Kolokythopita me Myzithra (Savory Pumpkin Pie)

To all the Greek and Cypriot friends and readers of my blog “Chronia Polla” for today’s National Holiday, Ochi Day.

I have been seeing so many pumpkin recipes popping up everywhere in the blogosphere and with Halloween coming up soon I thought to share these recipes with you in case you wish to make something different this year.

When I went to the farmers’ market a couple of weeks ago, I bought a hug piece of pumpkin about four kilos.  After making this pie, I also made Kolokotes (a Cypriot pastry with pumpkin) and used it to make the dish for the Royal Joust, which will be my next post.

Kolokythopita is a Greek savory pie made with fresh myzithra cheese from Chania, Crete.   I made a new recipe using these two ingredients and avoided using eggs.  I flavoured it with fennel and I added the rice to absorb any juices from the pumpkin, as I do with kolokotes.  Myzithra is a low fat Greek cheese and it is not salty.  It has a slighty sour taste and it pairs wonderfully with the sweet pumpkin.    If you cannot find fresh myzithra you may substitute it with anthotyro or anari.  Feta may also be used but it will be slightly saltier and of course it is a full fat cheese.

This pie gets better, if there is leftover, the next day.  To warm it up, just put it on the toaster but without the upper plate pressing the pie.

Kolokythopita me Myzithra (Savory Pumpkin Pie) - Recipe by Ivy

Makes: 6 phyllos for a 24 cm baking tin

Ingredients:

For dough:

500 grams all purpose flour
½ cup olive oil
½ tsp salt
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
Water (about 1 cup)
corn flour (starch) for rolling out dough
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds for sprinkling on top

For filling:

750 grams butternut squash, grated


450 grams myzithra
2 tablespoons fennel fronds, finely chopped
½ cup olive oil
½ cup carolina rice or arborio
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra olive oil for brushing the phyllos

Directions:

See step by step instructions how to make phyllo.
Grate the pumpkin and add myzithra, fennel, olive oil, rice, salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well unti the cheese becomes like cream.
Brush your baking tin with olive oil.
Make the first phyllo bigger than your baking tin so as to cover the sides of the tin. Brush with about two tablespoons of olive oil and proceed with the second, brushing again with olive oil and the third. Do no brush the third phyllo as the filling is added. Continue with the remaining three phyllos brushing them with olive oil.
After adding the last phyllo cut the edges and join the phyllos together.
Score the phyllos with a sharp knife to form the pieces and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
Bake in a preheated oven, at 180 ?C for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until it is golden brown on top.
Remove to a wire rack to cook for about 15 minutes before serving.

At the end of making the pie there was some leftover phyllo from the bits and pieces cut, which I rolled out into another phyllo and made a few pischies, with honey.

Other relevant recipes:

A twist on traditional Kolokotes

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