As a young girl on a Contiki tour, way back in the early 80’s, I enjoyed a cheese pie just like this on some small Greek Island that our boat stopped at; the name long forgotten. The meal was served on a checked red and white gingham tablecloth in some rusty little Taverna on the beach, the sun shining boldly as we tucked in with gusto and enjoyed the retsina along the way! To me these are the flavours of Greece. Serve the pie up with roasted tomatoes, olives and a drizzling of olive oil and parsley.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup semolina
• 3 eggs (size 7)
• 1 cup grated tasty cheddar cheese
• 125 grams feta cheese, crumbled
• ½ cup grated Pecorino cheese or Parmesan
• ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
• ½ tsp each grated nutmeg, salt and pepper
• 125 grams butter, melted
• 16 sheets filo pastry

Method

1. Bring the milk and bay leaf to the boil. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the semolina. Continue to cook over a low heat, stirring until the mixture makes a very thick paste. Remove from the heat.
2. Beat in the eggs, cheese, parsley and spices. Cover and set aside to cool.
3. Brush one sheet of filo with butter and use to line the base and sides of a 20cm square cake or flan tin. Repeat with a further seven layers of filo. Pour in the cheese filling and level off. Brush a further eight sheets of filo with butter and layer on top of the cheese filling. Brush the top with butter and mark into serving size pieces. Fold the edges of the filo over and trim the sides.
4. Bake at 180°C for 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Cool for 45 minutes before cutting into portions to serve. Accompany with olives, tomatoes, parsley and a little extra olive oil.