We're open today till 5:30 PM 020 8568 4499 020 8568 4499

Get in touch

Close

DON'T DELAY, secure your 2025 holiday today

There is one particular gastronomic gift from Skopelos to the rest of Greece: its famed cheese pie. Whenever you go to fast food joints or bakeries in Greece, you’ll find the twisted, round ‘tyropitta’ (cheese pie) or ‘spanakopitta’ (spinach pie) marked as Skopelitiki (from Skopelos). So, when you end up on the island itself, trying one is a must.

Skopelos Town Skopelos Town

Of course every family has its own recipe passed from mother to daughter and every household its own way of making the filo pastry or its own mix for the filling. But there is one aspect of the Skopelos tyropitta which is common to every recipe: this pie is not baked. It’s deep fried in oil.

More than anyone else, it is one woman who has been instrumental in defining the taste of this most traditional of products. It’s Nina Kollitsidou, whose home factory at the end of Skopelos Town supplies most bakeries and restaurants on the island. If you eat a cheese pie on Skopelos, chances are you’re eating one of hers.

I really had to meet her.

Nina’s immaculately clean pie-making studio is as sparkling as her smile. Both cheerful and reserved, helpful in explaining and inhibited in talking about herself, she mostly lets her hands to do the talking.

“This is a 100% family business”, she explains. “We make tyropittas, hortopittas (pies with mixed greens), galatopittas (custard pies) and piperopittas (pepper pies), plus assorted sweets. We started the business in 2002 after we realized that more and more people liked my cooking and more and more restaurants wanted us to supply them with our homemade products. Now we are even exporting to Skiathos!”

Rolling the dough Rolling the dough

The pies are, indeed, homemade, for it’s the top floor of her own house that Nina uses as a workshop. There are windows everywhere, letting in plenty of the bright Skopelos sun. There is a stainless steel drum in one corner to mix the dough and a pastry-making machine that controls the width of the filo pastry, operated by her nephew, seventeen-year-old Dimitris. A large kneading bench in the middle completes the picture.

Nina uncovers the dough she’s made already. “We always cover the dough with plastic wrap so that it doesn’t form a crust”, she explains. She cuts off a lump at a time and Dimitris passes it through the pastry machine to produce the filo.

“The filling must be white goat cheese such as feta, but because it is too salty we mix with anthotyro which is a bit sweeter, for balance.”

Adding the pie filling Adding the pie filling

She spreads the filling over a metre-long filo pastry rectangle and rolls it around three or four times; she then twists that long piece of dough around itself into a snail shape. It is this final ‘snail’ that will be parcel-wrapped and sent frozen to the supermarkets and restaurants.

I can’t wait to taste it.

Twisting the pie into shape Twisting the pie into shape

Nina pours oil into a deep frying pan and drops the pie in before the oil has reached boiling point. “It’s to control the puffing,” she says. The dry filo dough puffs up and if it does so quickly, the dough will crack.”

Frying the pie Frying the pie

Nina keeps on stirring and, four minutes later, the pie has turned golden brown and is ready to eat. I cut off a piece and wait for the heat to subside, while she and Dimitris are watching. Despite her success, like every good cook, Nina still wants to hear my verdict.

I take a bite. For something deep fried, the pie is remarkably light and flavourful. “Delicious,” I pronounce and I can feel that she’s relieved.

Now, see if I can get hold of the recipe..

Nina’s Skopelos pie Nina’s Skopelos pie

NINA’s RECIPE FOR SKOPELOS PIE (makes 7-8).

1kg all-purpose flour.

2 coffee cups of oil.

One cup vinegar.

One teaspoonful of sugar.

Two teaspoonfuls of salt.

One litre of water but it depends on hardness; as much water as it takes to make a firm dough that

does not stick to the plaster when you roll the pastry.

For the filling: 1kg feta on its own and 1⁄2 kg anthotyro, if you can find it. Any other white cheese

which is both crumbly but not salty can be added to feta, such as mizithra or manouri, although even

ricotta might also work as a combination.

