Caesarean Pie ......Origins in Cappadocia


Kayseri or Caesarea is the capital of Cappadocia pronounced (Kappadokia) in Antalia region of Turkey. The word Caesarea comes from the Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar, who was born by Caesarian Section (non natural way to deliver a baby). During his reign many areas of the Roman Empire were named after him including Caeserea in Israel. It is known that all that region was once Byzantine, then fell under the Ottoman Empire which later became Turkey. And to think all that all these places might still have been Greek if the Byzantines knew how to take better care of their affairs and not try to stab each others backs as the Greeks do now. Kayseri was well known for its culinary delights such as the Pastirma (dried meat) not Pastrami which is a totally different food, and Socuk (sausage). Today we are going to make a Kayseri Pie similar to the Basterma pie made on August 7th 2011 but with a difference : this one contains tomatoes....

 You will need:
Serves 6 as a starter.
-  20 slices of Pastirma or Basterma cut in strips, cubes as you wish.
-  500 gr any yellow soft melting cheese in thin slices.
-  1 big tomato seeds and juices taken off.
-  Filo pastry 4 sheets for down, and 3 for the top.
-  No salt and no pepper.  Pastirma is salty and spicy.
-  100 gr of butter melted.
-  1 Spring Mold 24 cm.

Method:
-  Cover the bottom of a 24 cm spring mold with parchment paper and brush with butter.
-  Lay first filo and brush with enough butter.
-  Lay second filo and brush again with butter.
-  Lay third and forth filo and brush again with butter.
-  Spread cheese slices, then the Pastirma, then the tomatoes.

-  Cover with three layers of filo, and turn in any extra filo from the lower layers and brush those with butter.
-  Cut the round pie into six segments.
-  Spray top with water.
-  Bake for 1 hour in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C.
Serve with a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and onion.
Enjoy with cold beer. This is a perfectly Greek of Byzantine origin meze if it is cut in squares.
Stelio

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