Agginarotyropita--Artichoke Cheese Pie

In Greek, the word "Pita" does not simply stand for the flatbreads most people are familiar with in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. Instead, "Pita" is the Greek word for pie, a significant component of the classic Greek diet.

In the old days, a Greek housewife was quite frankly "judged" on her ability to roll out her own phyllo and as such her most prized kitchen tools included only a long, thin wooden rod used as a rolling pin and a large round wooden surface on which to stretch the phyllo.

Back then, pites (plural for pita) offered a way for housewives to make something a bit more substantial out of the little produce that was actually available. Fillings and techniques varied from region to region: savory or sweet; phyllo layered with a vegetable filling; coiled or S-shaped; some with cheese, others without; and many made with rice or semolina as opposed to dairy so as to abide by the dietary restrictions of Lent. The possibilities were and continue to be endless.

I love having some form of Greek savory pies on hand during summer months as they always make for a light meal and a quick bite before or after a day at the beach. A flavorful pie--be it spinach, cheese, squash, or any other combination of vegetables and herbs you like--can go a long way. Pair it with a fresh salad and a Greek dip such as melitzanosalata, tzatztiki or kopanisti and you've got a light lunch that won't weigh you down when you're out and about in the sizzling summer heat.

During Lent I made an "Agginaropita" that consisted of artichokes, herbs and a bit of semolina to bind it all as eggs and cheese were out of the question. It was quite good and extremely satisfying but the other day I put together this "Agginarotyropita" as I adore Greek pies featuring cheese, especially Feta. I served it during my daughter's birthday party and more than one guest commented that it was the best tyropita they'd ever eaten! I love how the artichokes provide an extra dimension of flavor. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

Agginarotyropita--Artichoke Cheese Pie

Makes a 13x9-inch pie

6 to 8 artichokes, cleaned and chopped

Handful of dill, finely chopped

Handful of parsley, finely chopped

2 eggs

1 pound good quality Feta, crumbled

1/3 cup grated Kefalotyri, Parmesan or Pecorino Romano

3 tablespoons olive oil (you will need more for brushing the phyllo)

Freshly ground black pepper

12 sheets of phyllo

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil the baking dish and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the artichokes, dill, parsley, Feta, grated cheese, pepper and eggs and stir until mixed thoroughly. Add the 3 tablespoons olive and stir (adding a little more if the mixture seems too dry).

Working quickly, take a sheet of phyllo and layer it in the baking dish. Brush the top with oil and repeat layering with 6 more sheets of phyllo (brushing each with oil before topping with the next). Spoon filling evenly over phyllo and then begin layering remaining 5 sheets of phyllo over top, brushing each with oil before topping with the next. Pinch edges of phyllo to form a crust around the pie and brush top layer well with olive oil. (Alternatively, you can roll sheets of phyllo filled with some of the mixture as I did here.)

With a sharp knife, score only the top layers of phyllo into servings (this will make cutting the pie later much easier). Bake the pie in the center of the oven until the phyllo is golden, about 45 minutes. Let it cool before serving.

Rice, Mushrooms and Bacon Wrapped in Phyllo over Sweet & Spicy Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Mini Peppers

It's been a while since I participated in the friendly competition us food bloggers know as the Royal Foodie Joust, so lovingly hosted by her highness Jenn The Leftover Queen. So this month, I decided it was high time to get back into the game and what better way to do so than with three great ingredients chosen by last month's winner, the ever-so-talented, Nuria of Spanish Recipes. What are those great ingredients you ask? Well, rice, tomato and bacon of course.

The ingredients seem simple enough. And to be honest, when I first read what Nuria picked, I arrogantly thought to myself, "This is going to be a breeze." Errrrr! Wrong! Coming up with something unique and genuine with such common ingredients was much, much, much harder than I thought. And after one failed attempt (turns out rice pudding should remain under the dessert category and not make any savory debuts) and a week's worth of (mis)conceptualizing, I was all but ready to give this month's Joust up.

But then a little bell rang in this jumbled mind of mine. It tolled out, "Maria, think more along the lines of what you know." No fancy schmancy savory rice puddings; no rice terrines; just simple, solid flavors using techniques that can't go wrong. So here you have it -- rice sauteed with bacon, mushrooms and parsley then rolled into long packets of phyllo, baked and served over a bed of roasted cherry tomatoes and peppers tossed in sugar and spicy Hungarian Paprika.

Now head on over to Jenn's site and take a look at the array of entries for this month's Joust ... they're all truly mouthwatering.

Kali Orexi!

Rice, Mushrooms and Bacon Wrapped in Phyllo over Sweet & Spicy Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Mini Peppers

1 cup Arborio rice

1 1/2 cups water/chicken broth

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups sliced mushrooms

6 oz. bacon, chopped

Handful of parsley, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

10 sheets of phyllo

Olive oil

Partially cook rice in 1 1/2 to 2 cups water, chicken broth or vegetable broth and set aside. In a large skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil and saute onion until soft. Add the bacon and cook until slightly browned. Stir in the mushrooms and toss to coat well with the bacon and onions. Add the rice to the skillet, season with salt, pepper and paprika and cook for a minute more. Sprinkle with parsley and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take your phyllo, two sheets at a time, and oil the top sheet. Spoon some of the rice mixture along the shorter side of the phyllo about an inch from the edge. Begin rolling the phyllo over the mixture, making a long "packet," and brush the phyllo a little each time you roll the packet. Place in an oiled baking dish and brush top of phyllo packet with additional oil. Continue with the remaining phyllo and rice mixture; you should have five long rows of phyllo stuffed with rice. Score the tops of each row to cut through top layers of phyllo and make cutting through each piece later easier. Bake in center of oven for 45 minutes or until golden.

