Greek Scrunched Feta Pie (Tiropita)

Traditional Greek breakfast pie with an interesting pastry technique

by Justina Sullivan

What is Greek Scrunched Feta Pie (Tiropita)?

Tiropita is a traditional and popular Greek pie with a filling of feta cheese wrapped in crispy baked filo pastry. Famous as a breakfast dish, Greek locals have grown accustomed to eating a slice of tiropita along with their morning tea and coffee. Many families have recipes passed down through generations whilst others prefer to be out in the sunshine enjoying a slice in nearby cafes or street food stalls.

What cheese is Tiropita made of?

It won’t be hard to find a variety of tiropita recipes combining various kinds of cheese and even herbs, but the original more simplified version contains feta cheese blended with eggs, yoghurt, nutmeg and olive oil. Some versions include ricotta and others, like this one on Flaevor, use a mix of grated cheese including cheddar and mozzarella.

Scrunched filo pasty

According to Panos Dimaras, a Greek olive oil producer from Patras, the scrunching of the filo is a technique used for speed and ease ‘I saw a guy at the market make this version of tiropita, he was grabbing the sheets of filo and quickly scrunching them before layering them into the baking dish’. This clever time-saving method was invented to avoid the painstaking task of brushing each individual layer of filo before piling on top of each other.

Traditional Greek Scrunched Feta Pie (Tiropita) recipe

The Greek Scrunched Feta Pie (Tiropita) recipe featured in this article comes directly from Panos mother, the lady in charge of keeping the family olive oil business alive and running. In her version which he started enjoying as a child, tangy feta is combined with a mix of grated cheese, eggs, nutmeg and most importantly, thick Greek yoghurt, ‘The yoghurt has to be very thick, traditional Greek yoghurt, the best yoghurt!’ Panos excitedly explains, ‘Otherwise, it will be too wet and runny and your filo will be soggy.’

Panos Dimaras
Greek Scrunched Feta Pie (Tiropita)

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Greek Scrunched Feta Pie (Tiropita)

A breakfast staple in Greece, Scrunched Feta Pie, or Tirapita, is made from blending feta, mixed grated cheese, eggs, thick Greek yoghurt and nutmeg then wrapped in baked crunch golden filo pastry.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mixed grated cheese cheddar, mozzarella etc
  • 500 g feta
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper
  • 6 tbsp Greek yoghurt
  • 12 sheets of filo pastry
  • Olive oil

Instructions

  • Preheat oven at 180C
  • Grease a 9X13 inch (25X35 cm) pie dish or roasting pan
  • Crumble feta into small pieces.
  • In a medium bowl combine grated cheese, feta, eggs, nutmeg, yoghurt, salt and pepper. Use a fork to beat the mixture until reasonably smooth.
  • Carefully place a sheet of filo pastry into the dish and spread it along the bottom. If it is too big you can scrunch it to fit. Brush with olive oil.
  • Place the second phyllo on top of the first phyllo and brush with olive oil and continue until you have spread 4 sheets of phyllo.
  • Next, take another piece of filo and gently scrunch it into a ball. Place this into the dish on top of the oiled filo sheet base. Repeat 4 times until the base is covered.
  • Spread the cheese mixture over the scrunched filo making sure it is spread evenly.
  • Now repeat the scrunching process and cover with another 4 filo sheets.
  • Brush the top layer with olive oil. Crack over some black pepper.
  • Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour until the filo is golden brown, and the egg cheese mixture is cooked through.
  • Let the pie cool inside the dish for 10 minutes or completely before cutting into pieces. Can be served warm or cold.