Albanian Pite me djath

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 250 g flour
• 150 ml water, lukewarm
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oil
• Oil for the work surface and for brushing
• 1 pack of feta cheese, approx. 200 g
• 1 cup crème fraîche
• ½ cup cream, approx. 100 g
• salt and pepper
• Vegeta

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

Mix flour, water, salt, and oil into a dough. The dough should be soft enough that it springs back into shape after you make a hollow. Shape the dough into four equal-sized balls and roll each ball out to the size of a plate. Grease the work surface with oil and generously coat each ball with oil. Fold the balls together, place them on an oiled surface, and let them rest for about 20-25 minutes. For the filling, crumble the feta and mix it with the crème fraîche, cream, salt, pepper, and Vegeta. Grease a Tepsi or round baking dish generously with oil. Grease the work surface with oil again, take a ball of dough, and unfold it. The oil will now make the ball extremely stretchy. Pull the dough from the center outwards until it is transparent. Tear off the thick edges or trim them with a knife. Take some of the filling and place it in a row on the dough. Roll the dough up, shape it into a snail, and place it in the Tepsi. Repeat this step until no more dough remains. Expand the snail in the tepsi. If necessary, form the leftover dough into a ball, roll it out, brush it with oil again, let it rest for about 10-15 minutes, and then continue processing. Brush the unbaked pite with oil. Preheat the oven to 250°C (top/bottom heat) and bake the pite for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Tips: It’s best to eat the pite warm. If you don’t want to eat it right away, simply cover it with aluminum foil and enjoy it later. Natural yogurt is best served with pite. A tepsi is a traditional Albanian round baking sheet; you can also use a round casserole dish. It’s best to work the dough on a table covered with a washable tablecloth. Not everything will work perfectly the first time – practice makes perfect. Pite can also be filled with minced meat; there is a separate recipe for this. There are many variations of pite, and everyone does it differently. This is the way I learned it from my grandmother from Kosovo.