Cretan vegetable pie Armonia

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g wheat flour type 1050
• 70 g orange juice
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp honey, light yellow
• 700 g vegetables, see note in instructions
• 1 m.-large onion(s), white
• 250 g sheep’s cheese (Galomisithra), see note in instructions
• e.g. salt and pepper
• 1 tsp rosemary, fresh or frozen
• 1 tsp thyme, fresh or frozen
• 1 pinch(s) nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp mint
• 4 tbsp, heaped breadcrumbs
• e.g. extra virgin olive oil
• n. B. Sesame, white
• some flour for the work surface

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

Mix all the ingredients for the dough and knead into a smooth, firm dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour. In the meantime, grease a baking dish with olive oil. Make a personal selection from the vegetables, wash them, spin them dry, and roughly chop them. Grate hard vegetables such as carrots, radishes, cabbage, or kohlrabi. Chop the onion into small pieces and fry in 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan until translucent. Add the hard vegetables and sauté for 3 minutes, then add the remaining vegetables and sauté until half cooked. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and season with rosemary, thyme, and nutmeg. Finely chop the galomisithra and mix with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the sugar, a little salt, and the chopped mint. Dust the work surface with flour. Divide the dough into two portions by weight, 60% and 40%. First, roll out the larger portion into a sheet approximately 2 mm thick, enough to cover the bottom and edges of the baking dish. Place the dough in the baking dish, brush the inside thinly with olive oil, and sprinkle the breadcrumbs on the bottom. Layer the filling ingredients in the baking dish: about half of the misithra on the bottom, spread the vegetable mixture over it, and finish with the rest of the misithra on top. Preheat the oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat). Roll out the second portion of dough to a thickness of approximately 2 mm, enough to completely cover the filling. Place this lid in the baking dish and brush the edges with water. Fold the edges of the bottom sheet over the top sheet and press down slightly. Brush the top cover with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake the vegetable pie for approximately 45 minutes until golden brown. After 20 minutes of baking, reduce the temperature to 170°C. Serve the finished vegetable pie hot in the casserole dish with white bread. A full-bodied red wine or a cold beer goes well with it. Notes: Cretans use a variety of vegetables, including lettuce, spinach, carrots, radishes, white cabbage, kohlrabi, fennel, leeks, spring onions, parsley, dill, and mint. They prefer bread, especially white bread, to all other side dishes. Galomisithra is a soft sheep’s cheese (misithra) produced in the Chania area. It can be substituted with soft misithra, available online, as it is practically unavailable in Germany. Recipe source: Mr. Olympios, Armonia Hotel, Crete