theodora's batsaria (batsaria tis theodoras)

this is a recipe i've been wanting to make for a long long time....i remember standing in my mother in law's kitchen in athens watching her make batsaria and she made it for us a few times when she and my father in law came to australia to visit..fortunately i wrote the recipe out as i watched her making it in my kitchen on that visit nearly 30 years ago..older greeks like my mother in law never followed recipes but learned to cook by watching others and following their instincts so i knew when i was making it to do the same and not adhere strictly to the quantities listed..

theodora's batsaria

ingredients

filling

1 large bunch of spinach

1 medium onion grated

6 spring onions cut fine

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped dill

125 gms feta crumbled

1 tablespoon (tbs) yoghurt

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup rice

1/2 cup trahana

2 eggs lightly beaten

2 tbs olive oil

2 teaspoons (tsp) pepper

2 tsp salt

dough

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

2 tbs yoghurt

2 tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

flour

semolina

water

extras

olive oil

125 gms feta crumbled

method

filling

~ wash spinach well, place in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and leave to drain while preparing the other ingredients

~ squeeze the spinach well, chop into medium pieces, and place in a large mixing bowl along with the other filling ingredients

dough

~ mix eggs, milk, yoghurt, salt and oil and add enough flour and semolina (adding a smaller proportion of semolina to flour) to make a thick batter

assembly

~ oil a baking dish well and place half of the batter on the bottom spreading it out with a wet spoon

~ add filling

~ add a few tablespoons of water to the remaining batter, mix well, and drizzle on the top of the filling

~ sprinkle with the feta and drizzle with olive oil

~ cover with foil and bake at 180 deg c for half an hour, remove foil, continue to cook for a further 30 minutes or until the pie is well browned

comments:

my batsaria did not resemble my mother in law theodora's pie in appearance or texture but it did have the flavour i remember loving so much..i remember her pie having more dough on the bottom and top (even though i doubled the recipe) and hers was quite chewy..i also don't remember her pie having as much feta on the top of it and my pie was not nearly as oily as hers either but i always use less oil than a greek cook would use..i don't buy unseasonal vegetables so i didn't add the zucchini listed in the recipe but i will certainly add this ingredient in summer when i have them growing..

next time i make it i will try using a smaller baking dish to see if that makes a difference to the dough layer and i'll use less feta on top too..and maybe just a little bit more oil!

for my children

katerina

alexandra

nicholas