The Famous Onion Pie of Mykonos

Greece Is | June 26th, 2025

Francesca Chanioti, a home cook from Mykonos, shares her recipe for the well-known, traditional onion pie.

Chef: Francesca Chanioti

Preparation & Cooking time: Prep: 30 minutes , Baking: 1 hour, Resting (draining cheese): 12 hours, Total: 13 hours and 30 minutes

Serves: 1 round baking pan, 30 cm in diameter

“This pie has been on our table for as long as I can remember. I’m not one to say, ‘let me just whip up a pie’—they take care. When Dimitris’ mother was alive, she made them for us since we were always working. Eventually, we figured out a trick: we’d prepare the pies in baklava pans and freeze them. Straight from the freezer, we’d pour olive oil on top and bake—it took just as long as a freshly made one and tasted just as good.

My mother also made individual onion pies, which became my children’s go-to afternoon snack. I would just bake them straight from the freezer. I remember we had a sweet onion seed variety that was large, flat and white like the kind grown in Vatika — nothing like what you find in stores. We always used it raw in the filling, which made the pie incredibly sweet. My grandmother, in fact, used to eat a raw onion cut in quarters whenever she was upset — said it helped her calm down,” she recalls.

Instructions

Dough

Begin with the dough. In a bowl, sift the flour, add the remaining ingredients, and knead until you get a soft, smooth, and slightly glossy dough. Set aside.

Filling

In a large bowl, crumble the cheese.
Add all remaining ingredients except the olive oil and mix well.

Assembling the Pie

Preheat your oven to 170°C (340°F).
Lightly oil your baking pan.
Divide the dough into two portions, one slightly larger than the other.
Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the larger portion into a sheet slightly bigger than your pan’s diameter.
Lay the dough in the pan, making sure it covers the bottom and slightly overhangs the sides.
Add the filling and spread it evenly.
Roll out the second piece of dough to fit the pan and cover the filling.
Tuck in the edges of the two dough sheets to seal the filling inside and create a decorative twisted border.
Score the pie deeply (cutting more than halfway through) into diamond-shaped pieces.
Pour the remaining olive oil over the top and brush to coat the entire surface.
Bake for 50–60 minutes, until the pie turns golden brown.

Originally published in Gastronomos magazine.

Ingredients

For the Dough

500 g all-purpose flour (approximately)
200 ml lukewarm water
4 g dry yeast (½ sachet)
100 ml olive oil
¼ tsp salt

For the Filling

1 kg tyrovolia (alternatively anthotyro or myzithra), well-drained overnight in a double layer of cheesecloth in the fridge
2 eggs
1 medium dry onion, finely chopped
5–6 spring onions, finely chopped
1 bunch of dill, finely chopped
¼ bunch of chard, finely chopped (optional, and only if in season)
100 ml olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper