Cheese Pie (Tiropita)

Intermediate Cook - Medium Cooking Time - Baked Goods - Side Dish - Vegetarian

If you like cheese, feta in particular, this recipe known in Greek as "tiropita" is sure to delight. Back when sharing our spanakopita recipe, I mentioned that it could be prepared using our homemade pastry dough or the traditional thin fillo pastry. Here it is! Buttery flaky goodness. While there may be someone out there who knows how to make this paper thin pastry from scratch, all those with whom I have inquired, veteran home cooks or professional bakers, tell me they resort to using commercial fillo, as homemade is too difficult and time consuming. My experience has been that most major grocers carry at least one brand of fillo and often display it in the frozen pie section of the store. 

Ingredients (Yields one 9" x 14" pie)

• 1 8oz roll of fillo dough
• 4 eggs
• 6oz Greek yogurt
• 11 oz feta cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• 6 tablespoons butter

Time - 1 hour and 15 minutes

• Preparation - 30 minutes
• Baking (350 degrees) - 45 minutes

Preparation

• Thaw the fillo, unwrapped, in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for 2 hours
• Melt 6 tablespoons of butter and set aside
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, feta, and yogurt and stir until well combined 

• Set the filling aside and preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Using a basting brush, apply some of the melted butter to the bottom of a 9" x 14" baking pan
• Once the pan is greased, cut open the fillo packet and unroll gently so that the dough is laying flat on the counter next to the pan. You will need to work quickly from this point forward as the dough will begin to dry, and as it dries, will become brittle and begin to break
• Lay a first fillo sheet into the pan and brush the surface with melted butter. Repeat this process for half of the fillo (approximately 10 sheets), brushing butter onto each one before applying the next sheet

• Once you have buttered and layered half of the fillo sheets, pour the filling into the pan and spread out evenly

• Repeat the buttering and layering process with the second half of the fillo sheets
• Once all of the fillo has been placed in the pan, if needed, curl over the edges and brush with melted butter

• Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown

• Let cool, cut into squares, and serve
• The cheese pie can be enjoyed warm or cold and can be stored in the refrigerator up to a week