Savoury Pumpkin Bourekakia
INGREDIENTS:
(for 40 pieces)
For the phyllo dough crust:
1 kg hard flour
200g olive oil
Salt
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp soda
3 tbsps vinegar
As much water as absorbed (about 400g)
For the filling:
2kg red pumpkin, cut into small pieces
200g olive oil
1kg onions, finely-chopped
3 tsps brown sugar
Salt
Pepper
150g spicy feta, broken up by hand into thick crumbs
100g smoked cheese, grated
Olive oil for frying
INSTRUCTIONS:
For the filling:
Sprinkle salt on the pumpkin and place in a pan.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and bake for 1 hour, until the pumpkin becomes quite soft and can be mashed.
Place the pumpkin in a colander and mash it with a fork to remove all of its liquid, ideally letting it drain in the strainer for 6 hours.
Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan on a very low heat setting.
Add the onion and sauté it until it withers.
Add the pumpkin and mix well.
Take the pan off the burner, add the sugar, salt, pepper and cheese.
For the phyllo dough crust:
Put the flour and olive oil in a bowl.
Rub the ingredients together, until they become similar to wet sand.
Add the salt, sugar, baking soda and vinegar.
Knead the ingredients, at the same time adding the water slowly until the dough becomes smooth.
Cover with a towel and allow it to rest for about 1 hour.
Final steps:
Roll the dough into a very thin sheet with the help of a rolling pin or using the special machine that makes pasta.
Cut the phyllo dough into long, narrow strips, about 7cm wide by 25cm long.
Spread the filling on each strip lengthwise. Then, wrap the strips parallel to their long side, and, finally, curl them to make small, twirled or ring-shaped pies.
Heat up the olive oil.
Fry for a few minutes, until the bourekakia brown on all sides.
Sprinkle them with grated cheese and serve.