Beef Pita, Greek Style
Submitted by tramore
Crispy buttered phyllo wraps around layers of wine-simmered ground beef with mushrooms and a tangy feta, cream cheese, and cottage cheese filling. Serve golden wedges to a hungry crowd.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minHere is the kind of recipe that turns a weeknight into something special without requiring culinary school credentials.
Seasoned ground beef mingles with sliced mushrooms, garlic, and warm spices like cumin and cinnamon, then gets a splash of wine to deepen the flavor.
A creamy cheese filling loaded with feta, cream cheese, and cottage cheese gets layered between sheets of buttered phyllo dough.
The whole thing bakes until the top crackles and turns deep golden, and you slice it into squares that reveal all those gorgeous stacked layers.
Chef Tips
- Let the meat filling cool completely before assembling. Hot filling will make the phyllo sheets gummy and impossible to work with.
- If your phyllo tears, just patch it with another piece and brush with more butter. Nobody will know once it bakes.
- This reheats beautifully in the oven. Give it 15 minutes at 350 to restore the crispness.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine ground beef, onion and garlic in a large frying-pan; cook, stirring frequently until beef loses pink color.
Pour off drippings.
Add mushrooms, bay leaf, salt, chili powder, cumin powder, and cinnamon; cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender about 5 minutes.
Stir in tomato sauce and wine; cook, covered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove bay leaf.
Cool while preparing cheese filling.
Combine egg and cream cheese in medium bowl, beat with electric mixer until smooth.
Stir in cottage and feta cheeses and blend.
Brush 13 x 9-inch baking pan with melted butter.
Line pan with 1 sheet of pastry, fitting pastry to contour of pan.
(Pastry will come up over edges of pan.) Brush pastry with butter.
Layer with 3 more pastry sheets, brushing each with butter.
Sprinkle bread crumbs evenly over top.
Spoon 1/5 of meat filling in layer over crumbs and 1/5 of the cheese filling over meat.
Place 1 pastry sheet over cheese filling, crinkling to fit inside dimensions of pan; brush with butter and layer with 1/5 of the meat and 1/5 to the cheese fillings.
Repeat with 3 more pastry sheets, crinkling each, brushing with butter and topping with fillings.
Turn bottom pastry ends up over filling.
Place remaining 8 pastry sheets smoothly over top, brushing each with butter.
Using spatula, tuck top pastry sheets around inside edges of pan.
With sharp knife, score top lightly in half lengthwise and sixths crosswise.
(Do not cut through) Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees F.) 1 hour or until top is golden brown.
Cool at least 10 minutes before cutting along scored lines.
Place a cherry tomato on each of 12 small wooden picks and insert pick in center of each serving.
Garnish with parsley.
Garnish individual servings with fresh fruit kabobs, if desired.
FRESH FRUIT KABOBS: To make fresh fruit kabobs, place chunks of fresh pineapple, cantaloupe, whole strwberries or other fruits in season on small wooden skewers.
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