Tiropita: crisp Greek cheese pie
Shattering filo around a savoury feta, graviera, ricotta, egg, and black-pepper filling.
Prep30 min
Cook45 min
Rest15 min
Oven190°C
Servings8
Adapted for the home kitchen from documented Greek recipe references
Ingredients
Written for a 23 × 33 cm dish
Units
Temperature
Servings
- 300 g feta, crumbled rounded
- 180 g graviera or vegetarian hard cheese, coarsely grated rounded
- 200 g ricotta rounded
- 3 eggs rounded
- 1 g black pepper rounded
- 2 g dried mint, optional rounded
- 300 g filo pastry rounded
- 110 g butter, melted rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Mix feta, graviera, ricotta, eggs, pepper, and mint just until combined. Heat the oven to 190°C.
- Butter a 23 x 33 cm metal tin and layer in half the filo, brushing every sheet lightly with butter.
- Spread the cheese filling evenly, keeping it 1 cm from the edges.
- Add remaining filo with butter between sheets. Tuck the sides neatly and score the top into eight pieces.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until crisp and deep gold. Rest 15 minutes before cutting through the score lines.
Notes
- Do not salt before tasting the feta and graviera.
- Keep the filo covered with a damp towel as you work; sheets left out go brittle within minutes.
- A mixed cheese filling stays creamy while pure feta can bake up dry and aggressively salty.
- Graviera is made with animal rennet, as is Gruyère AOP, so the pie is not vegetarian as written. A vegetarian hard cheese set with microbial rennet does the same job and makes it one. Greek feta PDO is set with microbial rennet and is fine.
Sources consulted
Good with
- Greek salad with sardines
- İmam bayıldı: Turkish stuffed aubergines
- Moudjendra: Cypriot lentils, rice, and caramelised onions
Sources consulted
From Christoph Mayer