To serve as a first course, serve the phyllo packets over a bed of cherry tomatoes and mini peppers that have been tossed in sugar, hot Hungarian Paprika and olive oil, then roasted until tender.

Pita me Spanaki kai Anitho--Spinach and Dill Pie

I'm in the midst of a big baking project--let's just say it's a multi-tiered cake that will feed 100--but I wanted to quickly share this recipe with you before I completely drown in gum paste, fondant icing and buttercream frosting.

In the mood to bake a pita (savory pie) the other day, I put together this lighter version of spanakopita or spinach pie. Usually, a spanakopita includes lots of Feta (or any somewhat soft cheese similar to it) but as I was fresh out of Feta and I in no way intended to leave the house again to shop for any, I decided to work with what I did have on hand.

And that's how this pita came to be--nothing immensely innovative, just a tasty and healthy pie that everyone young and old (at least in this household) can enjoy. Packed with spinach and fresh dill, a little parsley and a sprinkling of grated Pecorino Romano, this pie makes for a refreshingly light lunch along with a small salad and some tart olives.

Oh, and I am not going to lie: I used frozen phyllo dough. I have yet to attempt to roll out my own. I did say I was in the middle of a huge baking project, right? Excuses, excuses ...

Pita me Spanaki kai Anitho--Spinach and Dill Pie

Makes a 13x9-inch pie

1/2 cup olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 scallions (white and green parts), chopped
1 bunch dill, chopped
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
20 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained of some liquid or 2 to 3 bunches fresh spinach, trimmed and washed
3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
3 large eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
16 sheets of phyllo dough

Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the onion and scallions until just soft. Stir in the dill, parsley and spinach and heat through; remove from heat.

Oil a 13x9-inch baking dish and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Add the grated cheese to the spinach and dill mixture; then add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Season generously with salt and pepper and set aside.

Begin layering 10 sheets of phyllo along the bottom of the dish, using the remaining olive oil to brush each sheet generously with oil. Spoon the filling evenly over the bottom phyllo layers and then begin layering the remaining 6 sheets of phyllo over top, brushing each sheet with oil. Pinch the edges of the top and bottom sheets together.

Bake the pie until the phyllo is golden , about 45 minutes to an hour. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

All about Figs

One of my favorite childhood memories is of climbing the large fig tree in my family’s yard every August to gather the sweet fruit along with my two cousins. We enjoyed the “adventure” of climbing the tree to pick the figs while our parents, grandmother and aunts indulged in eating the ripe fruit. My husband and I recently bought a one family home here in New York and much to our delight the yard contains a number of fig trees. This being our first summer in our new home, we were delighted to see that dozens of figs sprouted on the dense branches of our fig trees beginning in late July and were even happier to see how well they ripened by the end of August. I brought in a fresh batch today and seeing the quantity, wanted to do much more than just eat them as a snack. My first inclination was to make a traditional Greek spoon sweet, that way we can savor the fruits of our garden for weeks down the line. As I’ve been too lazy to venture out and find cooking lime though, I decided to make a phyllo dessert filled with custard and ripened figs. And as there were still plenty more figs to consume, I tried my hand at a fig jam shared by Ivy over at http://kopiaste.org/. It all turned out just figgy.

Custard Filled Phyllo with Brandy Glazed Figs

I made this using more of a Greek custard for the filling, which comes out fairly thick, and which I love. A slightly thinner custard may work more to your liking.

1 Box of Phyllo Dough (preferably #7)
4 cups of whole milk
1 ½ cups sugar, plus one tablespoon
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons plus 1 ½ sticks of butter
¾ cup fine semolina
3 eggs, lightly beaten
One tablespoon cinnamon
Powdered sugar, for dusting
12 ripe figs, rinsed and dried
2 tablespoons of brandy


Heat the milk, 1 cup of sugar, lemon zest and 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan to a simmer. Add the semolina while whisking and allow to thicken slightly. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the beaten eggs, whisking briskly. Place the saucepan back on low heat and continue whisking briskly for a minute or so. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Combine one tablespoon of cinnamon and ½ cup sugar and set aside.


While custard is cooling, remove stems from figs and slice in half. Place in a sauce pan with brandy and one tablespoon of sugar and cook until heated through.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Once custard has cooled to room temperature, melt the remaining butter. Coat a 10 inch round cake pan with butter and begin layering phyllo starting by placing the corner of one sheet in the middle of the pan and allowing its remaining corners to overhang. Continue placing the corners of three more sheets of phyllo in the center of the pan. Brush the sheets liberally with butter and dust with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Repeat this step making two more layers of phyllo, brushing each layer with butter and dusting with the cinnamon sugar once completed (you should have used 12 sheets total).
Pour custard into pan and top with figs. Begin folding over the layers of phyllo, making sure to brush each with butter and sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon sugar.
Bake until golden (my oven seems to take longer – needed almost an hour to get adequate color and crispness of the phyllo right). Sprinkle with powdered sugar once removed from the oven.
Serve warm or at room temperature.