Nistisima by Hayden Georgina;

Author:Hayden, Georgina;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2022-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Mushroom, potato and cumin bourekia

Kolokithopita: pumpkin and raisin pie with harissa

This one of my go-to nistisimo recipes if I have people round for a meal – you can get it ready in advance, it looks impressive and it tastes amazing. It is loosely based on the Greek-Cypriot fasting classic kolokotes – little pumpkin, bulgur and raisin pies – that my yiayia Martha makes. Roasting the pumpkin first is not traditional, my yiayia just uses finely chopped raw pumpkin, but I think it brings a more intense flavour to the dish, which I balance with harissa oil and dill.

SERVES 4

800g pumpkin or butternut squash

125ml olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1½ tablespoons harissa paste

1 tablespoon caster sugar

40g fine bulgur wheat

50g sultanas or raisins

4 spring onions

½ bunch of dill

300g filo pastry

1 garlic clove

Preheat the oven to 240°C/fan 220°C/gas mark 9. Peel and chop the pumpkin into 2cm pieces and place in a roasting tray with three tablespoons of the olive oil, half a teaspoon of sea salt, a good pinch of freshly ground black pepper, the ground cinnamon, one tablespoon of the harissa paste and the sugar. Toss together well, spread out into one even layer and pop in the oven for 25–30 minutes, until the pumpkin is charred around the edges. Remove from the oven, spoon into a bowl and leave to cool. When the pumpkin has cooled, stir in the bulgur wheat and sultanas or raisins. Trim and finely chop the spring onions and dill. Add all the spring onions and half of the dill to the bowl and mix everything together, crushing and mashing the pumpkin pieces down a bit.

When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas mark 7. Brush a 22cm springform cake tin with a little oil. Lay out a sheet of filo, longest side nearest to you, and brush with oil, then top with another sheet. Spoon one-third of the mixture in a line about 4cm above the bottom edge of the pastry, then brush the pastry with more oil. Roll the pastry and filling up like a cigar then curl it into a swirl; this is the centre of your pie. Place the filled swirl in the middle of the cake tin. Repeat the filling and rolling process with the remaining sheets of filo and filling, adding each length to the pie spiral, so you have a coiled snake effect. Brush the entire pie with a little more oil and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Bake for 35–45 minutes, until crisp and deep golden brown.

While the pie is baking, make the finishing oil. Crush the garlic, in its skin, with the side of your knife and place in a small pan with four tablespoons of olive oil. Gently fry over a low heat, until it starts smelling wonderful but it doesn’t burn – about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately stir in the remaining half-tablespoon of harissa. Leave to cool. When the pie is ready,

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