Tiropitas

These little cheese pastries are perfect as a snack or part of a mezze, and great fun to make.. Get the kids involved they will love it….

Auntie Maggi said, when Stede made the tiropitas we wanted to help because she made it look so easy, so we would try to help. She would produce these perfect identical shapes while ours! well not quite sure what shapes they were. And for every 1 we made she would turn out half a dozen. But in the end they all tasted good, and they would be eaten as soon as it was safe to do so.

I have the same problem with the twins, they are scoffing them as soon as they come out of the oven. I suggest making a double quantity..

TIROPITAS:

PREP TIME: 30 MINS

COOKING TIME: 20 MINS

MAKES: 30-36

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350ºF

INGREDIENTS

·     250g. feta cheese, crumbled

·     250g. Anari – (not easy to find unless you make it yourself. It’s a by-product of making Halloumi) alternatively Ricotta is very similar and works well. You can also use cottage cheese.

·     3 eggs, beaten

·     1/2 tsp. salt

·     250g. filo dough, thawed (Keep it covered with a damp cloth so that it doesn’t dry out)

·     250g. unsalted butter, melted

METHOD

1.   Mix the cheese, eggs and salt in a bowl. Stir until well blended.

2.   Lay one sheet of filo in front of you. Brush it with butter. Cut each sheet into strips approx. 2½-3inches wide along the shorter side 

3.   Place one teaspoon of cheese mixture at the end of each strip. Fold over corner to make a triangle, continue folding from side to side till you get to the end of the strip. Place on prepared tray. Brush tops with butter. Repeat until you’ve used up all of your filling.

4.   Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool briefly before serving.

Optional: If you like them sweeter, you can make sugar syrup using1 cup sugar, 1 cup water , 2 sticks cinnamon and 2 or 4 cloves and boil together for 10-15 minutes and pour over the tiropitas or dust with icing sugar.

Note: These can be frozen prior to cooking.  Place assembled tiropitas in the freezer in a single layer and then transfer them to a ziploc bag once they are completely frozen, or place a piece of parchment paper in between each layer of the tiropitas if you freeze them in a storage container. Bake from frozen for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. 

Sienna Tucking in after some hard work in the kitchen. 😍😋