Tyrokafteri: Greece’s Spicy Cheese Spread (with a Bonus...
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An easy vegetarian dish that’s perfect on the Easter table, as an afternoon treat, or even for breakfast.
Chef: Nena Ismyrnoglou
Preparation & Cooking time: 1,5 hour
This famous pie from Thessaly is a staple as a weekday snack, and on every buffet. Made with soft feta cheese and Greek yogurt in the batter, you need good ingredients for the best results, but you can play with the filling, using any greens of your liking.
Method
Filling
Add the greens and onions to a large bowl and add the salt.
Using your hands, rub the greens well to make them wilt.
Set aside for 30 minutes, then mix again, squeeze and strain off the liquid.
Add the feta cheese and the olive oil, and season generously with pepper. Stir.
Batter
Using a fork, beat the eggs and yogurt together in a large bowl.
Add the cornmeal and stir to combine.
Add the olive oil, water, salt and pepper and mix well.
Pie
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
Grease a circa 32-inch oven dish with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Pour in half of the egg batter, and spread it out into a thin, even layer covering the whole bottom of the dish.
Cover the batter with the filling, in an even layer.
Top with the remaining batter, and spread it out to cover the filling as much as possible.
Bake for 1 hour.
This recipe was previously published in Greek at gastronomos.gr.
Ingredients
For the filling:
800 g mixed greens such as spinach and chards, washed and finely chopped
10 spring onions, finely chopped
300 g feta cheese, preferably a soft variety, crumbled
100 ml olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
For the batter:
200 g strained cow’s milk yogurt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
400 g cornmeal
100 ml olive oil
400 ml tepid water
salt and freshly ground pepper
