Mamaligga - A squash pie from Central Greece

Dear diary,

We made this traditional pie in November for Thanksgiving. It was 12 of us that we decided to rent a nice picturesque house in Stockbridge in Massachusetts. The place was awesome and we had such a wonderful time!

We gathered around the fireplace, playing games, with hot beverages, while it was snowing outside. Just see the photos below and imagine it! We spent a wonderful weekend with good company and, well of-course, delicious food!

Our friend Dimitris originally comes from Karditsa, a city in Central Greece. When we started planning the Thanksgiving menu he jumped in and said he was going to make Mamaligga!

No one had any idea what this was - never heard of this name before.
Eventually we found out it's a pie, with no phyllo, but made with squash and feta cheese. It is a traditional pie, and the recipe comes straight from Dimitris' grandmother, yiayia Stavroula!

I don't take credit for the recipe, either making the pie. Maybe for some of the photos only. Dimitris and his girlfriend Eva were responsible for making this traditional squash pie.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds butternut squash
• 1.5 pound feta cheese
• 12 tbsp flour
• 1,5 cup olive oil
• salt
• butter for the pan
• extra olive oil (~half cup) for the top

1. We grate the butternut squash, add 2 tbsp of salt and slowly add the flour and olive oil. mix the ingredients well.
2. At this step we add the feta and mix again.
3. When all the ingredients are mixed, we butter the pan and spread the mixture so that it's 1cm thick.
4. On top of the mixture we pour the last half cup of olive oil.
5. We bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 180 C (360F).

These ingredients make one medium pan and 2 small round ones.

Our kitchen smelled so nice while we were baking the pie!
Right after it came out of the oven, we all wanted to try it! The squash and feta combination smelled great, and tasted perfect!

I hope you enjoy this traditional recipe from Central Greece!

Yours,

Jenny