Kalitsounia

Small open pastries with their own dough rather than filo, pinched into points so the cheese sits proud in the middle.

Egg. Not vegetarian — contains ricotta whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 500 g plain flour
• 100 ml olive oil
• 60 ml raki or ouzo
• 150 ml warm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg

For the filling

• 600 g mizithra, anthotyro or ricotta
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons fine semolina
• zest of 1 lemon
• a small bunch of mint, chopped

To finish

• 1 egg yolk, to glaze
• honey and cinnamon, for the sweet ones

Method

1. THESE HAVE THEIR OWN DOUGH AND ARE NOT MADE WITH FILO, which is what separates them from every other pastry on this site. The raki in it is not for flavour -- the alcohol boils off early and leaves the dough short and crisp rather than bready, in the way vodka does in a shortcrust.
2. THEY ARE OPEN AND PINCHED, NOT SEALED. The cheese sits proud in the middle and the edges are pinched up into four or five points around it, like a small star. Sealed over, the filling steams and goes watery; open, the surface dries and colours.
3. THE SEMOLINA IN THE FILLING IS DOING THE SAME JOB AS IN THE CHEESE PIE -- fresh cheese is wet and it takes up what would otherwise run out into the dough.
4. Flour and salt in a bowl. Oil, raki, egg and warm water added and brought together, then kneaded 8 minutes to a smooth, firm, slightly springy dough.
5. Covered and rested 1 hour. It rolls far thinner after resting.
6. Filling: cheese beaten with the egg, semolina, zest and mint. If the cheese is very wet, drained in a sieve for an hour first.
7. Dough rolled out to 2 mm -- thin enough to see the worktop through -- and cut into discs about 9 cm across.
8. A heaped teaspoon of filling in the middle of each.
9. The edge pinched up at four or five points around the filling, each pinch pressed firmly so it holds, leaving the centre open.
10. Glazed with the yolk on the pastry only, not the cheese.
11. Baked at 180C for 20 to 25 minutes until the pastry is gold and the cheese is set and lightly browned.
12. Eaten warm. For sweet ones, honey spooned over and cinnamon dusted while they are still hot.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Greece · All recipes