Monday's Greek Easter Recipes - Flaounes - Cyprus Easter Cheese Pies

(via orthodoxiconography.com)

For the Greek Orthodox christians today is the first day of the Holy Week. Holy Monday services help us to understand Christ's passage from death to life-and how each of us can also become free from sin and death. So we commemorate:

Christ the bridegroom by chanting "The Hymn of the Bridegroom", warning us to be prepared for Christ's coming. The minister carries the icon of Christ the Bridegroom in procession. We behold Christ ad the Bridegroom of the Church, bearing the marks of suffering, yet preparing a marriage Feast for us in God's Kingdom.

The Blessed Joseph (son of Jacob in the Old Testament) who was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by his brothers, and who later became a powerful ruler. In the same way, Christ was rejected, and betrayed but crowned with glory in God's Kingdom.

The Barren fig tree, which Christ cursed and withered because it bore no fruit. The tree is like those who have heard God's word but fail to bear fruit by not obeying it.

It is also the time to start preparing our traditional Easter treat. Flaounes - Easter cheese pies - can only be found in Cyprus. It's our number one Easter treat. I don't think there's a Greek Cypriot who can do without flaounes for Easter! According to tradition, they're baked on Holy Friday to be enjoyed on Easter Day and the days to follow since this Holy Week is also a time to fast and prepare our body for the Holy Communion on Thursday and Saturday.

 Flaounes - Cyprus Easter Cheese Pies

Photo Credit

For the dough

• 5 cups self-raising flour
• 2-3 tablespoons sugar (optional)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 6-7 cherry mahaleb grains
• 6-7 small mastic grains
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 1.5 cup lukewarm milk

For the filling

• 1 kg flaouna cheese or any other hard cheese
• 1/2 cup semolina
• 1 piece yeast - the size of a large egge
• 6-8 eggs
• 6-7 small mastic grains
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1  1/2  teaspoons baking powder
• lots of fresh mint finely chopped
• 1 cup raisins (optional)
• 1  1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1 egg for brushing

Directions

1.Grate the cheese one day in advance and place it in the fridge to dry. Stir once or twice. 

2. Whisk the eggs for the filling and combine the cheese with the semolina.

3. Make a hole in the centre, place the yeast in it and on top add an egg.

4. Press and squeeze the yeast, egg and the cheese with your fingertips until the yeast is dissolved.

5. Add as many eggs as needed (about six) to make a rather firm mixture.

6. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside.

7. Make the dough by mixing the flour , baking powder, mastic and the cherry mahaleb pounded with 1 teaspoon sugar. Pour in the oil and rub into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Knead with as much milk as needed to make a rather fluffy dough.

8.Cover with a kitchen towel for half an hour. Before starting rolling out the dough, finish the filling by adding the mint, baking powder, raisins,, cherry mahaleb and the mastic pounded with 1 teaspoon sugar.

9. Stir well. Rinse the sesame seeds, drain and place on a kitchen towel.

10. Roll out the dough thinly to give a square shape of medium size.

11. Place each piece of dough on the sesame seeds and press on the bottom side only.

12. Put some filling in the centre of each piece and fold the four sides to form a square shape, leaving the filling in the centre uncovered!.

13. Place the flaounes on an ungreased, lightly floured baking tray and brush them with some beaten egg.

14. Bake for about 40 minutes in a pre-heated, moderately hot oven (160*C) until golden brown. 

Adapted from : Cyprus Cooking for Friends by Sandra Lysandrou.

Comments

[Agnes]

Drooling here...
Happy Easter Anastasia :-)

[Sophia]

This Easter I have decided to bake everything at home: flaounes and tsourekia of course, but also easter cookies and bread (koulouria). I know it's a lot of work but it feels so good with all these easter smells in the house. Kalo Pasxa!

[Sophia]

Oh by the way, I like this flaounes recipe which is very much like the one I have and which I got from my grandma - the old traditional recipe. Once I had tried the quick, easy version for the dough but it was a failure!

[Constantinos]

The cheese pie I'm eating right now for breakfast looks miserable compared to these tempting easter cheese pies here! Kalo Pasxa kai Kali Anastasi.

[Stefania]

Great post! I hope you wont mind me reblogging it.I have printed your recipe and will try it this week as I have a few days off work and more free time. If my flaounes are a success I will send over some to you.

[Laura]

A "delicious" post and once again so very informative!

[Christina]

These cheese pies sound like a bit complicated to bake but they look so yummy on the photo. I wish we had them in Greece! Yes! I'm a cheese lover!!!

[Lakis Ioannou]

As you can see on my profile pic, Easter is my favourite time of the year and the greatest celebration of the Greek Orthodox world. And of course, I love flaounes. especially those baked by my mother in the old traditional way - similar to what you describe here. I'll be spending Easter at the village where I was born and I'm looking forward to my mother's easter home cooking but also to going to church and playing our traditional easter games on Easter Monday.

[Lisa A]

Hi Anastasia. The icon in the photo is so beatifull! I was so curious to read the recipe for the cheese pies. Is very interesting. But what is mahaleb and mastic grains?

[Anastasia]

Thanks for stopping by Agnes. I'm going to give this recipe a try on Friday...Keep your fingers crossed!Happy Easter!

[Anastasia]

I posted the easy recipe last Easter but I think it's worth going for the traditional method since we only bake flaounes once a year. Good luck with your Easter cooking! Kalo Pasxa!

[Anastasia]

I wish you lived nearer, I'd send you some. Kalo Pasxa, Constantine mou.

[Anastasia]

Hi girlfriend! Thanks for reblogging my post!!! I think we'll eventually exchange our flaounes! :-)

[Anastasia]

Thank you for stopping by, Laura, and for being such a great friend!

[Anastasia]

So am I! I love cheeses of all kinds with a preference for french cheeses, yet I do like all our local cheeses such as manouri, kaseri, feta, halloumi and myzithra. The cheese for flaounes is very special and can be found only in Cyprus - it's called flaouna cheese. But it can be replaced by any kind of hard yellow cheese.

[Anastasia]

Oh Lakis! You make me jealous! I once spent Easter in Houlou - a small village in Paphos and loved it. The people there were so friendly and hospitable that they made us feel part of their community.

[Anastasia]

Hi Lisa. Mahaleb is also called mahlepi in Greek. It's a kind of spice from the cherry grains of a large shrub plant. In Italian it is called ciliego canino or ciliego di Santa Lucia and in the UK it is known as Saint Lucie cherry.
Mastic is also a spice you get from a mustic bush - a kind of resin which - as far as I know- is only found on the island of Chios in Greece and from there it is exported all over Greece and Cyprus.

http://www.greekcuisine.com/cuisine/Greek_Cooking/More_Resources/mastic

Hope the link works.

[Anastasia]

Sorry Lisa, but the link doesn't work. Must be broken. Here's another try.

http://www.greekcuisine.com/cuisine/Greek_Cooking/More_Resources/mastic.htm

[Lisa A]

Thank you so much Anastasia for all the informations. The link is work now.