EGG-CEPTIONAL, GOZO'S CELEB PIES

Many attribute Easter to sweets and not cheese. VICTOR PAUL BORG and FRANCES BUSUTTIL write about Gozo’s Easter pies - a combination of sheep’s cheese and eggs - two ingredients that people traditionally refrained from eating during Lent. But sweet-tooth enthusiasts still needn’t worry, there’s sultanas to add a gentle touch of sweetness.

Households in Gozo still celebrate Easter and doubly indulge at the end of the Lent fast with pies of sheep’s cheese. A scattering of sultanas in the filling infuses the pies with the savourysweet taste. When the pies are baking, the aroma is faintly reminiscent of cinnamon.

Hearty in consistency, the filling consists of sheep’s cheese and eggs and sultanas, three ingredients that people traditionally refrained from consuming in the Lent fast. Sheep’s cheese used to be dried for long-shelf life – the bulk of the filling is made of dried, grated, and plain sheep’s cheese.

In the past, households used to do the preparation for the pies on Maundy Thursday when semolina would be gotten from the wood-fired neighbourhood oven. The pies then used to be made on the Saturday after Good Friday, and baked in the neighbourhood oven in time for Easter. It is said that village ovens used to be so busy that they used to open and bake throughout the night.

Households used to make the pies in large quantities, using up a build-up of dried cheese and eggs over Lent, to enjoy them after Easter as the pies have a long shelf-life. They used to store them by wrapping them in tea towels and placing them in cane baskets in a dry, dark place in the kitchen.

Pies would be eaten as a snack or a meal of their own. The semisweet taste makes the pies particularly versatile – a breakfast or a snack, a dinner or a picnic.

Nowadays, the pies remain particularly popular in households in the village of Xaghra and Zebbug. In the town of Xaghra, where the tradition for Easter pies runs strongest, a group of parish volunteers make the pies and sell them to raise funds for the church.

All ingredients available from Park Towers Supermarkets or visit myparktowers.com

Here’s how to make the 24 large pies.

YOU NEED

For the dough - 1kg flour; 125 grams margarine; 1 packet yeast; warm water; 2 eggs. Knead the dough, cover it with a tea towel (a damp tea towel might be better), and let it settle and rise for a couple of hours.

For the filling - 12 dried sheep’s cheese, grated; 4 fresh sheep’s cheese, mushed; 200-300 grams sultanas, to taste; a sprinkling of pepper; 8 eggs. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.

For the glazing - beat an egg in a bowl.

METHOD

To prepare the pies, cut handful-sized pieces of dough and roll them out with a rolling pin until round and large as a side plate. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of the filling in the centre, then fashion the pies by folding up and over each other the ends of the dough, closing the pie and shaping the top into a round bottle-like opening. It’s essential to create the opening on top as it would allow the filling to expand over the opening – without the opening, the filling would burst through the sides of the pie. Place the pies on oven paper sprinkled with semolina, and use a kitchen brush to cover the top part of the exterior of the pie with a beaten egg as this creates a brownish, baked glaze when the dough is being baked.

Bake the pies in an oven heated at 180 degrees (gas mark 5) for about 35 minutes. The pies can be served warm or cold..