‘Tsimbita’ from Tinos

The radical of Tinos, that beauteous land successful the cardinal Cyclades, usually telephone these Easter pies “cheese pies,” adjacent though they are tarts and they are sweet, not savory, akin to the “melitinia” recovered connected Santorini and Crete’s celebrated “kalitsounia.” When made successful circular form, they are known arsenic “tsimbita,” oregon pinched, due to the fact that the pastry is pinched astir the sides of this unfastened tart to clasp successful the stuffing.

Chef: Antonia Zarpa

Prep: 1.5 hours

Resting: 30’

Baking: 40’

Ingredients

(for astir 35-40 pieces)

For the pastry

• 500 g all-purpose flour

• 1 egg

• 50 ml raki (or tsipouro)

• a pinch of salt

• 2 tbsp olive oil

about 1/2 cupful water, positive a small much if needed

For the filling

• 1 kg unsalted Tinian petroma cheese* (or tyrovolia oregon Cretan xinomyzithra, each giving a slightly antithetic flavor)

• 600 g granulated white sugar

• 5-7 eggs (depending connected the moisture of the cheese)

• 1/2 tsp crushed cinnamon

• 2 mastic tears, crushed with a small sugar successful a mortar, oregon 1/4 tsp crushed mastic, oregon 2 drops mastic oil

• zest of 1 orange

• granulated white sugar, for sprinkling

Method

For the pastry: Place the flour successful a vessel and marque a well successful the center. Add the egg, raki, brackish and olive lipid into the well. Begin kneading, gradually adding the water until you person a moderately soft dough. You whitethorn not request each the water, oregon you whitethorn request a spot more. Cover the dough and fto it remainder for astir 30 minutes.

For the filling: Coarsely grate oregon crumble the food and transfer it to a bowl. Add the sugar, zest and aromatics, and premix with your hands, adding the eggs 1 astatine a time. Wait for each ovum to beryllium afloat absorbed earlier adding the adjacent – you whitethorn not request each of them. The substance should beryllium firm.

Assembly: Divide the dough into 4 portions and, utilizing a pasta machine, rotation each 1 into thin sheets, starting from the widest mounting and gradually moving to thinner ones. If you don’t person a pasta machine, rotation the dough retired connected a floured surface with a rolling pin, arsenic thin arsenic possible. Using a circular cutter astir 8 cm successful diameter, chopped retired small discs. Alternatively, you tin chopped the dough into squares. Place astir 1 teaspoon of filling successful the halfway of each disc. Using a toothpick, assistance the edges of the dough astatine small intervals and pinch with your thumb and scale digit to signifier a small tart with a ruffled borderline that encloses the filling. The much pinches you make, the amended the result.

Preheat the oven to 150°C, connected the accepted mounting (top and bottommost heat). Arrange the pies connected a baking sheet, preferably aluminum, lined with parchment paper, and sprinkle each 1 with granulated sugar. Bake for astir 40 minutes.

* Petroma food tin beryllium ordered by telephone from Tinos’ cultivation cooperative (tel 22830.232.89) and from the Mandalena Dairy (6977.501.450).

This story archetypal appeared successful Kathimerini’s nutrient supplement, Gastronomos.