Tomato pie with phyllo pastry

Traditional Greek stuffed vegetables (tomatoes and peppers). Baked tomato fritters from Santorini. Spinach and feta cheese pie. Greek semolina halva with orange and honey. These are some of the traditional Greek recipes I’ve recently experimented with. Today, I am using the basic ingredients I used in these recipes to create something different, but as delicious: a tomato pie.

For me, the star ingredient in the recipe is -surprise, surprise- the tomato, one of my favourite ingredients and protagonist in my diet. Tomatoes are rich in various antioxidants and the major dietary source of lycopene, which has been linked to many health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease and cancer. They are also a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K.

Although I was born and raised in Greece and I have travelled to most regions of the country, I have to admit I’d never come across a tomato pie before, so I’d never actually tasted it. But, when I read the recipe, I knew that I would absolutely love the end result. As usual, I did my research, found different versions of the recipe, and came up with my own.

So, without further ado, here it is:

Ingredients:

1.3-1.5 kg tomatoes, peeled
1 diced onion (I use frozen pre-diced onion)
150 gr fine semolina
A squeeze of tomato paste
Herbs: basil, oregano
Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, chilli powder
Salt and pepper
400 gr. feta cheese, crumbled
6-7 sheets of phyllo pastry
Olive oil, to brush the baking pan and drizzle the pastry

Makes 4-6 servings

Method:

To peel the tomatoes, make a cross on the bottom, then place them in a pan with boiling water for several minutes. You will then be able to remove the skin.
Chop the peeled tomatoes and blend them in a blender.

In a pan, heat some olive oil and then add the diced onion. Sauté until it softens.
A couple of minutes later, add the blended tomatoes and let them cook for 15 minutes.
Then, add the semolina, the tomato paste, the herbs, the spice, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Finally, add the crumbled feta cheese.

Brush a baking pan with olive oil.
Lay 3 pieces of phyllo on the baking pan.
Drizzle (or spray) each sheet with olive oil.
Add the tomato filling, spreading it evenly all over the phyllo base.
Cover the filling with another 3 or 4 sheets of phyllo pastry, drizzling each sheet with olive oil.
Score the surface with a sharp knife.
Bake at 180 degrees for about 60 minutes, or until the pie is golden and crunchy.

Further reading

For more mouth-watering Greek recipes, check out the following recently-published posts:

‘Baked zucchini (courgette) fritters‘

‘Fava: a healthy Greek island recipe‘

‘Trahanas: heart-warming Greek winter recipes‘

‘Fanouropita: a Rhodes-inspired recipe‘

‘6 delicious Greek summer recipes‘

‘Watermelon & feta: Mykonos-inspired recipes‘

‘Alex’s portokalopita (orange pie)’

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)