan. Repeat this spread/scrunch/coil process with a second stack of three layers of filo, and add this to the end of the first coil in the pan so that your coil is expanding from the center of the pan outward (see photos). Continue with the same process until you have created three additional pleated filo stacks and you run out of the filling. If there are any visible gaps, use some pieces of filo to fill them out.
• Brush the top of the pleated filo tart lightly with olive oil and bake for about an hour. Half way through baking, gently lift the tart to ensure that the bottom is cooking evenly. If it is not, place the pan on the lower rack for the remainder of the cooking time.
• When the tart is ready, the top should look golden brown and crispy. If necessary, cook for a few more minutes to get it to the right color. Remove the pan and place the tart on a rack to cool down slightly until you can handle it. At that point, open the springform pan and slide the filo tart directly to the rack to cool off completely.