Tiropita Ipeirou (Τυρόπιτα Ηπείρου)

Tiropita Ipeirou belongs to Epirus, the mountain region where a pita can be dinner, breakfast, and a slice wrapped for the road. This is feta and egg between buttered phyllo, baked in a shallow tapsi until the top turns crisp and the filling settles into a gentle custard.

The one method is the filling. Crumble the feta, then beat the eggs in until the cheese looks wet and creamy, not scattered with separate bits of yolk. In the oven, that egg binds the salt and crumb of the feta into one soft layer. Leave it half-mixed and you get dry pockets of cheese under beautiful phyllo, a pity after all that buttering.

Let it rest before you cut. Warm tiropita slices cleanly, travels well, and tastes even better at room temperature, which is why every Epirote kitchen understands its usefulness. I keep this one plain on purpose: good feta, good phyllo, good olive oil, and patience. The region is the dish's surname.