Hi again, it's me, trying to touch base with my neglected blog. I am super excited and wanted to share this recipe I found in my new August issue of Saveur magazine called "The Greece Issue." I am really looking forward to trying more of the recipes because they all look fabulous. This tart was super easy to make and delish! The olive oil in the bottom of the pan gives it a nice crispy crust and the charred feta is both creamy and tangy. Although this was lovely as is, I think that it can be played around with...next time I might add some oregano or diced olives.
I love Saveur because it is not just a recipe magazine, but contains many stories about world travel centered around food. Each and every time I find the time to sit down and read, it ignites my fire to someday experience this kind of travel and get to the heart of a different culture by way of food. This particular dish was described by the writer as coming into the taverna after a morning of hiking the hills above a small village and finding her Greek hostess offering this straight from the oven. She found that the alevropita "might as well have been sent down by gods from Mount Olympus - nourishing, elemental and satisying to the soul." I heartily agree and all I did today was change diapers and pick up toys (not quite hiking the hills above a quaint Greek village - but oh well!)
I made this along with some baked chicken and a Greek salad for dinner, thinking the kids would not touch it, but they loved it and asked for seconds!! Give it a try as a side dish or appetizer...yum!!
ALEVROPITA (Feta Tart)
6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. vodka
1 egg
1 1⁄4 cups flour, sifted
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄8 tsp. baking powder
10 oz. feta, crumbled
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1. Heat oven to 500°. Put an 18" x 13" x 1" rimmed baking sheet into oven for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together 2 tbsp. oil, vodka, egg, and 1 cup water in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour wet mixture over dry mixture and whisk until smooth.
3. Brush remaining oil over bottom of hot pan and add batter, smoothing batter with a rubber spatula to coat the bottom evenly, if necessary. Distribute cheese evenly over batter, and dot with butter. Bake, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until golden brown and crunchy, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.
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6 comments:
Dee - good to see you cooking again! I need to get back into it. Maybe we can do a Savure themed day together - Sabrina loves being in the kitchen. Anyway, I wanted to tell you how much I too love the magazine. I subscribed for a number of years a long time ago, still have them, and thought you might want to have them now. I haven't touched them in years and would love to see them reused and appreciated by a fellow foodie! :-)
Hi Louanne - It would be fun to do a themed cooking day. My kitchen is small but we can manage. Let's pick a day and a menu. I would love to look through your old magazines for inspiration....thanks!
Crispy feta anything and I'm in. Would it work with hummus or maybe toppings? Or would that be overkill?
Just ordered Saveur to replace my beloved, now defunct Gourmet magazine. I'm hoping Ruth Reichl will show somewhere soon at a mag. She really is great at it and I miss her.
I have been searching for this recipe for 4 years since I first tried this dish in a tiny mountain village in the Zagoria in Greece. I was thrilled to find it in the latest edition of Saveur.
oooohhhhh, that looks so yummy. I am feta-holic....is that a word??? lol.
I would love to try this recipe but I really don't want to have to buy a bottle of vodka to do so. I did a search and I could find no substitute for vodka....may be I could just buy one of those little "sample" bottles
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