Zymaroula - Savoury pumpkin and feta cheese batter pie

This savoury pie, using pumpkin, is a traditional dish and it is very popular around the country. It can be found with small differences regarding it's name or the cheeses used in the recipe but basically it is what you see. It is a very easy pie to make since there is no pastry involved but a nice batter and that saves a lot of time. It can be served as a main meal along with a salad or as a snack or as a first dish and it is perfect to pack for a picnic or for the kids to take with them to school. The specific version comes from the Thessalia region (Central Greece) and because in the old days olive oil was expensive and difficult to find, they used to use pork fat in this and other savoury pies

Recipe of Dimitris Andreou,
from "Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

 

Ingredients (for 6-8 people):
250gr. of pumpkin flesh, grated
500gr. of all-purpose flour
500ml of full fat milk, lukewarm
30gr. of fresh yeast (baker's yeast)
500gr. of feta cheese, roughly grated
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 small glass of olive oil
butter for greasing
salt
pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put some of the lukewarm milk in a measuring jug, add the fresh yeast and stir a bit to dissolve.

Put the rest of the milk into a large bowl, add the dissolved yeast and stir with a wooden spoon.

Then add the grated pumpkin, the eggs, the flour, the pepper and the grated feta cheese. Stir the ingredients very well until you have a well combined semi-liquid mixture. Taste and season with salt if needed (be careful because the feta can be quite salty).

Grease a round oven pan of 28-30cm with some butter and then pour in the olive oil making sure it covers all the bottom. Empty the pumpkin/cheese mixture into the pan and smooth the surface.

Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and leave in a warm place for about 30 minutes until the batter doubles in volume.

Put in the oven and bake for about 1 hour until the pie is well coloured and crispy around the edges. Leave to settle for about 20 minutes and then cut in pieces and serve.

This pie tastes better when it is at room temperature or cold the next day.