 The first time I dined at Maria’s house, I made the grave mistake of asking her where she got the phyllo dough for her fantastic hortapita. She went into the kitchen and returned with a dowel (thin rolling pin) and waived it over my head. I had just moved to Crete and had much to learn.
Elounda is a little village and everyone knows where you are and when. Maria extended an open invitation to visit her after my Greek language classes nearby. If I didn’t visit often enough, she gave me the look with her hand waiving in the threatening Greek-style chop, “Where have you been and why haven’t you come to visit?”
 I didn’t know enough Greek to make up excuses for being overworked or lazy. So, to avoid the chop, I said, “Maria is the best cook in Greece.” My progress reports continued with honest statements such as “I never clean my house.” That is one of her favorites. Another is, “Maria makes the most delicious hortapita I have ever had.”
 She invited me to come to her house and learn how to make phyllo at the convenient hour of 6:00 a.m. It’s much more daunting than I imagined. It would take me a full day to make enough phyllo for one pita. It takes Maria a couple of hours to whip it up, along with her heavenly “milk pie,” pudding layered between phyllo. I enjoy Maria’s treasures and Greek lessons whenever I can – not simply to avoid “the chop.”
Photos: Credit to Patricia "Scout" Hazouri
Notes with photos:
1. & 3 This rolling action is like the Olympics – looks much easier than it is. Practice (decades) makes perfect! The dough is rolled onto the pin and stretched from the center using your hands, rather than pressing with the dowel. This expands the dough gently, creating a delicate, flaky result.
2. This is Horta: Maria uses raw horta, spring onions and herbs. The horta is scattered instead of packed between the layers of dough. This allows steam pockets to develop between layers for maximum crispiness.
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