Recipe: Prasopita | Stuff.co.nz

I’ve deep respect for anybody who has efficiently made filo pastry. I attempted as soon as. It was the form of exercise that makes me glad my kitchen isn’t rigged with surveillance gear. Some issues are finest delegated.

However, I really like working with it.

The Greeks are superb at pies, or pita, often made with filo or an analogous skinny pastry, spanakopita, or spinach pie, in fact being the most effective recognized of all of them. Leeks are used extra in rural Greece, the place they take the place of spinach in what is called a prasopita. I feel that is much more scrumptious than the spinach counterpart, and a very good method of repurposing the poor previous leek for one thing past soup. Go to city on the cheese – the measurements are extra of a information – and you need to use nearly no matter you want in response to your tastes: a mixture of punchy and melty does the trick, I feel. This can preserve effectively – it’s preferrred for a picnic.

READ MORE:
* Recipe: Lamb koftas with spiced tomato salad and white bean puree
* Recipes: Lamb chops with oregano, garlic and lemon, plus a Greek salad by Sam Mannering
* Recipe: Baklava

Prasopita

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook dinner time: 1 hour

Serves: approx. 6

Substances

2 giant leeks

Olive oil

1 tsp butter

½ cup dry white wine

Massive handful every of flat leaf parsley and mint, roughly chopped

Small handful of oregano, roughly chopped

200g feta

150g onerous cheese resembling parmesan or cheddar, grated

Sea salt and black pepper

2 eggs, evenly crushed

100g melted butter

250g-500g filo pastry

Methodology

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Take away the outer layer from the leeks, trim off and discard the bottom and the powerful inexperienced leaves on the high, and roughly chop. Rinse effectively in a colander to eliminate any soil that has caught within the leaves, and drain effectively.

In a saucepan over a average warmth, add a glug of oil and the teaspoon of butter, adopted by the leeks. Cook dinner down gently for 10-Quarter-hour till tender and barely caramelised. Take care to not allow them to catch on the underside. Convey up the warmth, add the wine, and let it bubble up and scale back proper down, then take away from the warmth and go away to chill for a couple of minutes. Combine within the chopped parsley, mint and oregano, crumble within the feta and add the grated cheese. Mix every part collectively effectively, and style and season bravely. Combine within the crushed eggs.

Brush the within of a 20cm collapsible cake tin with a little bit of the melted butter.

Take your filo, and, brushing every sheet with a little bit of butter, layer a couple of dozen layers of pastry one after the other contained in the tin, ensuring there’s good overlap over the facet. It’s no biggie if the sheets tear a bit – they’ll fuse collectively when baking. After you have an excellent thick layer on the underside – use your judgment on this, and add extra layers for those who assume it’s too skinny – then add the leek combination, smoothing off the highest. Take 5-6 extra layers of filo, brushed with butter, scrunch them up and prepare on high, packing them collectively snugly, to create one thing of a lid. Pop on a baking tray and bake for about 30-45 minutes, till beautiful and golden brown on high. Take care to not let the filo get too darkish – control it. Permit to chill as soon as out of the oven, and serve. This might be even higher the following day, and can reheat effectively.