European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 7, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Sharon Hudgins special to stripes Magazine one of the first things we did after moving to Crete was to ask our colleague for restaurant recommendations. All of them agreed thai the Best restaurant near our Village was the Belle Dene. I la bet you can guess where we headed or our first meal on  Lovely greek Island which was to be our Home for several months. From the outside the Belle Helene looked like most other greek Lavernas but the Interior was better decorated and no Green fluorescent lights discoloured the meals. The food was the Best we encountered on Ocle and we became regulars Al the restaurant. One week Nigil As we were leaving the owner told us As if ii were an important matter that he was serving Frap Jota on sunday evening. We did t know what he meant but we could Tell by his Lone of voice that sunday was going to be an  we asked what hour we should arrive for dinner and he suggested any Lime after 1 0 p. M. Al 10 15 thai sunday night we were a bit worried about being the Only customers in the restaurant. But word of his Tyro Polakia had obviously spread among the greek gourmets because at 1 1 . The parking lot started filling up Wilh fancy cars from Iraklion. When we left a Midnight the restaurant was packed with Mure customers still arriving. And by Liat Lime we understood Why people flocked from Miles around to eat the Belle Helene s Lyro Pitaka. The year was 1976. Alas the Belle Helene is no longer on Crete. I can Only Hope that the restaurateur has moved on to another location Wilh an equally appreciative clientele. The Belle Helene s Tyro Polakia were triangular shaped Flaky pastries about 3v, inches on each Side filled with a mixture of Eta and Miz Ithra cheese and subtly Flavoured Wilh freshly ground Nutmeg. They were so Light they almost floated to the table. Intended Only an appetisers the Tyro Polakia were so delicious that we kept ordering More and More of them until we were so full that we could t even consider eating anything else. It was a meal i la never forget. The next week in Iraklion we noticed a Liny Hote in the Wal bakery which sold nothing but fresh hot Tyr Piti and Spanak pita. We bought one of each thus discovering that Tyr Opita was a larger rectangular version of the cheese filled Lyro Pitaka we had eaten at the Belle Helene and Spanak Opila was the spinach filled variety. All were made from the thin Flaky pastry that the greeks Call Filo also spelled fillo or phyllo pronounced fee Lou that i had previously associated Only Wilh the Creek dessert my interest now piqued i began to track Down other foods called pita or Polakia the diminutive for Only to get lost in a minoan Maze of names. Pita i word i had thought referred Only to Middle Eastern pocket bread turned out also to mean pie or pastry in Creek sometimes also spelled Pitta or Pela All pronounced pee Talpita when used As a suffix usually identified a dish made from some Type of Flaky pastry although not necessarily from Filo dough. From the Savory Gato Pitt of Northern Greece made like a pizza covered with feta cheese to the Sweet gala Topila double crust Custant pie Hal we often ale at pastry shops throughout the country Pila and company could Range from Liny bile size appetizers to Community size pies almost a meter in diameter. Most but not All were made with the familiar Filo dough. And Ihen there were the cakes also identified As pita such As Kar Dopita the traditional Creek Walnut spice cake soaked in sugar syrup. But i would t want to confuse you. Just when i though i had the family of pitas All figured out another cretan restaurateur of my. Acquaintance proudly served me his Bourek Tchi which turned out to be the same kind of Small cheese pastries As the Belle Helene s Tyro Pitaka. Thai set me off pm int.1 Bourek Trail which eventually led to Turkey and Yugoslavia then doubled Back to Greece. Sometimes Felt like a cat chasing its own taif. Bourek Borek Burek Bourekis Boure Kachi Bor Ekler Bour Kakia bore i a bewildering array of Spellings to name Only a few. For the Sake of wrap it up greek turkish Filo treats simplicity it s easiest to remember that Bourek Bourekis Are the Creek singular and plural Borek boreal the turkish and Burek Bureski the slavic singular plural. In Greece moreover pita and Bourek a Are sometimes interchangeable suffixes As in inc Case of gala Topita Balakl Bourek. Bou Rokia in Greece bore i in Turkey and Burucki elsewhere in the Balkans can be All sorts of filled pastries triangles cylinders coils Semi circles round or rectangular double crust pies meat vegetable cheese fruit nut Savory or Sweet often made with the Flaky Filo dough that s known As Wufka pronounced Yew Kuh in turkish and called farther North by the name of Sfurm turkish Wufka however can be not Only a paper thin dough identical to Filo but also a thicker heavier dough Ike ,1 rough puff paste. In addition turkish and yugoslav a Iregi Bureski can also be made from puff paste pie dough pasta dough Short crust yeast dough or even rarely from no dough at All. When 1 made those discoveries i fell like the cat that had finally caught us own Tail bul Ihen did t know what to do Wilh it the topic is Best introduced with recipes for three of the most Papular types of Polakia bore i found in Greece and Turkey. All Are made with Flaky Filo Wufka dough. Purists will insist on making this paper thin dough at Home. Bul i la let you in on a secret i might be Turnzy though to make my own marshmallows bul when it comes to Filo i head directly to the Frozen food suction of the grocery store. The following recipes Are for three different kinds of pastries All authentically Creek or