Recipe: Appetizing Melitinia

Recipe: Appetizing Melitinia Delicious, fresh and tasty.

Melitinia. Deriving from the ancient Greek word melitero, meaning 'sweet as honey', the melitinia are delicious tartlets of sweet cheese - similar to the Cretan kaltsounia, although Santorini's version is more delicate and refined. Skillfully pinched by hand, the dough is made of flour, water, salt and either butter or olive oil, while the filling is a mixture of fresh mizithra or anthotyro cheese. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Remove baking sheet from oven and place on a wire rack to coll.

Sprinkle melitinia with cinnamon before serving.

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You can have Melitinia using 11 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Melitinia

1. Prepare of For the filling.

2. You need 2 kg of unsalted mitzithra (you can also use Cretan anthotyro).

3. Prepare 2 kg of sugar.

4. Prepare 5 of mastic grains.

5. Prepare 3 of eggs.

6. Prepare 1/4 of self raising flour.

7. You need of For the pastry.

8. Prepare 1 kg of all purpose flour.

9. Prepare 3 tbsp of margarine.

10. You need 1 of little bit of salt.

11. You need of warm water as much as it takes to roll out the dough.

These pastries originate in the Cyclades.

Soft mizithra goat's milk cheese is used as a filling but ricotta can be used as a substitute.

Sweet cheese tartlets that they make for Easter in Santorini.

Traditional melitinia are made from a delicate dough with a soft center made of unsalted cheese.

Melitinia instructions

1. Using a little bit of sugar, powder the mastic grains in a food processor or use a mortar and pestle..

2. Combine all the ingredients for the filling and let them stand..

3. Knead the pastry making sure that the margarine is well incorporated into the flour..

4. Roll out the dough, relatively thin (but not too much because it has to hold the filling)..

5. Cut the pastry into round pieces of about 8cm diameter..

6. Place a spoonful of the filling in the center of each round piece and pinch the edges so that you make a small tartlet with "pleats" (look at the notes)..

7. Place them in a baking tray and in the oven at 175 degrees, only with the bottom radiant element on for 20 minutes and then on both radiant elements for 10-20 minutes until they brown..

The name of these delicate sweets can be translated as "sweet as honey" which makes a true explanation of the taste.

Traditionally melitinia are eaten starting from the Tuesday of the Holy Week.

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For the dough: Place the flour in the blender bin after sifting, add the butter and stir with the hook.

Add the liquids slowly, cinnamon, powdered sugar and salt and mix until the dough becomes soft and supple.