In the lead up to Greek Easter, on Palm Sunday in fact, Kosta and I enjoyed lunch along with the rest of our extended family at my sister in law’s parents house. Our host was Mrs Androulakis (of the famed tzatziki). Originally from Crete, Mrs Androulakis is an incredible home cook.
The Palm Sunday table was absolutely heaving with what seemed like one hundred beautiful vegetarian and seafood dishes, including the traditional bakaliaros and skordalia, chargrilled octopus, stuffed mussels and more. I was also excited to try some Cretan specialties, such as calamari slow cooked with green olives, tomatoes and fennel.
Probably the most famous Cretan specialty and one of the absolute highlights on the table was Mrs Androulakis’ divine Kalitsounia (καλιτσούνια). A small hand folded pie filled with wild greens and aromatic herbs, they were deceptively easy to eat.
Taking inspiration from Mrs Androulakis’ kitchen, I recently tried making some kalizounia. As Easter was coming up, I wanted to fill my kalitsounia with the traditional cheese and mint combination, instead of the ‘wild greens’ common during Lenten fasting.
When using mint in a recipe, I love a combination of both fresh and dried mint. I find that the addition of dried mint really adds to the fragrance of the dish. I love using the Greek brand,
Daphnis and Chloe’s “The Sweetest Peppermint”. The leaves of the peppermint are carefully packed whole. When you rub the leaves with your fingers to crumble them into the cheese mixture, they release the most incredible aroma. They take me straight to a Greek hillside in spring.
Baked kalitsounia with mizithra and mint
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 3.5 tea cups Plain flour
- 1 tea cup Warm water
- 1 espresso cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Raki or ouzo
- 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
For the filling:
- 400 g mizithra or ricotta well drained
- 250 g feta crumbled
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/2 tea cup fresh mint finely chopped
- 1 tbsp dried mint
For glaze:
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
For dough:
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Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes, then wrap in cling film and place in fridge to rest for around an hour.
For filling:
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Combine all of the filling ingredients and mix until smooth.
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Preheat oven to 180C. Remove the dough from the fridge and lightly flour it. Portion the dough into smaller pieces and work with one piece at a time, keeping the remaining pieces well wrapped.
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Either use a rolling pin or roll the dough through a pasta machine, first on the widest setting and then a narrower setting (several times) to form a long strip.
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Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut the strip into small rounds. Place 1 small spoon of the cheese mixture on each round of dough, moisten edges with a little water, fold over and seal well, pressing the edges together with a fork. Place in a single layer on a lined baking tray and keep covered with a clean tea towel until you have finished preparing the kalitsounia and are ready to bake them.
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When ready to bake, brush lightly with the egg glaze and place in the oven for around 20 minutes or until golden.
