Prasópita – Greek Leek Pie

About this dish

This dish tastes even better a day or two after it has been made, and can be eaten hot or cold…perfect for a simple, hearty dinner paired with Greek salad, but also as a cold snack on the run. I buy pre-made pastry for convenience’s sake, but feel free to make your own if you would rather. I like keeping this particular pita recipe as simple as possible, as there are many other variations from all over Greece and Macedonia to try, with all kinds of fillings if you want more of a challenge…the key to this one is few, but great quality ingredients, and a short prepping and cooking time so it’s on my plate asap!

Ingredients

• 2 large leeks, sliced into thin circles
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 375g pack fillo pastry (most are vegan by default, I use Antoniou Chilled Fillo Pastry)
• 3/4 – 1 cup nutritional yeast, to taste
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh dill
• 2 tbsps finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 500g tofu (I use a mix of medium and hard tofu to mimic the texture of melted fetta)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• olive oil
• salt & pepper, to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in a medium pan, deep enough to contain all of the leek. Once oil is heated, add the leek to the pan and cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

2. If the leek begins to brown, reduce the heat, and if it’s sticking, add just a little water. When the leeks are just about done, add the garlic for 30 secs-1 min, then remove the pan from the heat. Place the leek and garlic in a bowl to cool.

3. In a medium sized bowl, crumble the tofu to resemble the texture of ricotta cheese, or fetta. Add the nutritional yeast, mustard powder, corn starch, fresh chopped herbs, salt, and pepper, lemon juice, and a splash of the best quality olive oil you can manage, and mix. When the leek and garlic are cool enough to touch, mix those through also.

4. Brush a medium sized oven tray (I use an 8×8″ square glass one) lightly with olive oil, and cut 5-6 layered sheets of fillo to fit the pan, just overlapping the sides so they can be folded. Carefully poke some holes in the bottom with a fork to avoid it getting too soggy (this is also why we allow the filling to cool first), then add the filling, smoothing out the surface and trying to make sure all ingredients look as evenly distributed as possible.

5. Fold the exposed parts of the bottom pastry over the filling and brush the tops lightly with the olive oil. Cut another 5-6 sheets of fillo and place over the top, tucking the sides in and under. Once more, brush the top lightly with olive oil and place in the oven for 30 mins, or until the top is a lovely golden brown colour. Remove, and let cool before slicing into squares. Will keep for 4-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

Priyatno yadenye!