TSOUKNIDOPITA – GREEK NETTLE PIE WITH FETA CHEESE

Ingredients:

For dough
*500 g  all purpose flour
*100 ml Greek Olive oil
*20 ml white wine vinegar
*10 g granulated sugar
*1 ½ teaspoons salt
*210 ml water
*200 ml Olive Oil , for brushing
For filling
*3 tbsp Greek Olive Oil
*4 spring onions, coarsely chopped
*1 kg nettles
*½ bunch mint, coarsely chopped
*1 bunch Mediterranean hartwort, coarsely chopped
*1/3 bunch dill
*500 g Greek feta cheese  , crumbled
*a generous amount of freshly ground pepper
*salt

Directions:
For the dough
Beat the flour, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and water for 5 minutes in a mixer, using the hook attachment.
If you don’t have a mixer, mix with your hands and knead for 5 minutes.
When the dough comes together nicely and it pulls away from the sides of the bowl, it is ready.
The dough should be soft and elastic. If it is not, beat for another 5 minutes.
When ready, transfer to another bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set it aside to rest for 30 minutes.
For the filling

Wash the nettles thoroughly. Don’t forget to use gloves. Sink them in boiling water for 3 minutes and then strain them.
Place a nonstick pan over medium to high heat. Add a little olive oil and the spring onions. Sauté until they soften.
Add the nettles. Sauté until it softens and all of the liquid evaporates.
Transfer to a bowl.
Add the mint, hartwort, dill, feta cheese, salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.
Stir and your filling is ready!

How to roll out phyllo dough
Preheat oven to 190* C (374* F) Fan.
When the dough is ready, transfer to your working surface and divide in to 6 equal parts.
Sprinkle some semolina or flour on a clean surface and start to roll out the first of the 6 pieces of dough. You want it to become as thin as possible.
If your dough is too sticky, sprinkle with some more semolina or flour and continue rolling out.
Always roll the rolling pin towards you to spread the dough out further.

Continue rolling out the pieces of dough in the same manner.
Brush a 30 cm round baking pan with olive oil.
Lay the first 1 phyllo sheet, to cover the pan, allowing it to exceed the pan. Drizzle with olive oil and repeat with 2 more phyllo sheets, to create the bottom crust.
Drizzle with olive oil. Do not brush the phyllo so that they don’t stick to one another and air pockets can be created in between them. This makes the phyllo crunchier!
You will need about 200 ml of olive oil for all of the phyllo.
Add the filling, spreading it evenly all over the phyllo base. Drizzle filling with some olive oil.

Cover filling with another 3 sheets of phyllo dough, repeating the exact same process as before. Turn the edges over with your fingers and gently tuck them in all the way around.
Score the surface with a sharp knife and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until golden and crunchy. When ready, remove from oven and cut in to pieces.

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