Maria Mouriki's tyropitari recipe - Fried cheese pie with goat cheese

We recently interviewed Maria Mouriki of Mouriki Greek Premium Honey and we had to ask her about her favorite Greek food. Not surprisingly, it was one of her grandmother's recipes that came up and it involved a type of Greek pie with cheese. She tells the story below...just in time for you to try this cheesy hot snack with your own kids!

Discover Maria Mouriki's favorite Greek recipe

My grandmother used to make us something when we were small children that my mother still makes for my own children, which is none other than tyropitari, a fried pie with genuine goat cheese.

After the tyropitari cools and just before you put it on a Greek table, you drizzle a little thyme honey and sesame on top. This simple yet authentic Greek recipe always accompanied our mornings or afternoons as children when we wanted something quick but tasty. The Greek grandmother always had the solution.

Ingredients for the tyropitari - fried pie with goat cheese

For the dough:

4 & 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup water

1 tablespoon vinegar

4 teaspoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing the dough

1 & 3/4 teaspoons salt

Cornmeal (for rolling out the dough)

Note: We always fry with olive oil, not sunflower oil.

For the filling:

18 ounces goat cheese or xinomyzithra or even feta (we personally prefer goat cheese)

For serving: 

Honey

Sesame seeds

How to make the tyropitari

Take a bowl and add all the dry ingredients, mixing well. Add the vinegar, oil, and water in small doses.

Knead by hand until a uniform dough is formed that does not stick to the sides.

Place it in a floured pan and cover it with a somewhat damp towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for about an hour.

Once the dough has rested, divide it into balls of 1.4 ounces. Sprinkle the work surface with corn flour, place a ball of dough, and roll it out with a rolling pin into a rectangular shape about 8x10 inches.

Brush the surface of the dough with olive oil and spread 1.4 ounces of goat cheese. Fold the dough into an envelope shape, pressing the edges well to seal.

Follow the same process for all the dough and cheese.

Place a pan over medium to low heat, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom and a bit more. Once the oil is hot, cook the tyropitaria two at a time for about 2 minutes on each side.

When ready, transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels and let them cool.

Serve, drizzling with honey and sprinkling with sesame.

Enjoy and let us know if you make it in the comments!