Hortopita Ipeirotiki (Χορτόπιτα Ηπειρώτικη)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •round metal tapsi, 34cm
• •long thin rolling pin, 70cm
• •wide saute pan or shallow pot, 30cm
• •clean kitchen towels for covering phyllo
• •pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Mix the flour with 6g of the salt in a large bowl. Make a well, add the 60ml olive oil, the vinegar, and 260ml lukewarm water, then bring it together with your hand until you have a rough dough. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, adding only a spoonful more water if dry flour remains. The dough should feel smooth, soft, and alive under your palm, not sticky. Cover and rest it for 45 minutes.

   Resting is what lets handrolled phyllo behave. If the dough fights the rolling pin, give it another 10 minutes under the towel.
2. 2

   Wilt the greens

   Chop the horta fine, stems and leaves together where the stems are tender. Put them in a very large bowl with the remaining 8g salt, rub and turn them with your hands until they darken and slump, then leave them for 15 minutes. Squeeze the greens hard by the handful over the sink. This is the step that decides the pie. Greens that go in raw collapse in the oven and wet the bottom phyllo; greens that are wilted and squeezed fill the pie evenly.

3. 3

   Cook the aromatics

   Warm 40ml of the Koroneiki oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and spring onions and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until glossy and sweet but not browned. Add the squeezed greens and turn them through the oil for 2 minutes, just to marry them with the leeks. Scrape everything into a bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes.

4. 4

   Finish the filling

   Fold the dill, mint, rice, black pepper, and 40ml more olive oil into the cooled greens. Taste the greens before you add more salt; they shrink, and they remember every pinch. The rice will cook inside the pie and catch the last bit of green liquor, so the filling stays tender without leaking.

5. 5

   Roll the phyllo

   Heat the oven to 190C conventional, or 170C fan. Divide the rested dough into 6 balls, making 3 of them a little larger for the bottom. On a well-floured surface, roll each ball into a thin round, about 38 to 42cm wide, dusting lightly as needed. Stack the sheets between clean towels so they don't dry while you roll the rest.

   A long, thin rolling pin makes this easier. Roll from the center outward, turn the dough often, and don't chase a perfect circle. A village pie forgives an oval.
6. 6

   Build the base

   Brush a 34cm round metal tapsi with olive oil. Lay in the first large phyllo sheet, letting the edges hang over the rim, and brush it lightly with oil. Repeat with the next 2 large sheets, brushing each one. Use about 45ml oil for these bottom layers. The overhang will fold back later and make the good thick edge everyone reaches for first.

7. 7

   Fill and close

   Spread the greens filling evenly over the phyllo, pressing it gently all the way to the sides. Cover with the remaining 3 phyllo sheets, brushing each with oil as you go and using another 45ml oil. Fold the overhanging bottom sheets inward to make a rim. Brush the top with the last of the oil, score into 10 or 12 pieces, and flick 2 tablespoons of water over the surface with your fingers.

8. 8

   Bake the pie

   Bake on the lower-middle rack for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is deep gold, the rim is crisp, and the pie pulls slightly from the side of the pan. If your oven browns unevenly, turn the tapsi once after 35 minutes. Let the hortopita rest at least 25 minutes before cutting through the scored lines. It eats best warm or at room temperature, when the greens have settled and the phyllo still snaps under the knife.

Chef Tips

• •Use mixed greens, not only polite supermarket spinach. A little bitterness is the backbone: dandelion, chicory, chard, sorrel, nettles in spring if you know how to handle them. No wild greens? Use half spinach and half chard, with one bunch of flat-leaf parsley. It will still be honest.
• •If you must use bought phyllo, choose thick country phyllo, not the paper-thin pastry sheets for syrup sweets. Brush it well and keep it covered while you work. The filling method stays the same, because wet greens are wet greens in any century.
• •This version is nistisimi, suitable for the fasting table. Serve it with olives, tomatoes in season, or a bowl of beans. Outside the fast, some Epirot cooks add feta, but then name it properly as a greens-and-cheese pie. The region is the dish's surname, and the name should tell the truth.
• •Leftover hortopita keeps two days at room temperature if the kitchen is cool, or four days in the refrigerator. Rewarm it in a moderate oven so the base crisps again. A microwave makes the phyllo tired.

Advance Preparation

• •Wash and dry the greens up to 1 day ahead, then keep them wrapped in a towel in the refrigerator.
• •Make the dough up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate it well covered; bring it to room temperature for 45 minutes before rolling.
• •The filling can be cooked 1 day ahead and chilled, but don't assemble the pie until you are ready to bake.
• •Bake the hortopita up to 1 day ahead. Rewarm uncovered at 170C for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 210g)