Kalitsounia, are small Cretan cheese pastries, eaten as an appetizer, a light meal or as a dessert. They can be round, semicircular, rectangular or triangular. They may contain various savory or sweet fillings and can be fried or oven baked. On the island of Crete, Kalitsounia are created in abundance and the pastry is made from scratch. While the results are delectable, it can be a very time consuming effort.
My cousin Kathy’s recipe for “Quick Kalitsounia” won top honors in the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine in May, 1979 for her version of a classic Greek recipe made easy with refrigerated biscuits. I took her recipe in a slightly different direction and used pie crusts instead of biscuits. The result is very similar and the time involved remains short.
Enjoy these Kalitsounia straight out of the oven. If you prefer to sweeten them up, drizzle them with some honey and serve them as a dessert.
Kali Orexi!
How to make Kalitsounia – Cretan Cheese Pastries
- Preheat oven to 425° F. In a small bowl, add one beaten egg, 4 ounces of crumbled feta cheese and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh parsley.
- Combine the beaten egg, crumbled feta and finely chopped fresh parsley to incorporate well. Set aside.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out one of the pie crusts to 1/8 inch thick.
- Use a 4 1/2 inch round cookie cutter to cut 6-7 circles. Repeat with second pie crust. (Please note, you may need to combine any remaining pie crust and roll it out again to get up to 14 circles.)
- Place 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture in the center of each dough circle.
- Fold the circle into a half moon and press the edges together with the end of a fork to seal the kalitsounia.
- Place the kalitsounia on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the top of each cheese pastry with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in a 425° F oven for 10-12 minutes. Serve hot.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Kalitsounia – Cretan Cheese Pastries Recipe
Kalitsounia – Cretan Cheese Pastries
Ingredients
- 1 beaten egg for filling
- 4 oz feta cheese crumbled we use Dodoni feta cheese in brine
- 1 tbsp parsley finely chopped
- 1 pkg pie crusts we use Pillsbury Pie Crusts 2 count
- 1 beaten egg to brush tops of kalitsounia
- sesame seeds to sprinkle on top of kalitsounia
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- In a small bowl, add one beaten egg, 4 ounces of crumbled feta cheese and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh parsley.
- Combine the beaten egg, crumbled feta and finely chopped fresh parsley to incorporate well. Set aside.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out one of the pie crusts to 1/8 inch thick.
- Use a 4 1/2 inch round cookie cutter to cut 6-7 circles. Repeat with second pie crust. (Please note, you may need to combine any remaining pie crust and roll it out again to get up to 14 circles.)
- Place 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture in the center of each dough circle.
- Fold the circle into a half moon and press the edges together with the end of a fork to seal the kalitsounia.
- Place the kalitsounia on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the top of each cheese pastry with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in a 425° F oven for 10-12 minutes. Serve hot.
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