TARTS AND PIES

                                                  

 

My granddaughter Joy has a very nice and talented boyfriend Panayiotis Tzinas, whose mother Mrs. Anastasia Tzina sent me a large container with spinach pie, jam tart, petimezi, Zitsa wine, cinnamon biscuits, and boiled wild greens, for which I thank her very much.

 

Here are the recipes for spinach pies, jam tarts, and cinnamon biscuits.

                                                            SPINACH PIE

 

1 ¼ kg (2 ½ lb) spinach, blanched, drained and finely chopped

1 large onion, peeled and grated

3 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

 2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp chervil, finely chopped

2 tbsp Mediterranean hartwort, finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped dill

2 cups feta (if salty soak in water for 10 minutes) cubed

1 cup grated graviera from Crete

2 eggs, lightly beaten

10 sheets of phyllo pastry

2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs

120 ml ( ½ cup) melted butter

2 tbsp of olive oil to mix with the butter, optional

 

Sauce;

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp cornflour

1 bay leaf

1 ½ cup hot milk

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Little salt

Grated nutmeg to taste

 

Sauté the onion in olive oil until transparent.  Add the spinach, herbs, pepper, and a little salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates, about 15 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.  Stir the cornflour into the melted butter, add the bay leaf and cook for 2-5 minutes.  Pour in the hot milk and simmer stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.  Season with pepper, a little salt, and grated nutmeg to taste and simmer for 2 minutes and set aside to cool, discard the bay leaf.

 

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, and the 2 kinds of cheese with the sauce and mix well together.  Stir in the spinach mixture, taste, and add salt, pepper, and nutmeg if necessary and set aside to cool.

 

Line a buttered baking dish 5 sheets of lavishly buttered phyllo pastry and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.  Spoon in the filling, level the surface, and fold the overhanging pastry over. Place another 5 buttered pastry sheets over, trim the excess pastry and tuck it neatly down the sides.  Score the pie into portions, sprinkle with water and bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for about 1 hour.

 

 

                                                 ZENA’S JAM TART

210 g (7 oz) butter, softened

260 g (2 cups) plain flour

2 level tsp baking powder

1/3 cup semolina

1/3 cup sugar        

 1 egg

Pinch of salt

¼ cup brandy

 

500 g (1 lb) jam, preferably apricot

 

Mix all the ingredients together, except the jam  until a thick, pliable dough is formed,

 

Roll out 2/3 of the dough and line a 30 cm (12 inch) buttered tart dish and spread thickly and evenly with jam.  Then roll fine pencil-shaped cylinders with the remaining dough and form a lattice pattern on top of the jam.

 

Bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for about 40-45 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.  Serve cut into wedges.

                                               CINNAMON BISCUITS

210 g (7.4 oz) plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp cinnamon powder

120 g (4.3 oz) butter

90 g (4.3 oz) sugar

120 g (7,4 oz) brown sugar

1 vanilla

1 egg 

A pinch of salt

Heat oven to 180 C (350 F).  Place the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a spoon, 

Whip the butter, the 2 kinds of sugar, and the vanilla until pale and fluffy.  Add the egg and stir with a spatula until well combined and add the dry ingredients. Knead for 2 minutes until a soft, pliable dough is formed.

Cut the dough into 18 pieces and shape it into balls.   In a bowl, spoon 2 tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon and mix well together.  Dip one side of each dough ball into the sugar and cinnamon mixture and place them on 2 tins, lined with buttered parchment.  Press with a fork to flatten the dough ball and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Allow cooling before serving. 

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