Zimaro: Greek Feta Bread

Sunday was Greek Easter. Also regular Easter. But Greek Easter is an EVENT. It’s the biggest holiday in Greece and families go all out. They spend days prepping and cooking, and then they feast. And this is exactly what we did.

I was to bring two appetizers and I did not want to disappoint (or next time I’d be asked to bring crackers and cheese or the sad fruit plate). I tried my hand at two dishes that my mother-in-law would always make that I loved. She passed a year and a half ago, so this is only our second Easter without her. In true Ellisa fashion, I hadn’t tried making these dishes before so I was winging it on Easter weekend. I was only organized enough to capture one recipe for you - zimaro bread - not the pea and artichoke dish (arakas me aginares). I’ll make it again for you this summer because it’s a good one.

Greek Easter cookin’ song:

Sunday’s takes:

Mike (Greek father-in-law): Do you want the good news first or the bad news? Bad news. OK. Bad news is the zimaro was too thick and you didn’t cook it enough. And you had too much flour. Good news is the arakas me aginares are excellent. Perfect. Good thing you used two bags of peas otherwise there wouldn’t have been enough. There are only a few spoonful’s left in the pot. You should go see.

PK (Greek husband): It’s good. 7, 7.5 out of 10. It’s bread with cheese, it won’t be bad. It wasn’t like what my mom used to make, but it is still pretty tasty.

Vasilis (Greek cousin): Can I offer you a piece of advice? It needs to be thinner. And you needed to bake it longer. It needs to be crispy on the outside; almost like a cracker. You can’t overcook it, there’s so much oil.

Lambroula (Greek cousin): It’s very good, but it’s not zimaro. Three things: it needs to be flatter, less fluffy, and it needs a crispy crust on the outside. It’s delicious, but it’s feta focaccia, not zimaro. But who cares! It’s really good.

Lizette (Greek aunt): Hmmmmmmm.

What I used:

• 6 eggs

• approx. 2 cups milk

• 6 tsp baking powder

• 3 1/2 cups flour

• 600g feta

• approx. 1/2 cup olive oil

• butter in the baking dish

What I did:

Had my father-in-law translate the recipe from his sister Kathy:

Kathy’s recipe calls for: 1 glass of milk, 3 eggs, 1/2 kilo feta, 3 teaspoons baking powder, as much flour as you need, 1/2 glass of oil, and then to mix it all with a fork.

Consulted my extensive notes from when the last time I was with Lynn when she made it:

Dove in. Turned oven onto 350°F. I doubled the recipe from Kathy (there were 30 people coming). Started with 6 eggs.

Added milk. Eyeballed a glass and then put it into a measuring cup. 1 Greek glass is about 1 cup. Added a little over 2 cups of milk.

Whisked liquids together.

Added 6 teaspoons baking powder.

Added 2 cups flour.

Whisked everything together. Batter seemed too runny. FaceTimed my sister-in-law Vicki and PK’s cousin Paulina in Greece to get a second opinion.

It was too runny. Where’s the feta? I’m adding it at the end.

Why? You just add everything all at once. Oh. Well, too late. Add a bit more flour and then add the feta.

And how much milk and how many eggs did you use? Six. Six?! That’s way too many. The ratio is 3:3:3. Three-three-three? Like 3 cups of milk, 3 cups of flour and 3 eggs? Yes. Well shit. That’s not what Kathy’s recipe said! Well, that’s wrong. (says Paulina, Kathy’s daughter! LOL).

Whisked in another 1/2 cup flour. Added 600g feta.

Whisked everything together.

Now Mike’s in the kitchen. The phone call with Vicki and Paulina did not inspire confidence. 😆 We decided to add more flour. Another 1/2 cup.

Still needs more. Another 1/2 cup.

Determined the consistency was good.

Buttered one large baking dish and poured batter in.

Added about 1/2 cup olive oil on top. Poked holes in the batter.

Baked in the oven for 40-50 minutes. Took it out when it was golden and a toothpick came out clean. Mike insisted that it wasn’t cooked enough but it was cooked all the way through. I didn’t want to overcook it so I overruled him.

Let it cool. Cut it into squares. Served it at room temperature

Next time:

Thinner (use two baking dishes so there is less batter in each one), crispier (bake it longer), fewer eggs, and maybe less flour? Next time I’ll give the 3:3:3 ratio a go and mix it all at once 🤷‍♀️ But overall, it was still delicious. It was like a tender, cheesy, oily cloud. So if you want that, make it exactly like this!

😋😋😋

-Ellisa