Tiropittes (Traditional Cyprus Cheese Pastries)
One of my earliest food memories is mum making countless amounts of these delicious pastries for any occasion, be it a birthday party buffet or a just because it’s the weekend treat. Anyone who has been to any of the incredible bakeries in Cyprus will have hopefully tried these (in all different sizes!) amongst the many other savoury pastry delights! Filled with a fluffy mix of melty Cheddar and salty Halloumi combined with fragrant Mint and a subtle warmth of Cinnamon, they are perfect either hot or cold paired with your favourite hot drink.
Traditionally these are shaped into semi circles, but to make them even easier to make and save you having to roll out pastry offcuts, my versions are shaped into simple triangles.
Makes 12 (easily scaled)
INGREDIENTS
1x Ready Rolled Puff Pastry Sheet (320-340g depending on the brand, ideally all butter)
60g Mature Cheddar – grated to a medium thickness
60g Halloumi – grated to a medium thickness.
1 tsp Dried Mint
¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon
2x Medium Eggs – Beaten – ¼ to be reserved for glazing
2 tbsp Sesame Seeds (optional)
METHOD
1. Firstly, prep all your ingredients before you take your Puff Pastry out of the fridge. A warm kitchen is no friend to puff pastry!
2. Preheat your oven to 220°C / 200°C Fan and pop two baking sheets lined with baking paper in to preheat
(I use some small metal clips to secure the paper but you can add it before you add your pastries).
3. In a bowl, mix the Cheddar, Halloumi, Dried Mint, Ground Cinnamon and the ¾ of your egg mix with a fork until everything is coated in the egg and combined into a thick paste. It won’t look particularly appetising at this stage, but it will taste amazing! Stay with me! Set aside.
4. Remove the pastry from the fridge, unroll it flat (I do this on a cutting board) and cut into 12 equal squares.
I use a 3x4 method – I cut twice down the length to make 3 long strips and then cut each strip in half and then in half again to make each into 4 squares.
5. Each square will be folded diagonally into a triangle, so spoon 1 tsp of the cheese mixture onto the bottom half of each pastry square, roughly forming it into a triangle shape and leaving about 1cm of space around the edge.
6. Once all the pastry squares are filled equally, fold over the top point of each pastry square over the cheese mixture and align it with the opposite bottom point. Gently begin to press down and seal the sides so you have a perfect triangular parcel. Repeat until you have 12 triangles.
7. To fully seal the edges, use the edge of a fork to press down (approx. 3/4cm) around the two sealed edges and then using a sharp knife, poke a small air hole into the top of each pastry triangle.
8. Using the remaining beaten egg, brush this all over the pastries and then if using, sprinkle the sesame seeds equally over each one.
9. Remove the preheated baking trays from the oven and add six triangles to each one with space either side of them.
10. Bake in the hot oven for 20-25 mins until puffed up and golden brown.
11. Enjoy them straight from the oven or leave to cool before serving.
They can be frozen before adding the egg wash, defrosted and baked as above whenever you want a delicious taste of Cyprus
Or, they can also be frozen once they are cooked and cooled. Defrost them fully and reheat them in a 200°C / 180°C oven for approx. 10mins until warmed through and crisp.