Savory Filo Pie With Zucchini And Feta Recipes

FETA PHYLLO AND ZUCCHINI PIE

Steps:

• Set zucchini in a colander, sprinkle with salt and drain for 1 hour. Squeeze out excess moisture from zucchini then cook it for a few minutes in olive oil. Season to taste from salt and pepper and set aside to cool slightly.
• In a mixing bowl combine the eggs with the milk, feta cheese, parsley, dill, and bread crumbs. Add the cooked zucchini and adjust the seasoning, using lots of pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 13-inch deep baking pan. Layer a sheet of phyllo so that it overlaps baking pan and extends beyond the rim. Brush the sheet very lightly with melted butter and cover with another phyllo sheet. Continue this way until half of the phyllo has been used. Add the zucchini and spread it out evenly. Fold overhanging phyllo up over the squash filling and brush with melted butter. Lay remaining phyllo leaves on top, again brushing melted butter between the layers. Brush top well with butter, score top layers with a sharp knife and bake for an hour. Cool and serve with a green salad or a vegetable salad of green beans, tomatoes and olives.

CRUSTLESS ZUCCHINI AND FETA PIE

Steps:

• Grate zucchini using the largest holes of a box grater. Place in a colander, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, and let drain for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in Greek yogurt and 1/3 cup olive oil. Add flour and whisk until well combined.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush a 12-inch round baking pan with 1 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle 1/2 of the bread crumbs over the bottom.
• Place zucchini in a cheesecloth or kitchen towel; bring the ends together and twist to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
• Transfer zucchini to the bowl with the egg-flour mixture. Add bell pepper, onion, black pepper, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and but 2 tablespoons crumbled feta; mix well. Use a spatula to spread mixture into an even layer in the prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining feta over top, followed by remaining bread crumbs.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pie is set and top is golden brown, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool 20 minutes before cutting.

SAVORY FILO PIE WITH ZUCCHINI AND FETA

Steps:

• Remove the filo from the refrigerator. Grate the zucchini using the large holes of a grater. Place it in a colander and sprinkle with ¼ tsp. of salt. Let it sit for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes, squeeze the zucchini between the palms of your hands to remove all the excess water. This is necessary so your filo does not get soggy (as a reference, I was able to remove about a cup of liquid from mine). Place the drained zucchini in a medium bowl.
• Chop the green onions, mince the dill and crumble the Feta. Add them to the bowl with the zucchini then stir in the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest, spearmint, salt and pepper. Stir gently to incorporate and set aside. If there is time, refrigerate the mixture for 20-30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line a 10" springform pan with a piece of parchment paper and secure it to the top edges of the side with clips (a regular 10" tart pan can be used as well as long as the sides are about 2" tall.).
• Open your room-temperature filo. Unroll it and place it on a clean surface. Position the long side in front of you. The filo will measure 13" x 18". Cut through the center of the stack of filo so you have a 13" x 9" stack. You will need only half of the package (8oz.), so cover the remainder well and refrigerate it.
• Take two filo sheets and place the springform pan on top of them. With a sharp knife, cut the filo around the pan so you have two round pieces of filo. Brush a little olive oil on each of them and stack them at the bottom of the pan (they will form the base of the filo pie).
• Brush three sheets of filo lightly with olive oil and stack then on top of each other. Spread about 3 TBSP. the filling on the top layer of the filo stack, using the back of a spoon (do not worry if it is not spread evenly). Gently scrunch the filo lengthwise to create a pleat (see photos). Once it is all scrunched, form a small coil and place the coiled and filled filo in the center of the pan. Repeat this spread/scrunch/coil process with a second stack of three layers of filo, and add this to the end of the first coil in the pan so that your coil is expanding from the center of the pan outward (see photos). Continue with the same process until you have created three additional pleated filo stacks and you run out of the filling. If there are any visible gaps, use some pieces of filo to fill them out.
• Brush the top of the pleated filo tart lightly with olive oil and bake for about an hour. Half way through baking, gently lift the tart to ensure that the bottom is cooking evenly. If it is not, place the pan on the lower rack for the remainder of the cooking time.
• When the tart is ready, the top should look golden brown and crispy. If necessary, cook for a few more minutes to get it to the right color. Remove the pan and place the tart on a rack to cool down slightly until you can handle it. At that point, open the springform pan and slide the filo tart directly to the rack to cool off completely.