Courgette pie with ground beef

I haven't put a pie recipe for some time now so I think that this one is a good example of how you could enjoy the courgettes now that they are still in season. A little bit different than the classic Greek courgette pies since it is enriched with some ground meat. This makes the pie even tastier and quite filling so to make it a main meal along with some salad. Because of the large quantity of liquids the courgettes have, the secret to avoid the pastry to become soggy and keep it nice and crunchy on the bottom of the pie is a) to use an (old fashioned) aluminium oven pan and b) to brush the bottom of the pan with oil very well! I know that nowadays most of us have thrown away these type of pans but in some cases they are still useful. Trust me, the traditional bakers still make their pies in such kind of pans and they know why... 

Recipe of "Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 6-8 people):
450-500gr. of phyllo pastry sheets
1Kg of tender courgettes, coarsely grated
500gr. of ground beef
4 eggs, beaten
2 yellow onions, grated
½ tea-cup of olive oil
2 tbsp of butter
½ tea-cup of Greek Kefalotyri cheese, grated (or pecorino)
1 tsp of dried spearmint
salt
pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional function.

Leave the grated courgettes in a colander to drain as much as possible.

In a wide and heavy-bottomed frying pan warm the butter in medium-high heat and sauté the ground beef until it changes colour, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Add the onions and the courgettes and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and the spearmint. Take off the heat and leave aside to cool for about 10 minutes.

Add in the pan the eggs and the cheese and stir well. Leave the filling aside for later.

Brush the bottom and the sides of a round oven pan (preferably aluminium) of 32-34cm with oil. Lay half of the phyllo sheets (after brushing each one with some oil) at the bottom of the pan, pressing against the sides and allow some of the pastry to hang over the rim of the pan.

Empty the filling on the pastry and smooth with a spatula. Cover with the rest of the phyllo sheets (brushed with oil too) and press the edges all around inwards so to tuck between the pie and the sides of the pan.

Brush the surface of the pie with some oil and using a sharp knife gently score the top phyllo into square pieces.

Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes until the pie is golden brown. Leave to set for 10 minutes and then cut and serve.