Pastourmadopitakia means small pies made with pastourma (seasoned, air-cured beef) and they have been part of my family’s Sunday or celebratory feasts ever since I can remember. Either in the form of individual pies or the more traditional large rectangular pie that’s cut into square pieces for everyone to savor, baked or fried, made with traditional phyllo or sfoliata (puff pastry), pastourmadopitakia are part of my culinary heritage.
My mom made these while I was in Greece this May and that’s when I took these photographs. She always makes them for me whenever I visit home, she knows how much I crave and love them.
I made pastourmadopitakia the other day, just the way she makes them and they disappeared in a matter of minutes.
I hope you like them as much as we do.
On a different note: Google Reader is shutting down on July 1st which is only a few days away, and I'm really bummed about it cause I’m kind of attached to it. For those of you who follow this blog through RSS feed on Google Reader please make sure to transfer your feeds to another reader. I have been trying out a few and I found that the best ones are feedly and The Old Reader. Bloglovin’ is also easy to use and has been around for quite a while but it’s not my favorite. Make your choice soon; you don’t want miss the updates from all your favorite blogs.
See you again soon!
Pastourmadopitakia / Pites Kesarias (Greek Individual Pies with Pastourma)
This is one of the easiest recipes for Greek individual pies. If you can’t find pastourma where you live, well, use any other type of spicy cured beef you like. If you can’t find Greek Graviera cheese, use Gruyère.
Yield: 8 individual pies
Ingredients
1 sheet homemade puff pastry or ready-made puff pastry
8 slices of pastourma
1-2 vine-ripened tomatoes, finely sliced
100-150 g Greek Graviera cheese, coarsely grated
1 egg, lightly beaten, for glazing pies
Special equipment: box grater, pastry brush, baking sheet, baking paper
Preparation
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius / 375 Fahrenheit.
Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Lay the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface so that the widest edge is facing you and cut the pastry into 4 long rectangles. Cut each rectangle into two shorter ones so that you end up with 8 pieces of dough.
Near the bottom edge of each piece of dough, add 1 folded slice of pastourma, 1 slice of tomato and some grated cheese. Fold the dough on top to create a pocket and crimp the edges with your fingers. Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet and continue making the rest.
Brush the tops of the pies with the beaten egg and place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake the pies for about 25 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and has taken on a golden color.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven, allow the pies to cool slightly and serve.
My mom made these while I was in Greece this May and that’s when I took these photographs. She always makes them for me whenever I visit home, she knows how much I crave and love them.
I made pastourmadopitakia the other day, just the way she makes them and they disappeared in a matter of minutes.
I hope you like them as much as we do.
On a different note: Google Reader is shutting down on July 1st which is only a few days away, and I'm really bummed about it cause I’m kind of attached to it. For those of you who follow this blog through RSS feed on Google Reader please make sure to transfer your feeds to another reader. I have been trying out a few and I found that the best ones are feedly and The Old Reader. Bloglovin’ is also easy to use and has been around for quite a while but it’s not my favorite. Make your choice soon; you don’t want miss the updates from all your favorite blogs.
See you again soon!
Pastourmadopitakia / Pites Kesarias (Greek Individual Pies with Pastourma)
This is one of the easiest recipes for Greek individual pies. If you can’t find pastourma where you live, well, use any other type of spicy cured beef you like. If you can’t find Greek Graviera cheese, use Gruyère.
Yield: 8 individual pies
Ingredients
1 sheet homemade puff pastry or ready-made puff pastry
8 slices of pastourma
1-2 vine-ripened tomatoes, finely sliced
100-150 g Greek Graviera cheese, coarsely grated
1 egg, lightly beaten, for glazing pies
Special equipment: box grater, pastry brush, baking sheet, baking paper
Preparation
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius / 375 Fahrenheit.
Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Lay the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface so that the widest edge is facing you and cut the pastry into 4 long rectangles. Cut each rectangle into two shorter ones so that you end up with 8 pieces of dough.
Near the bottom edge of each piece of dough, add 1 folded slice of pastourma, 1 slice of tomato and some grated cheese. Fold the dough on top to create a pocket and crimp the edges with your fingers. Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet and continue making the rest.
Brush the tops of the pies with the beaten egg and place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake the pies for about 25 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and has taken on a golden color.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven, allow the pies to cool slightly and serve.
They look lovely and perfect, your mother is very talented. I have tasted pastoumadopitakia while in Greece and really loved it. Now I can try to make them at home :)
ReplyDeleteLove them! I have also tried feedly, bloglovin but I think the closest to google reader is The Old Reader, which I am now using.
ReplyDeleteyum, so refined and so tasty! looks like the french friands, except more flavorful
ReplyDeletethey look amazing. i can imagine how delicious they are. i haven't tried making my own puff pastry, all that butter scares me, but it is on my "to do someday" list. in my country, macedonia, "pastrma" is cured sheep meat, which has strong taste and smell. we make "pastrmajlija" with it, a pie similar to your peinirli. it's interesting how the words and the recipes are similar.
ReplyDelete