Mix the ingredients for the dough and roll to the thinnest width you can muster. Cut a length about

20x80cm long and spread the filling. Roll the dough 3-4 times into a long sausage. Seal the ends and

twist into a round shape. Fry stirring continuously for 3-4 minutes until golden.

The Sunvil Family

By The Sunvil Family

24th June 2014



The Sunvil Family
The Sunvil Family
The Sunvil Family

Sunvil's holidays are designed by passionate travellers just like you. Our reservations experts and product teams, many of whom have been with us for many years, are passionate about our destinations and, through their personal, first-hand knowledge can answer any questions that you may have. They are well qualified to advise and recommend, based on your own holiday criteria. We can point you to those special, little-known places, some not found even in guidebooks.

Call one of our experts to discuss your next holiday with Sunvil on

020 8568 4499

We're open today till 5:30 PM

Make an Enquiry

Please use this form to request further information about a Sunvil holiday or destination.

We promise that a member of our specialist reservation teams will reply personally to your holiday enquiry before 5.30pm if received before 12.00pm (Monday to Friday). Enquiries received after 12.00pm will be replied to within 24-hours (excluding Sundays).

If your enquiry is of an urgent nature, please telephone our dedicated reservation teams on the numbers listed below.

Our lines are open from 9.00am to 5.30pm Monday-Friday and from 9.30am to 4.30pm Saturday.

  • Greece: 020 8758 4758
  • Cyprus: 020 8758 4759
  • Portugal, the Azores, Spain, Italy, Sicily and Scandinavia: 020 8758 4722
  • Latin America: 020 8758 4774
  • Marketing: 020 8758 4731

Required Information

* Mandatory Information
Title *
First name *
Surname *
Telephone number *
Alternative telephone number
Email address *
Confirm email address
Preferred method of communication *
If you would like to be called during a specific period, please specify

Details

Preferred departure date *
Duration *
Preferred UK departure airport *
Party size *

Back

  • Adults(12+ yrs)
  • Children(2 to 11 yrs)
  • Infants(Under 2 yrs)
Budget range
Other comments:

Email newsletters

 

We promise that a member of our specialist reservation teams will reply personally to your holiday enquiry before 5.30pm if received before 12.00pm (Monday to Friday). Enquiries received after 12.00pm will be replied to within 24-hours (excluding Sundays).

If your enquiry is of an urgent nature, please telephone our dedicated reservation teams on the numbers listed below.

Our lines are open from 9.00am to 5.30pm Monday-Friday and from 9.30am to 4.30pm Saturday.

  • Greece: 020 8758 4758
  • Cyprus: 020 8758 4759
  • Portugal, the Azores, Spain, Italy, Sicily and Scandinavia: 020 8758 4722
  • Latin America: 020 8758 4774
  • Marketing: 020 8758 4731

Required Information

* Mandatory Information
Title *
First name *
Surname *
Telephone number *
Alternative telephone number
Email address *
Confirm email address
Preferred method of communication *
If you would like to be called during a specific period, please specify
Booking reference number *
Alternatively, please enter your query in the box below:

Email newsletters

 

Thank you for your enquiry

Thank you for your enquiry. A member of our specialist reservation teams will be in touch shortly.

If your enquiry is of an urgent nature, please telephone our dedicated reservation teams on the numbers listed below.

Our lines are open from 9.00am to 5.30pm Monday-Friday and from 9.30am to 4.30pm Saturday.

  • Greece: 020 8758 4758
  • Cyprus: 020 8758 4759
  • Portugal, the Azores, Italy, Sicily and Scandinavia: 020 8758 4722
  • Latin America: 020 8758 4774

Your details have been saved

Feel free to continue to browse the site and add to your enquiry. Don't forget to send the enquiry before you leave!

My Suitcase

We understand that so much choice can be overwhelming which is why we have developed 'My Suitcase'. This facility allows you to save and compare your favourite holidays, and even allows you to return to your selection at a later stage.

Why not use 'My Suitcase' to compile a wish list of your future Sunvil holidays?

 

Sign in


New to Sunvil?

Create Account

 

Already have an account?

Password reset

Back

Close

Close