Milinoudia (Greek mini pan fried Feta cheese pies)

Greek oven baked pies can take a considerable amount of time to assemble and bake, however with this super easy recipe you will have delicious homemade Feta cheese pies in no time!!!

In fact, Milinoudia are my daughters favourite type of Greek pie and would request it quite often! Milinoudia would be that filling little breakfast pie accompanying Greek coffee as well the centre piece in our family Sunday lunches.

What are Milinidia (Greek mini pan fried Feta cheese pies)?

These Milinoudia (Greek mini pan fried Feta cheese pies) are essentially stuffed flatbreads. They differ from pitta bread and Tiganopsomo as the Milinoudia dough is unleavened.  The recipe does not call for any yeast or any other raising agent.

Milinoudia (Greek mini pan fried Feta cheese pies) versus Tiropsomo

Milinoudia are made up of homemade phyllo/filo with a Feta cheese, filling. They are basically a pan fried phyllo stuffed with Feta cheese. They differ from pan fried Tiropsomo. Tiropsomo as it name implies is a bread with Feta filling and not phyllo.

Milinoudia Ingredients

Milinoudia dough:

1. Strong bread flour: The recipe calls for strong bread flour, ie a flour with a high protein content. Strong bread flour is ideal for homemade phyllo.
2. Water: One cup of water is enough for this recipe.
3. Salt: One flat teaspoon of salt is all you need.
4. Sunflower oil:I use sunflower oil in this recipe as sunflower oil is much lighter that olive oil.
5. Vinegar:I add vinegar one teaspoon of white vinegar in the dough to make it crispier. My family’s favourite vinegar for this recipe is apple vinegar.

Milinoudia filling:

1. Feta cheese: Choose a good quality Greek Feta cheese ideally made of a combination of sheep’s and goat’s milk.If you are looking for alternatives, I’d recommend ricotta cheese.
2. Eggs:This recipe calls for either 2 small eggs or a large one. They act as a binding agent and give the mini pie that extra taste.
3. Salt:The Milinoudia filling does not require a lot of additional salt as the Feta cheese  is already salty enough.

Vicki’s top tips for the perfect Milinoudia

First of all, use good quality bread flour and Feta cheese. Secondly, let the dough rest for approximately 15 minutes. Resting allows the dough the loosen and become more airy. If you skip this resting step, the dough will be firm and cake like. You will be unable to roll out a phyllo sheet otherwise.

Thirdly,  roll out a round sheet of homemade phyllo as per usual.Bring in the edgiest make a rectangular shape. Spread the savoury filling in the centre of the phyllo sheet and bring the top and bottom parts of phyllo, thus making a mini square pie.

Fourthly, assemble each Milinoudi at a time; ie roll out the homemade phyllo, add the add the savoury filling and then pan fry. Avoid rolling out all the phyllo sheets at once as they will dry out.

Finally, rest Milinoudia mini pies let them rest on a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.

Serving suggestions for  Milinoudia (Greek mini pan fried Feta cheese pies) 

These delicious mini Feta cheese pies are perfect for breakfast, midday snack or  side dish. They also make perfect packed lunches. Milinoudia also go very well with a seasonal Greek salad, ie Horiatiki salad, as well as dips.