Skopelitiki Tiropita (Σκοπελίτικη Τυρόπιτα)

Skopelitiki tiropita is Skopelos's cheese pie, a thin phyllo rope filled with salty white cheese, coiled into a spiral, and fried in olive oil. The region is the dish's surname. This is not the square tray of tiropita from a mainland bakery. It is individual, crisp-ridged, and eaten warm, with the filling just soft enough to pull.

One method decides it: fry slowly. If the oil is fierce, the outside colors while the inner coil stays doughy. Keep a steady modest sizzle and turn it only once or twice, so the phyllo cooks all the way through before it goes deep gold. Good olive oil, and patience.

I keep the filling plain because Skopelos does. Firm sheep's feta works, or a local goat-and-sheep white cheese if you have one. No herbs, no clever little additions. Your first pie may not be a perfect circle, but if the dough has rested and the pan is calm, it will taste like the island meant it to taste.