Savory zucchini pie (pita od mladih tikvica), encased in phyllo dough crust emerges from the oven perfectly golden and ready to be devoured. Shall we?
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What better way to use up leftover zucchini than to make a delicious pie? Think rich zucchini filling, wrapped in soft phyllo dough, and baked til golden.
Indeed, zucchini pie with crust is a typical Balkan dish you'll see in places like Greece. It has a melt-in-your-mouth texture that's both soft and crunchy at the same time.
Bonus? This zucchini cheese pie is made without bisquick!
While crustless pies are great in their own way (we make them too!), pies with lacy phyllo dough are light years ahead in taste! And don't worry about making it from scratch - store phyllo will do just fine!
Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make today's zucchini cheese pie.
- Zucchini - medium-sized, peeled, grated. (Don't leave the skin on!)
- Salt - to assist zucchini in sweating out the moisture.
- Eggs.
- Soft Cheese - you'll need one to two types of soft cheese. Cottage, Ricotta, goat, and feta are excellent choices. When choosing, use a mild-tasting cheese, so that the mild-tasting zucchini can come into its own. Avoid semi-soft and hard cheeses.
- Sour Cream.
- Phyllo Dough - for this type of zucchini pie look for long phyllo dough sheets, not the cups, or pre-shaped dough. (Most phyllo dough brands will do. The one we linked seems to be popular on Amazon, but it's not the only one.)
- Seasonings - keep it simple! Seasoned salt, some black pepper, and/or stock powder are all great choices.
- Butter and Oil - painting the phyllo dough with these will allow you to shape the zucchini pie more easily.
Instructions
Zucchini pie prep is easy. The steps are below:
Step 1: Peel, grate, and salt zucchini. Let it sweat. Squeeze.
Step 2. Make the filling.
Step 3. Stuff the phyllo.
Step 4. Sculpt the pie.
Step 5. (Not pictured!) Bake the pie.
Step 6. Pour topping over the pie.
Expert Tips
- Zucchini Moisture: zucchini should sweat as much as possible, as otherwise the filling will be too "wet" making the pie soggy.
- Phyllo Dough Temperature: transfer the phyllo dough from the freezer to the fridge the night before you plan to make the pie. If you forget, take it out and leave it at room temperature for about 1-3 hours before pie making. (Check your phyllo dough box instructions for exact timing.)
- Phyllo Dough Rips: don't worry if the phyllo sheets rip as you're working the pie. Patch them up the best you can and move on. If you have a choice of phyllo dough brands, choose the one whose phyllo sheets are a little bit greasier and thicker. This will help with zucchini pie rips, as the filling is quite "wet."
Handling
- Serving: serve warm (or cold if you prefer!) alongside a salad like shopska, yoghurt (milk or kefir work too!). If you wish, add a side soup such as our favorite semolina chicken noodle.
- Storing: store covered with a clean kitchen towel in the turned-off oven or the microwave for up to 3-4 hours. If planning to keep it for longer, transfer the zucchini pie to an airtight container right away, and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. (Zucchini doesn't keep well once baked, so try to eat the pie soon.)
- Heating: reheat the zucchini pie based on your preferred method. We're partial to 15 minutes in a 300°F (150°C) preheated oven.
Recipe FAQs
Zucchini is a versatile vegetable that can be used to make many different dishes. Here are some zucchini recipes to get you started:
- Stuffed zucchini.
- Breaded zucchini.
- Breaded and baked zucchini.
Zucchini skin is ok to eat. However, it can have some pesticides on it. Only eat the zucchini skin that you know is safe. (We only eat zucchini skin on zucchini we get from our garden.)
Unless you're eating it fresh, it's usually a good idea to help zucchini sweat out its moisture before preparing it to eat.
The easiest way to do this is to peel and cut it, or grate it, and then pour some salt over it. The salt will pull out the moisture after several minutes to an hour. After you squeeze as much of the moisture out as you can, your zucchini is ready for use in a recipe.