turkish. The recipes seem Long but they Are really quite easy to make although admittedly rather time consuming. However you can make the pastries in Advance freeze them then bake just before serving. The Savory pastries can be served As appetizers As a main dish accompanied by a Green salad or vegetables or As part of the dishes for a Buffet. Before you Start carefully read the Basic instructions for using Filo then choose the specific recipe you want to try. Once you be mastered the easy techniques for working with Fito you la think up your own fillings and shapes for these tally Middle Eastern pastries. Don t Tell anyone but i be heard of people who chop up their leftovers and use them As Pitaka or bore i fillings and impress everyone Al the dinner table Wilh the elegant Savory pastries set before them. Basic instruction for using Filo commercially made Filo sold Polhe United states and Northern Europe comes Roll Frap in Long thin sealed packages weighing i Pound or 500 Grams. A 1 Pound package contains about 20 Flat sheets of Filo each Sheet approximately 14 inches by 17 inches in size. In Greece and Turkey you can Purchase Filo or Wufka by the half kilo or kilo directly from the shops that make it fresh daily. Pre packaged Frozen Filo comes Wilh instructions for thawing and use printed an the package bul fresh Filo from your local pastry shop is sold wrapped Only in Clear plastic or Wax paper. These instructions can be used with any Fra commercial Frozen bakery fresh or homemade. 1 fresh Filo is Best when used the Day it is purchased or made at Home. It can be kept wrapped. In the refrigerator up to four Days or in the Freezer up to three months. Frozen commercial Filo because it contains preservatives can be kept in the Freezer up to one year. If Filo is Frozen thawed Tien re Frozen the sheets will Slick together and be impossible to use. Thawed commercial Filo in a package thai is still sealed can be kept in the refrigerator for several weeks. Once the package is opened any leftover thawed Filo can be wrapped in plastic and kept up id one week in the refrigerator. 2 without opening the package let the Frozen Filo thaw eight hours or overnight in the refrigerator. With the package still scaled let the Filo sit at room temperature for is to20minutes. Meanwhile melt the amount of Butler Oil called for in the particular recipe you Are using. Have your filling already made so that when the Filo is ready to use you la be ready look place a Large Sheet of Wax paper at least is inches Long on a Kitchen counter or other Flat surface. Open the package of Filo and carefully unroll All the dough together Onlo the Wax paper so that you have a stack of 20 thin sheets of Filo. Working quickly and using a Sharp knife or pair of scissors rim off w Inch to it Inch of dough around All four edges of the Slack of Filo cutting through All the sheets in the Slack at the same Lime. This will get rid of any stuck together or ragged edges and will make the Filo much easier to work Wilh. 4 if the recipe requires that you Cut the Filo sheets into halves thirds or fourths do so according to the following diagrams and Slack All the Cut Filo together to form one uniform suck. Cover the stack of dough with another Large Sheet of Wax paper acid Lay a Damp Kitchen Towel Over the top of lie Wax paper. The Filo should be completely covered. It is very important to keep the Filo from drying out otherwise it will become Brittle and unusable. On the other hand you must be careful not to let the Damp Kitchen Towel touch any of the Fito or the dough will  become very Gummy ands Licky and impossible to use 51 lift up the Towel a and Wax paper covering and pull out one Sheet of Filo. Quickly replace the covering Over the stack of unused dough and set your one thin Sheet of Filo on another Flat surface. Using a pastry Brush Brush the entire lop surface with melted butter or a combination of melted butter and Olive Oil. Do not skip this step or skimp on the butter in a misguided attempt to reduce the calories. A layer of butter Between each layer of Filo is necessary for the pastry to puff up and become Flaky. If you reduce or omit the butter Orl you la have a heavy Gummy inedible mess. If a couple of Filo sheets Slick together and won t pull apart use them anyway. If the Filo Breaks or tears which is usually does me melted butter to Patch the pieces together again. You won t even notice the patches once the pastry is baked. Fill and fold the Filo according to the following diagrams for triangles cylinders or col Susing the tilling recipe of your Choice. Continue this process until you have used up All the Filo sheets. 6 As you make the filled pastries place them about i Inch apart on an a greased baking Sheet. If making a Large number of Small pastries which require a lot of time keep the already made pastries covered Wilh a Sheet of Wax paper so they won t dry out. 7 Filo pastries can be baked As soon As they Are formed or can be Frozen unbaked until needed then baked according to the directions in the following recipes. A n also possible id bake Filo pastries freeze them then re heat hem in the oven but i have found the results to be much More satisfactory if the pastries Are not baked before freezing freeze the unbaked pastries in a single Lily a pm taking sheets lined Wilh Wax paper. Alter the pastries have Frozen solid stack them in Freezer containers or plastic bags Seal lightly and keep in the Freezer until needed to nuke Fito triangles Standard size triangles Cut the entire stack of Filo dough sheets in half across he length of the Hack Ihen Slack All the dough halves together to make a stack totalling 40 sheets. Keep the Filo covered. Remove one Sheet i flip at a Lime Sel it on a fat 4  i Sgutt 9t