Portokalopita

ORANGE PIE WITH FILO & SYRUP Serves 4-6

Melted clarified butter, for brushing 400g ready-made filo pastry Greek yoghurt, to serve Drizzle of honey, to serve

FILLING

4 eggs

100g caster sugar

200ml vegetable oil

3 tbsp grated orange zest

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp baking powder

1 cup Greek yoghurt

SYRUP

345g caster sugar

250ml orange juice

3 tbsp grated orange zest

1 cinnamon stick

3 cloves

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced). Brush some melted clarified butter on to a 35cm round baking tray or a 25cm x 35cm rectangular baking tray. Fold or crumple each filo sheet using your hands and place on the tray. If you are using a round tray, work your way from the centre until all the dish is covered. If you are using a rectangular tray, then concertina fold and place each sheet side by side until the baking tray is lined.

Place in the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes, until the filo feels crispy to the touch. Keep the oven on.

For the filling, in a large bowl beat the eggs, sugar, oil, orange zest and vanilla using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the baking powder and the yoghurt and stir gently until all combined. Ladle the filling mixture evenly over the filo pastry and set aside for 4 minutes for the mixture to find its way through the folds of pastry, then bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.

While the pastry is baking, make the syrup. Put the sugar, orange juice, zest, cinnamon stick, cloves and 1 cup of water into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce to a low heat and simmer for 5 minutes. When pie is baked, remove from the oven and ladle the hot syrup over the warm pie and allow to sit until all the syrup has been absorbed.

Serve cool with a dollop of yoghurt drizzled with honey.

This is an edited extract from Ikaria: Food and life in the Blue Zone, by Meni Valle, published by Hardie Grant Books, available from September 2020.