Cretan Meat Pie-Kreatotourta

Meat Pie-Kreatotourta is a traditional dish in Chania, Crete. Tender lamb and xinomizithra cheese in flaky phyllo sheets baked in the oven.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Cretan, Greek

Prep Time 1 5

Cook Time 35

Servings

Calories 1026kcal

Author by Jenny Skrapaliori Graves

Equipment

one 9" pan with a removable bottom and 2.5 " height 23 cm and 6.5 cm height

Ingredients

650 grams all-purpose flour
1 kg lamb can be lamb shoulder, preferably with bone for more flavor.
750 grams xinomyzithra cheese three cups. Please see the recipe notes for substitutes
500 grams tiromalama cheese two cups. Please see the recipe notes for substitutes
2-3 tablespoons staka Please see the recipe notes for substitutes
4 tablespoons fresh spearmint leaves chopped
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
4 pie crusts like Pillsbury original dough sheet or your favorite pie crust
½ cup butter
1 egg (lightly beaten)
3 teaspoons sesame seeds

Instructions

Start with the filling

Simmer the lamb over medium heat in a pot of salted water for about 1 1⁄2 hours until it becomes soft.      
Transfer to a platter, and shred the meat into small pieces.

Assemble the pie

Butter the pan with softened butter all over the sides and bottom.
Place your pan on one phyllo sheet and trace a circle with a sharp knife.
Place the circle on the bottom of the buttered pan.
Take one pie crust and trace long rectangular pieces as wide as the sides of your pan.
Cover the sides of your pan with the rectangular pieces, pressing lightly to connect where the bottom and sides meet. Patch up any holes with small pieces of crust; it doesn't have to be perfect.
Place the shredded lamb in a deep mixing bowl with the cheeses, staka and chopped spearmint leaves. Mix well. Season with sea salt and pepper.
Lightly brush the crust with butter, add the filling, and spread it evenly.
Add the filling to the pie.
Cover the filling with a piece of pie crust. Trim it with scissors, leaving about an inch of extra crust over the pan. Press with your fingers to join the edges of the two crusts at the edge and create a border. Brush the top with the egg wash.
Sprinkle the sesame seeds all over.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the bottom of the pie is baked.

Notes

Important note :

The Greek pie crusts used in this post are rectangular and bigger size than my pan. A similar product is the Pillsbury crescent dough sheet, which is 12-inch by 7½ inch fully unrolled. The classic pie crusts usually come in 9 inches in diameter, which means you can skip tracing the bottom of your pan and use the pie crust as is for the top and bottom. However, you will need to trace the rest of the crust to build the sides of the pan.

Substitutions

Xinomizithra cheese. To mimic this excellent white sour soft cheese, mix three parts whole-fat ricotta with one part strong goat cheese.
Tiromalama cheese. This soft white cheese is like raw graviera-gruyere cheese. Substitute tiromalama with cubed mild, sweet gruyere.
Staka. This exclusive creamy dairy wonder is impossible to get unless in Crete. I substitute with stakovoutiro, which is unfortunately hard to find in the US. Your best bet is goat butter or good-quality cow butter.
Use your leftover lamb roast to make this recipe. Warm a cup of beef stock and add to the lamb while shredding it until it feels moist enough.

How to make the traditional pie crust

Ingredients

250 grams of Greek strained yogurt
50 grams of softened butter
two packets of active dry yeast
650 grams of all-purpose flour
one teaspoon of sea salt

Add all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead until it's a smooth dough that does not stick to the hands. Divide it and shape it into two balls, one larger than the other by a third.
Sprinkle plenty of flour on a working surface, and roll one dough ball into a sheet approximately 34 cm / 14" in diameter. Roll the next sheet 28 cm / 11".
Use the larger piece for the bottom and sides of your pie and the smaller for the top.

The nutritional analysis is only an estimate based on available ingredients and the recipe’s preparation.

Nutrition