Fli

Fli is a dish that imediately makes you smile because it reminds you of home, family and friends gathered together sharing a meze, drinking tea or raki, chatting, singing and sometimes even dancing. 

This is a food that makes you take a break, retreat and get lost in whatever your surroundings are. That’s because li takes around 3 – 5  hours to cook and is like a meditation for me or a joyful time to share with family and friends gathered by the fire creating a dish, layer after layer, just like building a castle one stone at a time. I guess that’s how friendships are strengthened also, one conversation and one sharing at a time. It takes a lot of patience, care and understanding full of love and disposition to get and keep a friend,  just like making a fli. You can’t risk on leaving it, because it will burn. You have to be there fully immerced in it knowing that it will be worth it in the end.

When you start a fli get ready to spend a lot of time by the fire, removing the cover, pouring the batter and creating with fli batter a sun looking figure surrounded by sunrays in the pan.  And then fill the spaces between the “sunrays” up with batter in the next step, and only to continue with another “ sun” on top of it and so on. 

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds all purpose, unbleached flour 
  • 4 cups water 
  • 1 pound crumbled feta cheese 
  • 2 cups oil 

Directions:

1- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the water to create a crepe batter alike constitency, easy to pour but not too thin to feel watery. Depending on the type and brand of flour you might have to adapt the water and the flour, but usually, that’s the ideal measurment. 

2 –  Bring close a bowl with the oil and the bowl with the cheese also so you can work without moving from where you’re cooking it. 

3- Depending on the place where you’re cooking it, outside on an open fire with the sac, or inside in the broiler, you create the surrounding you will feel comfortable for several hours; maybe a video, a book, a cup of tea or great conversation and laughs with friends and family. 

4- Light the fire, or the broiler. Choose the round baking pan that you will make the fli and oil the bottom of it. 

5- Start the fli by creating a sun shape in the center of the pan with a thin layer of the batter, much like painting one with rays that touch the sides of the pan. Put it in the broiler. Once golden, take it out and fill out the empty spaces with batter. Put it in the broiler again. 

Once the new lines are golden and the older ones are browned, because as you see, the layer is baked twice, take the pan out. 

Oil the whole surface with oil and layer crumbled cheese all over. 

Create another sun shape figure on top and put in the oven. And this way continue till all the batter is finished or the fli has taken the thickness of your choice. It might happen that the batter or the cheese will finish, so you make more, as it might happen that you’ll have some left over because you had enough and ther fli is thick enough. Both scenarios are ok! 

Serve right away with the side of your choice like yougurt, cheese, roasted peppers etc. 

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