More Pies
In addition to today's zucchini pie, here are a few more we love. Try them, and let us know what you think!
Thoughts?
If you make today's zucchini pie with phyllo dough, and like it, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5-star) rating. This will help others find the recipe more easily!
You can also leave a comment, I read EVERY one! Finally, if IG is more your thing, consider tagging us @balkanlunchbox.
Prijatno, Dobar Tek, and Bon Appetit!
Zucchini Pie with Phyllo Dough (Pita od Tikvica)
Equipment
- 1 round baking pan with an 11-inch (28cm) diameter or a rectangular baking pan 11x13 inches (28x33cm); this is an approximation, as it will depend on the volume of your dough
Ingredients
Zucchini
- 4-5 zucchini
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
Filling
- 3-4 eggs
- 3.5-4 ounces cottage cheese pour the extra liquid out
- 3.5-4 ounces sour cream pour the extra liquid out
- 3.5-4 ounces feta cheese pour the extra liquid out
- (Optional) instead of two cheeses, use one and double the volume e.g. 7-8 oz/ 200 g of feta pour extra liquid out
- 1-2 tablespoons stock powder, seasoned salt, or Vegeta
- ground pepper to taste
Phyllo
- 1 pound phyllo sheets about 17-20 sheets
- 2-3 tablespoons oil
- 1-2 tablespoons butter
Topping
- 3-4 tablespoons milk or hot carbonated water with 1-2 tablespoons of melted butter inside
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Prepping Zucchini
- Peel zucchini and grate it by using larger holes on the grater. Squeeze the moisture out and transfer the grated zucchini to a large bowl or a tray. Add salt and mix well with your hands so that the salt is evenly distributed over the zucchini. Let rest for 20-30 minutes to sweat out additional liquid.
- Squeeze zucchini really well again, and try to get as much moisture out as possible. Transfer to another large bowl. Heat oven to 390°F (200°C).
Making the Stuffing
- Add eggs, cheese(s), sour cream, and seasonings to the zucchini. Mix really well with a spatula (or your hand) until all the stuffing ingredients are integrated. (You can give it a little taste or a lick to test if it's seasoned to your liking.) The filling will be a little bit "wet" and fluidy.
Stuffing the Phyllo
- Generously oil your baking pan. Take phyllo out of the box (or bag), unwrap it, and place it on a clean kitchen towel. Take one sheet, spread it on your working area, and spray (brush) with oil. Spread the oil over the sheet evenly so it's greasy (but not dripping in oil) everywhere.
- Grab 4-5 (generously filled) tablespoons of the filling and spread a line of it on the shorter end of the phyllo sheet. Roll the filling and phyllo up like a cigar. As the filling is "wet" this may be a little bit of a challenge. Do the best you can, and if the phyllo rips patch it up the best you can. (It doesn't matter if it looks messy, it'll be delicious anyway!) Transfer the "cigar" to your baking pan.
Sculpting the Phyllo
- There are several ways to sculpt the phyllo. One way is to lay each phyllo "cigar" next to each other tightly (for example how, take a look at our meat phyllo dough pie here). Another way is to take a round pan, and starting from the middle circle the stuffed phyllo dough around itself until you fill the pan up (like a spiral, look at the photos in the article). Dab the pie with the remaining oil and butter on top, and transfer to the oven.
Baking the Pie
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, turning the pan around halfway. (Always adjust the baking time to your oven. If it's not done, bake another 5-10 minutes.)
Adding the Topping
- Melt the butter in milk. Take the pie out of the oven, and spray it with the topping. Return the pie back to the turned-off oven for another 5 minutes, then serve.
Handling
- Serve warm (or cold if you prefer!) alongside a soup or a salad. Store covered with a clean kitchen towel in the turned-off oven or the microwave for up to 3-4 hours. If planning to keep it for longer, transfer the zucchini pie to an airtight container right away, and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. (Zucchini doesn't keep well once baked, so try to eat the pie soon.) Reheat based on your preferred method. We're partial to 15 minutes in a 300°F (150°C) preheated oven.
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