Trahanopita (Trahana Pie)
Antigoni’s Trahanopita (Trahana Pie) recipe
Antigoni’s Trahanopita – a pita filled with cooked sweet trahana, feta, sugar, beaten eggs, and EVOO. Sweet, salty, and crunchy with some body and texture from the trahana – YUM!
The pita is easy to make because there are no greens to wash just get your fillo game on!
Ingredients
For the dough you will need…
• 500 g plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 ¼ cups warm tap water, approximately (see dough-making notes)
For the filling you will need…
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups sweet trahana
• Feta
• 10 level soupspoons sugar
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• EVOO
Instructions
Making the dough…
o Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl
o Add the olive oil and vinegar and combine with the flour
o Add one cup of warm water and combine with the flour to form a dough
o There will be unincorporated flour in your bowl. Add a small amount of water at a time and mix into the dough and the remaining flour. Keep doing this until all the flour combines with the dough (the dough should be soft and pliable and even a tiny bit sticky)
o Turn the dough onto your work surface and knead it for 1-2 minutes
o Place the dough in a bowl, cover it with a clean damp towel and leave it to rest at room temperature for 2 hours
Preparing the trahana
o Add water and trahana to a medium pot, bring to a boil and then reduce to a gentle boil and cook for approximately 20 minutes, until the trahana is al dente
Preparing the flour-corn flour dusting mixture (used to dust the fillo with as you roll it out)...
o Combine 250g plain flour with 75g cornflour and set aside
Making the trahanopita…
o After the dough has rested, divide it into 6 equal portions (you will only use 5)
o Roll the portions into balls, place them on your work surface and cover them with the damp towel
o Take one of the balls of dough, place it on a floured work surface (use the dusting flour) and using your Greekrolling pin, roll it out so it forms a disc of approximately 20cm in diameter
o Take the disc of dough (fillo)and wrap it snugly around the rolling pin. Starting with both hands in the middle of the fillo-pastry rolling pin, press the fillo lightly while moving your hands away from each other. Ensure that the pressure on the fillo is uniform and you press all the way to the outer edges of the fillo.
o Unravel the fillo sheet at an angle to its original orientation
o Wrap the fillo onto the rolling pin again
o Repeat the process above until the fillo sheet is approximately 50-60cm in diameter
o Whenever the fillo becomes sticky, dust it with the flour-cornflour dusting mixture
o Drizzle the fillo sheet with EVOO and then fold it in half to form a double-layered semi-circle
o Sprinkle trahana all over the semi-circular fillo sheet, crumble feta all over the sheet too, drizzle with1/5 of the egg mixture, sprinkle with 2 level soup-spoons of sugar and drizzle with EVOO
o Starting with the straight edge of the semi-circle, roll the fillo into a log, ensuring the open seam is on the bottom
o Twist the log into a coil
o Generously oil the base of around baking dish (preferably aluminium or stainless steel and approximately 38-40 cm in internal diameter) with EVOO
o Transfer the pita coil to the pan
o Repeat 4 times
o Drizzle the coils with EVOO and sprinkle them with water; massaging the oily water into all the nooks and crannies
Baking and serving the trahanopita
o Bake at 180°C fan-forced for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool before serving!
o Kali Orexi!
Key Points
• The fillo-pastry rolling pin is a curtain dowel, which can be purchased from most timber/hardware stores. It is 16mm in diameter and 90cm long. Sand it back to smooth the surface of the dowel and then wipe it clean with a damp cloth.
