Greek Zucchini Pie – Kourkouto

Zucchini Pie

This delicious Greek pie comes from my blogger friend Peter at Kalofagas, and I can’t thank him enough for this recipe. I’ve made this most delicious zucchini pie called Kourkouto in Greek many times since Peter posted it on his blog and I decided to share the recipe with my readers.

According to Peter,  this pie “is somewhere between a quiche and a frittata, utilizing Greek ingredients to offer up a flavourful, light main course for lunch…The dish’s title contains the word Kourkouto (from Kourkouti), which means a “batter” and a major component of the dish is flour.”

Kourkouto is easy to make and is absolutely delicious. My slight change to the recipe was the use of parsley instead of dill – I tried the recipe both with dill and parsley, but liked it with parsley more. I believe it’s a matter of taste, so use any fresh herb you like. Also, when I don’t  have Kasseri or Mild Cheddar, I use Mozzarella cheese and it works perfectly well too.

Peter, thank you for the recipe!

GREEK ZUCCHINI PIE – KOURKOUTO
Slightly adapted from Peter’s Kalofagas blog
Original recipe by Dina Nikolaou

1/2 cup olive oil
1 cups finely chopped green onion

3 zucchinis (Mexican or Italian), about 1  1/2 pounds, diced
5 large eggs
1 cup of strained Greek yogurt (if not available, use plain yogurt, drained of its liquid on a cheese cloth)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup Kasseri or Mild Cheddar cheese, grated (If none is available, use mozzarella)
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
ground pepper to taste
sweet paprika to taste (and for garnish)
slices of zucchini rounds (for finishing)

Grease a 15 X 10 baking tray with vegetable oil.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and diced zucchini, sprinkle them with some salt and saute over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until soft (but not mushy, they should hold their shape at the end!) and have most of the liquid evaporate (should reduce to about half). Take off the heat and reserve.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, whisk your eggs with a wire whisk or a mixer for a couple of minutes until mixed well.  Add the yogurt and stir in to mix. Add the flour and baking powder and mix in.

Add the crumbled and grated cheeses and sauteed vegetables and mix to incorporate. Add some ground black pepper and sweet paprika. Have a taste and adjust seasoning (probably will not need any salt).

Stir in the chopped fresh parsley and pour the mixture into your greased baking dish.

Top with round slices of zucchini and sprinkle some sweet paprika over the entire mixture.

Place on the middle rack of your pre-heated oven and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until golden on top.

Allow to rest for about 15 minutes and then cut up into slices.

Serve warm or at room temperature. It makes a perfect snack appetizer when cold, too.

42 Comments

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  1. ah! beautiful pie. splendidly done. I wish you could send not the recipe, but a slice of pie, my way 🙂 i’m so pleased food blogs exist – it’s a great endless resource for trustworthy recipes! x

  2. Looks so delicious, I am always looking for new ways to use zucchini and I love this one!

  3. Selamlar Feride,
    Pie guzel gorunuyor. Bizim borekleri andiriyor biraz. Ellerine saglik.

  4. Farida dear friend, I put in comments in my blog the option of anonymous so you can visit me and comment.
    I did that zebra cake, only changed the recipe and did a body that I knew how. The explanation of how to make learned wyth you on your blog.
    That cake you made was very tasty.

    Thousand kisses for you.

  5. This look so delicious and very simple and ohh so satisfying. It is so different from traditional pie recipes. Well done! Ellerine Saglik..

  6. This is beautiful, Farida. In fact I made some zucchini bread and have some zucchini left. Now I know what to do with it. Shall definitely give this a try.

  7. it’s look delicious !!!

  8. Fari, that looks so good. But then, I’ve never met a Greek dish I didn’t like

    Must. try. this. one!

    Thanks pal.

  9. I love Peter’s cooking too and your version looks wonderful as well Farida:-)

    Love
    Matin

  10. Farida my dear, oh my, these look absolutely delicious and I love how they look when baked and decorated with the the slice of zucchini.

