I enjoyed sharing a family heirloom recipe with you all during my second episode of “Live With Gregory Pappas” on Facebook live. As I explained in the video, this is a traditional pie that my mom used to make called Haniotiko Boureki, or Boureki from Hania. It’s a traditional dish in Western Crete and one that I was raised on and I’m thrilled to share it with all of you.
As I explain in the video, in Crete we use traditional soft mizithra and another kind of cheese called malaka (pronounced “ma-la-KA”). After many attempts at trying to replicate the creamy consistency, as well as the neutral (and not too tangy) taste, I’ve managed to find the mixture with cheeses that are easy to find in American grocery stores.
My measurements are for a standard glass pyrex 9″ x 13″ *Remember to pre-heat oven to 350.
For the dough:
Mix in a bowl: 3 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 shot of raki/tsikoudia (tsipouro) and 1 cup water. Mix it with a wooden spoon at first then with your hands until it gets to dough consistency. It will feel oily (it should). Once mixed, wrap it in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for about an hour to chill.
For the filling:
- 4 medium sized zucchini
- 3 medium sized potatoes
- 1 big bundle fresh mint
- 1 mascarpone cheese (8.8 oz)
- 1 ricotta cheese (15 oz)
- 1 slice feta cheese
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- Salt and Pepper
- Sesame seeds for sprinkling
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil to coat the bottom of the pan, and for the top of the pie.
Reminders:
Don’t chop the mint too much and by all means, don’t go cheap on the mint. You need a big bunch of it, otherwise all you’re making is a boring zucchini and potato pie. The mint is critical in this pie.
Zucchini and potatoes need to be paper thin, which is why I use a grater. If you use a knife, make sure the vegetables are paper thin, otherwise they won’t cook properly and will come out crunchy.
Important to mix the cheese mixture with your vegetables so that the potatoes and zucchini are fully coated with the cheese.
Important to add the chopped mint AFTER you’ve mixed the cheese and vegetables so that the mint will stick to all of the vegetables.
Instructions:
Prepare dough first, as instructed above. Let chill for an hour in the fridge. Watch the video for the remaining instructions.
Bake in 350 degrees (f) for about 2 hours or until the dough on top is brown. Let sit before eating as the vegetable and cheese mixture needs to settle a bit.
Thank you for watching!
Watch the full episode
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