Artichoke Pie (Ταβερνίσια αγκιναρόπιτα της Τήνου)
Nov 7th, 2008 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Appetizer, Baking, Bread, Cheese, Greek, Herbs, Main, Recipe, Side, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Another island in the Cyclades of Greece is Tinos. Tinos is the island just before reaching party-central Mykonos.
The contrast in vacationers that attend both islands is that of the late nights of Mykonos, loud thumping Techno & House and all-nighters and the more normal Tinos with vacationers seeking the beach, idlyllic town life, a fine taverna and it’s popular religious attraction of Church of Panagia (Virgin Mary).
One of the holiest days in the Greek-Orthodox calendar is August 15th and many pilgrims visit Tinos to crawl up it’s long incline of steps in hopes of being one of the blessed with a miracle from the icon of Panagia.
Tinos is also famous for it’s artichokes and in keeping with the Greeks’ natural ingenuity, taverna owners have come up with creative ways to showcase this local produce in an array of dishes.
I found an interesting recipe from Diane Kochilias who has written many cookbooks on Greek and Mediterranean cuisine.
She describes this dish as being inspired by the taverna owners’ many renditions of their Artichoke pie. The Greek island of Kefallonia (on the Ionian side of Greece) also has their own Artichoke pie but we’ll chat about that another time.
This dish stood out for me because one of the main ingredients here is bread slices. I have a feeling the origins of this dish are very peasant and in keeping with the Greek tradition of stretching your ingredients to utmost limit.
I’m sure day-old bread was used to make Artichoke Pie (you can too) but I’ve found that lighter, less dense bread works best here for absorbing moisture and flavour in the end result.
In this dish I used preserved, jarred artichoke hearts, some grated Graviera cheese (sheep’s milk Grueyere), Bechamel sauce and some fresh thyme.
This dish is easy, great offering for a buffet, part of a light lunch or serve a wedge as a snack. It also came in handy as I was able to use up a jar of artichokes staring at me in the fridge and it hit the spot for wanting a light lunch with a salad on the side.
Artichoke Pie (Ταβερνίσια αγκιναρόπιτα της Τήνου)
a buttered 13X9X2″ bakiing dish
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large onions, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large loaf of rustic bread, crust removed & cut into thick slices
2 tsp. of fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
approx. dozen artichoke hearts, cut into bite-sized pieces (poached if fresh, I used jarred)
1 1/2 grated Graviera cheese (Gruyere is fine)
3 cups of Bechamel Sauce (or 1/2 of my recipe)
thyme sprigs for garnish
- Melt the olive oil in a large skillet and add your onions and garlic and saute over medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add your fresh thyme and season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool and set aside.
- Pre-heat your oven to 400F. Now make your Bechamel sauce as per my instructions with the 1 cup of grated Graviera and set aside and keep warm.
- Spoon some Bechamel Sauce on the bottom of the baking dish and lay your first layer of bread slices. Now spoon half of your sauteed onions over the bread, followed by half the artichoke pieces, some Bechamel sauce and some grated cheese. Repeat with the remaining ingredients in the same order.
- Bake until tender and the top is golden-brown, about 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, slice into portioned squares and serve.
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This looks heavenly.
Glam, make a small batch or take some to work…reheats well.
Jan, you must!
Judy…lol…surprises always good!
Joan, nothing forgotten, that’s just the golden-brown cheese.
Neverfull…meet up in NYC?
Heather, certainly could…just poach them 1st.
Julie, just remember artichokes aren’t really in season in the summer.
Natashya, you mean Hydra? I’ve been there and I’ll see what I can come up with.
Maryann…LOL’in at you!
Marianne, the marinated/brined type.
Nikki, LOL at Mr. Pickypants!
Val, this worked well with the jarred variety.
Ioanna, if the frozen ones are good quality, sure but the ones here are horrible, hence the jarred ones.
Nina, don’t be..lots of blogs with easy to follow insts. to clean them
Nuria, certainly – use mozzarella or another mild cheese.
I adore artichoke anything – this looks wonderful. Have a fabulous time in NYC! I’ll be there tomorrow for a couple of days, but sadly, working the whole time – my mother is moving from there to MI.
And btw… even having grown up in NYC, I’d take TO over NYC any day!
Looks awesome…. Good thing I always have some homemade bread for recipes like this
Loving this dish! It is perfect for my family and our large get togethers. Maybe for thanksgiving as something different on the side. What do you think?
WOW this looks incredible. I have got to make this, along with your more recent feta pasta dish. Two of my favorite flavors in the world.
I love savory bread puddings and the artichokes in this sound wonderful.
A savory bread and artichoke pie? Oh, my gosh, Peter, I’m in heaven.