Best Greek Fennel Feta Cheese Pie Marathopita Recipes

GREEK FENNEL & FETA CHEESE PIE "MARATHOPITA"

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl combine flour, melted butter but cooled, and yogurt..Start with 1 cup flour as you might not need all the amount of flour. The mixture might be crumbly, it will smooth as you knead. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface & gently knead to form a smooth ball. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 20-30 minutes, or store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
• In a skillet saute the chopped green onion, fennel and spinach if using and set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl combine the cooled fennel & onion mixture with the crumbled Feta cheese. Add pepper and very little salt as Feta is a salty cheese. Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil on top and with your hands crush the mixture to combine.
• Divide dough in half. Lightly flour work surface and roll out each half of dough and spread it as thin as you can to fit your baking pan. I use my oven's shallow pan, 16x12 in. You can use a large cookie sheet as this pie does not rise.
• Pour the fennel & feta mixture. Evenly spread it in the pan. The same way roll out the other half dough and lay on top. Tuck the edges inwards and score into serving (squares) pieces.
• Bake for about 45- 60 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Kali Orexi = Good Appetite

GREEK CHEESE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans.
• Mix feta cheese and eggs together in a bowl for the filling; set aside.
• Lay out 1 sheet of phyllo on a work surface and brush liberally with olive oil. Top with another sheet and brush with oil. Repeat for a total of 4 sheets, but do not brush the top of the fourth sheet. Transfer the stack of oiled sheets to one of the greased cake pans. Drape over the bottom of the pan, trying not to be too perfect about it; you want some folds and wrinkles in the phyllo.
• Spread 1/2 of the filling over the phyllo in an even layer. Fold the overhanging phyllo over the filling, again letting natural folds and wrinkles occur. Loosely lay 1 sheet of phyllo over the top, brush with oil, and use the oiled brush to pat down the sides all around the circumference of the cake pan.
• Repeat with remaining phyllo, oil, and filling to assemble the second pie.
• Bake the cheese pies in the preheated oven until the tops are a deep golden brown, 45 to 60 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CRISPY GREEK-STYLE PIE

Steps:

• Put the spinach into a large pan. Pour over a couple tbsp water, then cook until just wilted. Tip into a sieve, leave to cool a little, then squeeze out any excess water and roughly chop. Roughly chop the tomatoes and put into a bowl along with the spinach, feta and eggs. Mix well.
• Carefully unroll the filo pastry. Cover with some damp sheets of kitchen paper to stop it drying out. Take a sheet of pastry and brush liberally with some of the sundried tomato oil. Drape oil-side down in a 22cm loosebottomed cake tin so that some of the pastry hangs over the side. Brush oil on another piece of pastry and place in the tin, just a little further round. Keep placing the pastry pieces in the tin until you have roughly three layers, then spoon over the filling. Pull the sides into the middle, scrunch up and make sure the filling is covered. Brush with a little more oil.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Cook the pie for 30 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden brown. Remove from the cake tin, slice into wedges and serve with salad.