This delicious Cypriot pie honours olives and olive oil in the best way and is especially loved by those who are fasting. It comes from Georgia Kofina's book "Saracostiana".
Materials
For the dough
1½ cups orange juice
1½ cups extra virgin olive oil
3½-4 cups all-purpose flour
2½ tsp. baking powder
For the filling
3 cups black olives (not bitter)
Three large onions, finely chopped
3 tsp. chopped fresh mint
3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
Procedure
Step 1
Mix the flour with the baking powder to make the dough. Then, mix the oil and orange juice into a large bowl.
Step 2
Add the flour in parts and knead until it becomes a smooth, light dough. Cover it and let it rest.
Step 3
In the meantime, prepare the filling: Remove the pits from the olives and roughly chop them. Sauté the onion in the olive oil until it takes on a little colour, and add the olives and mint. Stir well and continue to sauté for another 3 minutes. Leave the mixture for a while until it cools down.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Divide the dough in half and roll out two sheets the size of a medium round pan.
Step 5
Place one sheet in a lightly oiled pan and layer the filling on top. Cover the mixture with the second sheet, cut the pie into pieces and bake it in the preheated oven for 45 minutes until it turns brown.
Georgia Kofina is a columnist for Olive Magazine. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.
READ MORE: FASTING RECIPE: Giouvetsi with squid.
