Among the most popular orange recipes here in Greece is the portokalopita, or orange pie, a syrupy treat that comes in several variations. Some are more sponge cake than pie, but what they all have in common is lots of orange zest and an aromatic orange-cinnamon syrup. My favorite version is the one made with phyllo. In fact, apart from loving the final texture and result, I am particularly fond of the fact that I get to use all my old and dried out phyllo scraps. This technique of using scraps of phyllo is also encountered in savory pies – it’s called patsavouropita or “the lazy woman’s pie” because you just throw in what you’ve got and bake, without needing much of a technique or a recipe to follow. However, this orange pie does require a bit of a technique as far as the syrup is concerned.

450gr thin phyllo
140 gr white sugar 
4 eggs 
2 full tablespoons or 34 gr orange zest, finely grated 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
270 gr Greek yogurt (it needs to be thick and creamy) 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
200 ml sunflower oil (it can also be made with olive oil. Sunflower oil has a lighter result)

For the syrup: 

250 ml fresh orange juice, strained 
250 gr white sugar 
1 cinnamon stick 
4 cloves 
1 thin lemon peel 
1 tablespoon honey 
120 ml water

Step One

Let the phyllo defrost in the pack if frozen. Once defrosted, open the pack of phyllo and tear it with your hands into small pieces. They don’t need to be perfect and even, just not too big (refer to the attached photo to get a sense of the size). Lay them out on a tray to dry. You can do this a couple of hours ahead.

Or use any leftover, dry phyllo scraps from other recipes you’ve made. The drier the better for this recipe. If your phyllo is too fresh and doesn’t dry that quickly or you have no time to wait, there’s a trick.

Step Two

Preheat your oven at 180 degrees C. Bring the heat down to about 100 degrees C (convection) and put them in the oven to dry. But make sure they don’t start to actually bake or go golden – that’s why we keep the heat low.

I usually keep them in for about 15-20 minutes, stirring them occasionally to dry evenly. Once dried, put aside the phyllo.

Step Three

Start with the syrup so that it has enough time to cool down. Put all the syrup ingredients, except for the honey, in a saucepan, put on low heat and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering just until the sugar dissolves. Don’t cook this down too much or else you will lose the flavor of the orange juice. Remove from the heat and stir in the honey. Set aside.

Step Four

Preheat your oven at 170 degrees C (convection). Put the eggs in a bowl and whisk. Add the sugar and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until the sugar dissolves and your mix turns frothy and white. Mix in the orange zest. Start adding the yogurt in batches while beating at low speed. Add the vanilla and baking powder and blend well. Finally start adding the oil gradually while beating at low speed. Set aside.

Step Five

Go back to your dried phyllo and, using a spatula, start folding it in batches into your mix until you’ve used it all. Take a round pan around 30 cm in diameter (it could also be a square pan – the size matters more than the shape). Grease the pan with oil (whichever oil you are using in the recipe). Pour in the pie mix and even out the top using a spatula.

Step Six

Bake for about 40-45 minutes on a low rack, until golden and puffed up. Remove from the oven and with a toothpick start pricking it all over (this helps it to absorb the syrup). Strain the syrup and start pouring it slowly, one tablespoon at a time, all over the pie. Once you’ve used all your syrup, it might look too syrupy but that’s right. You need to let it sit for at least a few hours until it absorbs all the syrup. (Trust me, it works and is heavenly delicious!)

Step Seven

Slice and serve with a scoop of vanilla or yogurt ice cream and sprinkle it with some extra cinnamon. It also tastes great with plain Greek yogurt.

To convert metric measurements to U.S. and British kitchen units, click here.