History

Sarikopites belong to the same family as kalitsounia but are shaped differently: the filled dough is rolled into a long rope, then coiled flat so the finished pie looks like a wound headscarf. That headscarf, the sariki, is still worn in Cretan villages and gave the pie its name. Sour myzithra is the traditional filling, sharper than the fresh cheese used in sweet kalitsounia, which is why the honey at the end is not optional. They are fried rather than baked, which makes them a treat rather than an everyday pie, and they turn up on Heraklion dessert menus more often than at breakfast.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 8Hands-on 35 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 300g plain flour
  • 150ml warm water
  • 2 tablespoons raki
  • Pinch of salt
  • 300g sour myzithra or a dry, tangy sheep cheese
  • Olive oil for frying
  • Thyme honey and chopped walnuts, to serve

Method

  1. Make a soft dough with the flour, salt, raki and water. Knead for five minutes and rest for thirty.
  2. Roll the dough out very thin and cut it into strips about 8cm wide and 30cm long.
  3. Crumble the cheese along the length of each strip, then fold the dough over and press to seal into a rope.
  4. Coil each rope flat into a spiral, tucking the end underneath.
  5. Fry in 1cm of hot olive oil for two minutes a side until golden and blistered.
  6. Drain briefly, then serve hot with thyme honey and walnuts scattered over.

Tip from the editors. Keep the oil at a steady medium heat. Too hot and the coil browns before the dough at the centre has cooked.

Where to eat sarikopites

Sarikopites in Heraklion

Merastri ★ 4.7

€€ Greek tavernaOld Town

Merastri keeps a serious Cretan wine list behind its wood oven in Heraklion, and the reds it pours are built to stand up to three-hour roast lamb.

OrderA Liatiko red alongside the wood-oven lamb

PourA Liatiko red with the wood-oven lamb

WineCretan list built around the wood oven

FoodFull Cretan menu

TipThe Cretan list is the reason to linger. Ask what is open by the glass before committing to a bottle.

Directions

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