Cheese and Mushrooms Pie

Lately my man has been really stressed with his research and I can't do much to cheer him up. Although there is a little trick that almost always works. New, delicious recipes on our table! So, since he really likes pies, last weekend I made a completely new pie, a mushroom pie!

First I was thinking to make it the easy way, using phyllo sheets. But then I thought I could be a bit more creative, so I decided to make it with curu dough, which is a very typical Greek kind of pastry, used in many pies. It is soft and slightly sandy and it literally melts in your mouth! Of course this meant that I would spend at least one extra hour in the kitchen, but since I enjoy it anyways I don't really care!

INGREDIENTS:

For the curu dough:

800gr white flour, sieved

1 cup olive oil

1 full cup thick, Greek yogurt (Straggisto)

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp dry yeast

For the stuffing:

500gr fresh mushrooms, chopped

3 onions, sliced

150 gr yellow cheese, grated (Gouda worked just fine for me)

150 gr Mozzarella, grated

300 gr Greek feta cheese, crashed

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

4 eggs

1/2 cup thick Greek yogurt

1/4 cup olive oil

paprika and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. First prepare the curu dough. In a large bowl place the oil, yogurt, eggs and yeast and beat with a mixer.

2. Keep beating and slowly start mixing in the flour. Once the mixture is too thick for the mixer, continue adding the flour and mixing with your hands. Place the dough on a table and work it with your hands for about 20 minutes. You will notice that as you work the dough will become more elastic. Shape it in a ball, place in a large bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and leave in a worm place to rest.

3. Prepare the stuffing. In a large pan heat the oil. Add the mushrooms and onions and saute until the vegetables are soft. Set aside.

4. In a separate bowl beat the eggs (reserve a couple of tablespoons to brush the pie), add the cheeses and the yogurt and season with pepper and paprika. Fold in the mushroom mix and the parsley and mix well.

5. Take the dough and divide it in 2 pieces, one slightly bigger than the other. Take the bigger one an place it on greased table. Use a roller to flatten the dough into 5mm thick sheet, big enough to cover a large backing tray and its walls. Fold the sheet twice, transfer on the backing tray and unfold so that it would cover the whole surface and the walls. Fold all the stuffing on top and even out with a spoon.

6. Take the remaining dough and again using a roller flatten the dough so that the sheet is big enough to cover the tray. Fold it, transfer on top of the stuffing and unfold. Using a fork or just your fingers seal the pie by sticking the bottom and the top sheets together.

7. Brush the pie with the beaten egg and back in the preheated oven at about 180°C for about half an our, until the pie is golden from outside. Serve either warm or cold, as a main course or just a starter. Ah, it's also great for a quick breakfast, given, of course that you have it prepared from the previous night :P