Little Cheese Pies Tiropitakia Food

TYROPITAKIA RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 180 deg C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
• In a large bowl combine the ricotta, feta, Pecorino, nutmeg, pepper and 2 eggs. Mix thoroughly to combine and set aside.
• Take one sheet of fillo, lay it out width wise on a clean bench, brush with melted butter and layer another sheet of fillo on top. Proceed until you have a stack of 4 fillo sheets all brushed with butter. Cut out 5 vertical strips form the pastry (each should measure approximately 8cms)
• Place one heaped tablespoon of the cheese mixture on the very top of the sheet allowing a few cms of space and press down lightly. Fold diagonally to form a triangle, then continue folding ensuring you keep a triangular shape. (Any excess fillo that remains can be "tucked in" by brushing it with a little extra butter).
• Continue with the remaining fillo and filling until you end up with 20 pies. Dip each pie in the beaten eggs, drain any excess and then place onto a plate filled with sesame seeds. Cover each pie with the sesame seeds until all are done and bake in the oven for approx. 15 mins until golden.
• When the pies come out of the oven allow them to cool for 5 minutes before drizzling them with the chilli infused honey.

TIROPITAKIA (LITTLE CHEESE PIES)

Steps:

• Crumble or mash the feta cheese with a fork.
• Add the grated cheese, parsley, eggs and pepper.
• Cut pastry sheets in strips about 2x12 inches.
• Stack them one on top of the other to prevent From drying.
• Brush a strip of phyllo with melted butter, lay another strip on top and brush that one with butter too.
• Put one teaspoon of the filling on the short end of the strip, facing you, and fold over one corner to make a triangle.
• Continue folding pastry strip from side to side in the shape of a triangle until the entire pastry strip covers the filling. (Remember how we were taught to fold a flag into a triangular shape? Think of that as you keep folding the dough over. You should have a nice, neat, triangular packet.)
• Proceed in this manner with remaining pastry strips and filling until all are used.
• Put"tiropitakia" on a buttered baking sheet, brush generously with melted butter and bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve hot.
• You can also make these ahead, put on a baking sheet and freeze, unbaked. When frozen, just keep them in a ziploc bag and you can have tiropitakia at a moment's notice. Just add 5 more minutes to the baking time if you're using frozen ones.

TIROPITAKIA (MINIATURE GREEK CHEESE PIES)

Steps:

• Remove the filo pastry from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature about 1 hour.
• Make the filling by mashing the feta until it crumbles.
• Add to this the eggs, Emmenthal cheese, ricotta, parsley, mint and pepper and blend well.
• Cut each filo leaf into a strip 6 x 12" (15 x 30 cm).
• Brush each leaf with the melted butter.
• Fold the leaves in half lengthwise making strips 3 x l1" (6 x 30 cm).
• Again brush with butter and place 1 Tbsp.
• of the filling at the bottom of each leaf.
• Fold over to form a triangle (like you were folding a flag) and continue folding until the strip is completed.
• Repeat with each of the strips and place the completed triangles on a well greased cookie sheet.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Brush the tops of each triangle with butter and then with a mixture of the egg yolk and 2 Tbsp of water.
• Sprinkle over with the sesame seeds and bake in a medium oven until the pastries are golden brown and flaky (about 20- 30 minutes).
• Serve hot or cool.
• Yields 16- 24 pastries.