What can you make using some flour, a a little water and a bit of cheese? A pita, or pie, of course! Greek pies, generally savory in nature, have always been a staple, on many occasions even serving as the main dish on the family dinner table. Lacking access to a great range of food items, residents of more remote mountain villages slowly built up an extensive collection of no-frill recipes, in which the pita appears in dozens of variations – either with or without filo pastry, and with fillings consisting of greens, dairy products or even pasta. For reasons of economy and necessity, people would put nearly anything that could be used into their pies; they certainly didn’t throw anything out. And pies, in addition to being very filling,
served the agricultural lifestyle well, as they could be carried from place to place and broken into pieces and eaten on the go. In mainland Greece, you can try pies baked in large pans, while on the islands you can find little pies – that is, single portions mainly prepared in frying pans. Nowadays, pies are considered a choice food item, as they demand a lot of effort and time to prepare. Layers of handmade filo pastry go into making the hortopita (a pie filled with greens), which is arguably the best-known pie and especially tasty when fresh wild springtime greens are used to make it. In contrast, a couple of the more unusual pies are the cod pie from Kefalonia and the nettle pie, which you can get a taste of when on Crete.
PHOTO: GEORGE DRAKOPOULOS - STYLING: TINA WEBB
THE COUNTRY PIE
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