Sour Mizithra Cheese Pancakes – Sfakianes Pittes
It is rare that anyone will have been to Chania and not enjoyed one of these at the end of a meal.
Because of its mountainous terrain, Chania produces high quality dairy produce one of which is sour mizithra which is used in these delicious flat pancakes. They resemble pita bread but are eaten always warm, freshly fried in very little olive oil and drizzled with honey.
I would love to offer you an alternative for mizithra cheese but quite frankly I would say not to bother if that is the case. The secret in this, as in so many Greek dishes, is in the ingredients. However, both Odysea Limited and Maltby and Greek sell sour mizithra from Crete. It is really worth buying. You may freeze what you don’t use, or do what I do which is to make loads of pittes or pancakes or bougatsa with it and freeze them. Then when the family come or a friend drops by unexpectedly I just fry one quickly straight from the freezer and have a warm, sticky and sweet treat in a couple of minutes. Who does not love sticky and sweet?!
Serves 5
Ingredients
- 150ml warm water
- 20 ml olive oil
- 50 ml raki (you may use vodka instead)
- A pinch of salt
- 300g plain white flour
- 100g of sour mizithra cheese
- Olive oil for frying
- Honey for drizzling
Instructions
Pour the warm water, olive oil and raki into a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and mix well.
Sieve the flour directly into the liquids little by little mixing gently. You must end up with a fairly soft dough. Do not overwork the dough as it will toughen when cooked.
Cover the bowl with a clean towel and leave in a warm place to rest for 15 minutes.
Dust a surface with some flour. Cut the dough in equal size portions. You should have 5, weighing approximately 100g each.
Make a ball and flatten with your hands. Roll out with a rolling pin to the size of a small saucer. Place approximately 20g of mizithra in the middle of the pita. Bring the surrounding dough bit by bit to the centre covering the mizithra each time. You should have a ball of dough and not be able to see the mizithra. Flatten the ball with your hands, sprinkle with a bit of flour and roll out to the size of a side plate.
Brush a pan with some olive oil and cook each pita a couple of minutes each side. Warm some honey and drizzle over the pitas. Add some sesame or walnuts or leave as they are. They are delicious!