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Kalitsounia
Kalitsounia: Cretan Easter star pastries filled with sweet fresh cheese, cinnamon and orange
Come Holy Week, Cretan kitchens from Chania to Sitia fill trays with kalitsounia, little open pastries whose edges are pinched into stars around a mound of fresh whey cheese. They come out with crisp, slightly sandy pastry and a soft, barely sweet filling that tastes of milk, cinnamon and orange zest, and they are eaten at Easter breakfast, offered to visitors with coffee and packed for the drive back to the village. On the island the filling is fresh mizithra or anthotyro; drained ricotta is the easiest stand-in and is usually made without animal rennet. Common mistake: using wet cheese straight from the tub, which floods the pastry and leaves the bases soggy. Chef's tip: drain the cheese overnight in a sieve lined with kitchen paper so the filling bakes up light and holds its dome.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the pastry
For the filling
To finish
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What you'll need
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 16 oz plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 ⅜ oz caster sugar in a bowl. Make a well and pour in ¼ cup olive oil, 1 ¾ oz butter, ½ cup milk and 1 egg. Bring together with your hand into a soft dough that no longer sticks to the bowl; add a spoon of flour if it feels greasy.
5 minStep 2: Wrap the dough and rest it for 30 minutes at room temperature so it rolls out without shrinking.
30 minStep 3: Meanwhile, mash the drained 1 ⅛ lb fresh mizithra or ricotta with 3 ⅛ oz caster sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tsp orange zest until fairly smooth but still a little grainy. It should hold a soft peak on a spoon.
Step 4: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and line two trays with baking paper. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 3 mm thick and cut rounds with a 9–10 cm cutter, re-rolling the scraps once.
Step 5: Put a heaped tablespoon of filling in the middle of each round. Lift the edge and pinch it up at five or six points around the filling to make an open star with the cheese showing in the centre. Common mistake: overfilling, which makes the stars slump open in the oven.
Step 6: Brush the pastry edges with 1 egg yolk, dust the filling with a pinch of cinnamon and scatter over 1 tbsp sesame seeds if using.
Step 7: Bake for 22–25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling has puffed and is lightly browned in spots.
25 minStep 8: Cool on a rack. They keep for 3 days in a tin in a cool place, or in the fridge in warm weather.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 35 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kalitsounia take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of baking powder?
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp.
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