Batter pie, flour pie, kassopita or kasiopita, courkoutopita. Whatever you call it, this Epirus pie made with batter and cheese is one of the most iconic dishes of the Greek countryside.
I first tried this pie many years ago on a trip to Zagorochoria. It was the famous flour pie of Kikitsa in Monodendri.
I remember that we had ordered it before setting off for the Vikos Gorge, and when we returned it was waiting for us, warm.
It was one of those simple things that remain etched in your mind for life. The excitement was not because of the fatigue from the hike, certainly not; it was because the taste was truly wonderful.
Back then, Foodurismo was still only an idea in my mind. Even so, I did not ask my namesake Kikitsa for the recipe. I left carrying only the taste and the memory.
Many years later, once Foodurismo had taken shape, batter pie came before me again through “another road.”
This time it came from an Epirote friend, Efi. More precisely, the recipe for this batter pie belongs to Efi’s mother, Mrs. Theodoula, who comes from Plakoti in Thesprotia.
Mrs. Theodoula and her husband, Mr. Nikos, ran a café for many years in the center of Igoumenitsa.
In Epirus, cafés do not serve only coffee or tsipouro. They always offer carefully prepared meze as well.
Theodoula prepared in the café everything that a lover of tsipouro likes to accompany it with.
Eggplants and zucchini in batter, oregano pork, fried potatoes as well as oven-baked ones, graviera cut into small pieces, cuttlefish with greens, and of course hard-boiled eggs, which she always made sure to prepare in advance and keep in a large container.
Everything passed through Theodoula’s hands, both in the café and at home.
For Theodoula, batter pie was a dish that eased her busy hands. She made it as an easy supper, put it on the table as a meze for friends, and took it with her as a gift when visiting others.
And as for her secret? Theodoula insists: plenty of good cheese, full stop.
Theodoula’s batter pie often accompanies our wine and tsipouro evenings here in Athens.
In online searches, Kikitsa’s flour pie from Monodendri takes center stage, and rightly so.
In our home, however, Theodoula’s batter pie rules.
And, let’s be honest… the name Theodoula itself is, after all, even more iconic than Kikitsa!
Ingredients for Batter Pie (38×32 cm pan)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (320 g)
- 1 cup fresh milk (250 ml)
- 1 cup water (250 ml)
- 300 g feta
- 2 eggs
- 40 g cow’s butter
- ½ tsp baking powder (optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- a little olive oil (2–3 tbsp)
- pepper
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Instructions
In a large bowl, pour in the water, milk, salt, and eggs and mix well.
Add the baking powder to the flour.
Gradually add the flour while stirring continuously.
Crumble half of the feta with your hands.
Butter the bottom and sides of a baking pan well with half of the butter.
Pour the batter into the pan.
Crumble the remaining feta on top.
Drizzle with the olive oil.
Cut the remaining butter into very small pieces and scatter it over the batter and feta.
Bake the batter pie in a preheated oven at 180 to 190°C for 45 to 50 minutes.
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