I grew up in Greek neighbourhood in Montreal. Or at least Park Extension use to be a Greek neighbourhood. The demographics changed in over the past fifteen years. The neighbourhood is more South Asian now, but that is neither here nor there.
Greek Orthodox Easter was always a huge deal in the area. Still is with the remaining Greeks in the area. There was always a candlelit midnight mass and firecrackers going off. On Easter Sunday, the smells of lamb roasting on spits would be wafting throughout the neighbourhood, making my mouth water.
One of the things that we were always given at that time of the year was a phyllo pastry stuffed with feta cheese rolled into a spiral. I loved that stuff – no clue what it is called, but love it. Unfortunately, when my father’s Greek colleague retired, we stopped receiving the feta-stuffed pastries.
I’ve always wanted to make it. The only problem is that I was incredibly intimidated by phyllo dough. Over the years, I tried to reproduce that feta torte but never managed to do it. It never came out tasting right, and the dough was always tough.
Last week I was surfing the New York Times Food and Dining section and came across Melissa Clark’s article and recipe for Sonia’s Phyllo and Feta Torte With Dill and Nutmeg . This was the perfect recipe for someone like me who has no patience for brushing layer after layer of phyllo dough. Fuss-free, now that is what I am talking about… I adapted the recipe a little because I didn’t have butter in the house and not enough Romano cheese. I also added more dill, nutmeg and pepper.
Dill and Feta Phyllo Torte
Adapted from the New York Times
1 pound Greek feta cheese, crumbled
3 cups cottage cheese
3 large eggs
2/3 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup grated Parmesan and Romano cheese mix (2 tbsp more for sprinkling in the bottom of bundt pan)
2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1-pound box phyllo dough, thawed overnight in refrigerator if necessary
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Honey, for serving (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, combine the cheeses, eggs, dill, the nutmeg and pepper and pulse just to combine (you can also use a large bowl and a fork). Mixture should be well combined, but still chunky, not smooth.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan and Romano mix into a Bundt pan. Drape a sheet of phyllo on top of Bundt pan, poke a hole into phyllo where center tube is and push phyllo into pan to line it. Do this with another phyllo sheet, but place it perpendicular to first sheet. Continue adding phyllo sheets in this crisscross manner until all sheets are used. Edges of phyllo should hang over edges of pan.
- Scrape cheese filling into pan, and fold edges of phyllo over filling. Using a sharp knife, poke many holes (at least 20) in dough that reach all the way to bottom of pan. Slowly pour extra virgin olive oil over torte; some oil will seep through holes and some will remain on top of dough.
- Place Bundt pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes, or until torte is puffy and golden brown. Allow torte to cool in pan for 1 to 2 hours before inverting onto a plate and slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature, with honey if desired.
