Serves: 8
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 500g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup quality olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ouzo (or white basamic vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon quality olive oil
- 2 brown onions, thinly sliced
- 3 cups roast pumpkin, roughly mashed with a fork and liquid removed
- 250g Greek feta
- ½ cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 egg 1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- To make the pastry, combine the flour, water, ½ cup olive oil (reserving the other ½ cup to use later), ouzo and salt in a large mixing bowl and cut through with a dinner knife until the mixture begins to come together before pouring it all onto a lightly floured surface.
- Start to bring the dough together with your hands until it comes together in a ball. Knead for about 5 minutes until the pastry is lovely and smooth and elastic. Cover in plastic wrap and leave on the bench while you make the filling.
- To make the filling, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium size frypan over a medium-high heat, add the sliced onion and saute for about 5 minutes or until the onions are soft yet not browned. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Place the pumpkin, feta, mint, egg, flour, spices and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Add the cooled onion mixture and lightly stir until everything comes together. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 170C and generously grease a deep rectangular aluminium baking tray (mine is 34 x 24 x 7cm) using part of the remaining ½ cup olive oil.
- Divide the dough in half, place one half on a lightly floured surface and re-cover the other half with the plastic wrap to avoid a crust forming. Roll out the half into a rectangular shape measuring about 70 x 50 cm. Carefully lift the pastry and place it over the greased dish before gently lowering it into the tin to form the pastry case (you will have a generous amount of overhang at this point which is exactly what you need for the next step).
- Place all the pumpkin mixture into the pastry and then fold the overhanging edges toward the middle of the pan onto the filling to create an extra layer of pastry. Generously brush the pastry with olive oil as you go so that every cm of pastry is covered in oil before covering with more pastry. Once you have completed this extra layer, brush it all over with olive oil again to ensure the layer becomes crispy once cooked.
- Roll out the other half of the dough into a rectangular shape, about 50 x 40cm. Carefully lift the dough and place it over the whole dish. As gently as possible so as not to tear the pastry, tuck the overhanging edges under the bottom pastry to enclose the pie (as if you’re tucking a fitted sheet on a mattress). Lightly score the top of the pastry to mark where you will be cutting it later. Pour whatever oil is left of the ½ cup of olive oil over the whole of the pita and, using your brush, grease the whole pita.
- Place in the oven to bake for about 75 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden colour and the whole pita moves about the tray if you give it a little jiggle.
- Remove from the oven and allow the dish to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack top side up. Allow it to cool for at least a further 20 minutes before cutting along the marked lines and serving.
