Lachanopita – Hortopita (green pie)
Lachanopita – Hortopita (green pie)
Pies
DESCRIPTION
In each variant, the secret is the same: variety! Seasonal greens harvested fresh from the garden or the mountain sides. Aromatic herbs, exquisite greenery, olive oil and then counting of the layers of filo made on the rolling table. The more the merrier! Then this pie, with few pieces of spicy feta hidden away in it, was wrapped, given as a treat or slipped in the satchel for a quick snack in the fields or while toiling in the fields or herding animals on the hills.
It became a recipe that changes with each passing generation. Hortopita is a secret gateway: generations of culinary tradition and childhood memories meet among the layers of filo.
INGREDIENTS
For the dough
1kg flour
Water as much as needed
Some vinegar
Salt
For the filling
1kg of mixed greens (leek, spinach, sorrel, chard, nettle, dill)
1 cup of olive oil
METHOD
For the dough
Add the flour and the salt in a basin. Make a hole in the middle and add some vinegar and the water while kneading. We should get a soft and even dough. Split into 12 equal parts and let it rest for 30 minutes.
For the filling
Cut the greens, wash them and let them drain. After drying them up with some salt, add them with the feta and the olive oil in a basin.
For the pie
Roll 12 layers of filo, oil them up and overlay 3 of them in an oiled tray. Position them so the edges overlap the tray, to create “kothro” (crust). Add some filling and then overlay a layer of filo. Repeat the same procedure until you run out our filling (use 5 more layers of filo). Put the remaining 3 layers of filo on top, oiling each up in the process. Add olive oil on top and score the pie. Bake in a pre-heated oven for about an hour at 18O°C.
