Kalitsounakia Chaniotika

Comfort food with a character.

If you have ever stayed too long under the sun, lets say in one of the most beautiful beaches of Crete, like the Ballos beach, you know that after a while even if you close your eyes, you can still see the emerald and turquoise shades of the sky and of the sea.

I found myself in a condition like this the first time I visited Chania, and as wonderful as it was, after five hours of sun, salt and crickets chirping, I started feeling a little lightheaded, and was in desperate need of something to eat.

On our way back home we stopped on the first tavern of Kaliviani, and that was the first time I tried Kalitsounakia Chaniotika. These golden crusted pies, filled with local cheese and sprinkled with sesame seeds immediately gave me the grounding I needed, they were so good, like comfort food with a character!

So, today’s post is about one of my favorite traditional recipes, that comes from one of the most amazing places of Greece: Kalitsounakia Chaniotika with the recipe of Mrs. Evangelia Brindaki, the mother of my good friend Rania, and one of the best Cretan cooks I know. Enjoy!

 

 

Kalitsounakia Chaniotika | The recipe

 

For the filling:

• 1 kilo of mizithra cheese
• ½ kilo of graviera cheese, grated
• 1 egg

 

For the dough:

• About 1 kilo of flour for all purpose
• ½ shot glass of tsikoudia
• 1 shot glass of olive oil
• Warm water
• 1 egg roasted sesame for topping

Mix all the ingredients for the filling and leave to rest, as you prepare the dough.

At first, put the flour in a bowl, then add the tsikoudia and the olive oil, working the flour with the hands until it feels like grains of rice. Gradually add the warm water, until you have soft and smooth dough.

Sprinkle a little flour on the table and on the dough and roll it firmly a few times. You can use a small plate as a mold. Invert the plate and press down on the dough with the top of the plate. Trace a knife point around the dough until you have cut out a circle. Repeat, cutting as many circles as you can from your sheet of dough.

Place a teaspoon of the cheese filling inside each circle, and then fold the bottom up, and all the sides in to form a rectangular packet.

 

Spread a little olive oil on the surface of a baking pan and place there the kalitsounakia. Beat the egg and spread it over them, and sprinkle with the sesame.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for about 20 minutes.

In Crete, people like to sprinkle honey on those cheese pies, it creates an interesting sweet and salty combination.

words: m. alipranti

photos by c. drazos