  11. Farida these look fantastic — a perfect brunch recipe 🙂

  12. Another recipe to be bookmarked 😉 The leftovers would be wonderful too ( if there are any left)

  13. That looks lovely. Love the slices & the way u have done it:0)

  14. Farida that looks absolutely gorgeous!! I really like the way you have sliced it and it looks so temptingly mouth watering 😀

    Rosie x

  15. Pretty Pie,bookmarked!
    Please trail back to my blog for a token of gratitude🙂

  16. Geia sou Farida and thank you so much for sharing the Kourkouto recipe. It’s a quick & easy offering and it always pleases guests.

    I’m delighted this has become a favourite and it appears some of your readers will try it too! Thanks for sharing.

  17. Farida … OMG that pie looks good! I have to make this. I’m having a poker night tomorrow, I think I’ll make this. Yummy!

  18. Oh my friend, this is a very good way to give some taste to zucchini. I find this innocent vegetable a bit mouldy when cooked alone. But as a result of my experiments, I found that dill is the great helper of zucchini to be tasty, so I think I’ll put dill as in original recipe. Thanks so much for helping us eating zucchini 🙂

  19. Farida, I think these are the best looking pies I’ve seen! great job!

  20. Looks stunning. Very elegant indeed.

  21. Farida, this pie looks so delicious. Wish I could have a slice of it now. The zucchini pie I make is more like the Italian version of this one.
    Thanks for sharing. Now I have to go out buy the Greek yogurt and cheese and make this version.

  22. Hi!
    In the past I didn’t like zucchini in any form. Well, I have grown to like them because of recipes like yours. Since my wife and I grow them every year, we now know what to do with them besides give them away. Best to you and your family!

  23. A usual this looks absolutely delicious. I love zucchini and this is a perfect dish.

  24. Farida, I’m so excited to find a recipe with Kasseri cheese! I’ve been buying it at my cheese shop and loving it. Excited to put it into something creative!

  25. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS, DEAR FRIENDS.

  26. Selam abla! WoW!! The finished pie looks so good! My husband will definitely drool over this!

  27. loved the look of the pie…n m getting all sorts of ideas now…i think i will try it with some other veggie..err…not a zuchchini fan…i like the indian cucumbers better. 🙂

  28. Wow simply scrummy.

  29. Farida
    this look amazingly delicious…
    I am going to prepare it soon.
    we love zucchini, I posted a zucchini
    gratin and I do zucchini dip similiar to baba ghanouj
    this is something new to try.
    thanks

  30. Wow, looks so delicious and pretty too!
    My dear, you have no idea how often I make your tandori bread, now my family, when given choice always says “make the one from that pretty lady in CA” :))) Never mind that I can make dozens of kinds of bread, you always win!

    Guess what? I use that bread recipe for pizza dough, and everyone says I now make best pizza in the world!!! Seriously, did you try? If not, you so should!

    My kids love making it, and the dough is just amazing! I shall post about it next time, I usually make it in the evening, and there is usually no time for pictures, because they can’t wait to eat it! :)Thank you again!!! I can’t wait to buy your book!

  31. Wow… it is very delicious and beautifully presented everything what you cook!

  32. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS!

    Medena, so glad you like my bread recipe. I thought of using that dough for pizza but haven’t tried it that way. Will sure do:)

    Iulia, welcome! thanks for your nice words.

  33. Farida, I missed you! thought you were busy with writing cookbook…
    This pie looks pretty!
    Then what about you, doing well?.. 🙂

  34. The pie looks really good, Farida, especially with the zucchini rounds to top it off.

  35. Just wanted to add- every time I come here, I’m reminded of the zebra cake that I’m yet to bake. 😀

  36. SEENA: I missed you, too. I’ve been busy with cookbook and still am:) It never ends:) Hope you are doing well.

    TBC: Glad you like it. :)) I hope you get to bake zebra cake, it’s super fun. cheers.

  37. That looks extremely delicious – and I love your step-by-step photos!,

  38. i like this one

  39. I just made it and this is just a dream of a dish!! Thanks a lot for the recipe! All of the recipes on this site seem to be fabulous!

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