Recipe
For the pie
* 450 gr. of filo pastry (approx. 16 leaves)
* 200-300 ml. of olive oil to oil the leaves
For the filling
* 1,200 gr. of sweet pumpkin cut in cubes
* 100 gr of brown sugar
* 100 gr of raisins
* 100 gr. of ground walnuts
* 2 t.s. of ground cinnamon
For the syrup
* 500 gr of hot water
* 100 gr. of brown sugar
* 100 ml of thyme honey
* one cinnamon stick
* lemon peels
Bake at 160 C (fan assisted) for 1.5 hour.
Procedure
Start by putting the pumpkin in the oven at 200 C for 20 min. Spread the brown sugar on the top. This will help the excess of water to get away from the pumpkin.
In the meanwhile, put the raisins in a hot water for a while, so that they could absorb water and become softer.
After preparing the filling, start oiling the leaves. I put 8 leaves at the bottom and 8 leaves on the top. I fold them because they are too large. They do not need to be perfectly put. I just sprinkle them with oil and also put some oil at the edges. Otherwise, they may become too dry when baked. At the end of the procedure, I oil the upper surface so that it is oily enough. Only then do I cut the pie in pieces.
When cutting the pie, you don’t need to reach the bottom of the pan. The pie is cut for several reasons. The first one is that it will be much easier for you to cut it after the pie gets done. The pie also needs to have holes on the top so that the steam from the filling can go away when baked. And of course, the syrup is absorbed much easier in this way.
When preparing the syrup, leave the water to boil and then add the ingredients. Don’t let the water boil for too much time, because it will evaporate and you will have less water to pour on the pie. This in turn will result in a more dry pie.
After the pie gets done, put the syrup on the top and wait for some hours until the syrup is absorbed by the filo, before being able to cut the pie (and most importantly to transfer the pieces on a plate).
Description
Glykia kolokythopita (sweet pumpkin pie) is a pie made from filo and filled with sweet pumpkin. Its name comes from glykia (means sweet), kolokythi (means pumpkin) and pita (means pie). It is mainly consumed for breakfast as a snack.
In general, there are three different kinds of filo. The first one, used in this recipe, has very thin leaves, called filo kroustas (usually the package has up to 16 leaves). It is mainly used in sweet recipes. The second one has thicker leaves, called horiatiko (usually the package has up to 8 leaves). It is mostly used in savory recipes (e.g. round pies filled with feta cheese). And the third one, is the thickest, called sfoliata (usually the package has 2 leaves). It is used in many different recipes, both sweet and savory. There is also a filo called kadayıf, from which is made the respective dessert, called kadayıf. A final filo used less often is called kourou (it is as thick as sfoliata), and is usually used for the preparation of tyropita kourou (feta cheese pie).