Semolina Cheese Pie

AKA Tiropita me simigdali

Growing up in Greece Tiropita was one of my favourite snacks. There are so many versions around that I can hardly remember them all. Different types of pastry, shapes and cooking instructions as well as different combinations of feta with other cheese make this dish an extremely multifaceted.

I remember when I was little and my mum used to buy me Tiropita at the bakery. She would always complain about how big the portions were and I would always finish the whole thing in a matter of minutes. Definitely not a fussy eater!

This version is very quick to make as it uses store bought filo pastry and it’s delicious because it combines the cheese with a semolina based roux. This little trick gives you a superior creaminess as well as a great balance in terms of taste. Sometimes, baking a tiropita with 100% feta can turn out to be too salty. With this trick, you won’t have to worry about it!

Ingredients

500g milk
100g thin semolina
450g filo pastry
50gr unsalted butter
250g feta
250g Greek Graviera (or other hard cheese)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Pepper
1 glass of extra virgin olive oil
Sesame seeds for sprinkling

Step by Step

• Melt the butter in a pan

• Add in the semolina and mix until you get breadcrumb consistency

• Take to pan off the hobb and add in the milk. Whisk vigorously until smooth

• Put the pan back on the hob at medium hit and mix until it thickens. Put it aside and let it cool down

• In a bowl whisk you egg and yolk and add in your semolina cream, crumbled feta, grated graviera and pepper. Mix everything and set aside

• Preheat your oven at 200C and prep a 28x36cm deep baking tray

• Place a filo sheet at the bottom of your baking tray and with a brush drizzle it with olive oil from above (the brush must not touch the filo sheet)

• Place another filo on top and drizzle again. Repeat for a total of 4 filo sheets

• Add your semolina and cheese cream

• Now it’s time to cover the top of the pie. With your hands crinkle another filo sheet and place it on top of your filling and tuck it on the sides of the tray

• With your brush drizzle a generous amount of olive oil on your filo sheet. Keep going until you finish all your filo sheets

• The more uneven and crinkled are the filo sheets to crunchier your pie will be. Remember to only drizzle and don’t touch the sheets with the brush

• Sprinkle with sesame seed and bake for 45-50 mins or until it becomes golden and crunchy

• Enjoy

Tips & Cheats

Never brush the inside layers of the filo or the oil will make it too heavy and it won’t become crunchy. Just drizzle the oil generously and only brush the final top layer. In this way you will always get an extremely crunchy result.

If you want to achieve a crunchier pie bottom use a thin layer of breadcrumbs between the bottom filo sheets and filling. It won’t change the taste, but it will just absorb any excess liquid.

Filo is a neutral pastry and you can use it for sweet bakes too. The possibilities are endless!