Portakalopita

What a beautiful dish! This recipe was given to me by M, which in turn was given to him by the chef from his holiday in Greece. It is a Greek summer sweet, and a welcome addition to my recipe collection. It is very moist and loose in texture. When served straight from the fridge it becomes much more rigid, but M tells me they serve it at room temperature in Greece. It can also be served warm, but personally I preferred it cold. It would be beautiful on a plate with summer berries for presentation, but from a flavour point of view it can't go wrong! A good vanilla ice cream would work wonders with it, too.
                               
1 packet filo pastry             
250g Greek yoghurt                
4 large, free-range eggs                                                  
2 tablespoons baking powder            
Juice of 1 orange
250 ml extra virgin olive oil
Butter to grease oven dish
600 ml water  
250g sugar
Juice of 1 orange
Sliced rind of 2 oranges

1, Leave the sheets of filo pastry out, separated and uncovered to dry for a few hours.
2, Tear the sheets of filo into 2cm strips – doesn’t matter about being even just torn, don’t shred with a knife as it loses its consistency.
3, Put the olive oil and eggs in a mixing bowl and whisk well until you have a lovely orange coloured cream texture.
4, Add the yoghurt and baking powder and continue whisking until you have a smooth cream.
5, Add the torn filo pastry and mix gently with your hands.
6, Put in a buttered oven dish with additional grated orange zest over the butter and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes until it turns a golden colour.
7, In the meantime, prepare the syrup – boil the syrup ingredients in a pan for 5 minutes.
8, After removing the pie, leave it to cool slightly.
9, Once it is cold, spoon the syrup over the top, spreading the orange rind evenly. Cut into portions and serve.

Enjoy!!