Ingredients
6 thick sheets of KANAKI THICK FILO Pastry FOR PIES
5 large leeks
4 eggs
½ liter of milk
¼ cup fine semolina
2 tbsp olive oil or butter
300g crumbled feta cheese
2 pinches of ground nutmeg
water
salt
freshly ground pepper
Preparation - Steps
For the filling of the leek pie, first clean and wash the leeks well. Cut them into slices. Place them in a small pot with boiling water and blanch them for 5 minutes. Drain them in a strainer to remove all the liquids and dry the leeks completely. If the leeks are not dried properly, all the moisture will be released into the filling.
Heat a large frying pan or wide saucepan over medium to high heat. Add the olive oil and once it heats up, add the leeks. Sauté them for 5-6 minutes, until all the moisture evaporates. This ensures that the leeks are completely dried and at the same time, they become very sweet through sautéing.
Add a little salt and pepper, as the feta cheese added to the filling will provide extra flavor. Add the semolina and stir with a spoon to coat it with the oil and mix it with the leeks. The semolina will help thicken the filling and stabilize the pie when combined with the other ingredients.
Grate the nutmeg. Add the milk and stir the filling. Let it come to a boil for a few minutes, stirring until the cream thickens with the leeks. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the feta cheese and stir until it melts into the warm cream, reducing the temperature of the filling so you can add the eggs.
Add the eggs one at a time to the filling, stirring quickly each time with a spoon to incorporate them into the mixture. Let the filling cool for a bit.
For assembling the leek pie, grease a 28 cm round baking dish. Place 4 crumpled sheets of dough, greasing them in between. Make sure the dough hangs over the edges of the dish. Pour in the leek filling. Cover the filling with 2 crumpled sheets of dough, greasing them in between. Fold the hanging edges of the dough over the filling, creating a crust, and drizzle with olive oil and water.
Lightly score the top of the pie. Drizzle with a little olive oil and water, flicking it with your fingers. Bake the leek pie in a preheated oven at 180°C with top and bottom heating, placing the dish on the bottom rack. Bake for 40 minutes.
After baking, let the pie rest for 15 minutes in the dish to allow the hot filling to stabilize. If you cut the pie while it's still hot, the filling won't have had time to set and will spill out like thick cream from the dish.