Beef Pita, Greek Style

Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 2 lbs beef, ground
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup burgundy wine or 1/3 cup rose wine
• 1 large egg
• 1 (8 ounce) packet cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup cream-style cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (unsalted margarine, melted, can also be used.)
• 8 ounces phyllo pastry sheets, defrosted (1/2 package)
• 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 sprig parsley
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• fresh fruit kabobs (optional)

Recipe

• 1 combine ground beef, onion and garlic in a large frying-pan; cook, stirring frequently until beef loses pink color.
• 2 pour off drippings.
• 3 add mushrooms, bay leaf, salt, chili powder, cumin powder, and cinnamon; cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender about 5 minutes.
• 4 stir in tomato sauce and wine; cook, covered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 5 remove bay leaf.
• 6 cool while preparing cheese filling.
• 7 combine egg and cream cheese in medium bowl, beat with electric mixer until smooth.
• 8 stir in cottage and feta cheeses and blend.
• 9 brush 13 x 9-inch baking pan with melted butter.
• 10 line pan with 1 sheet of pastry, fitting pastry to contour of pan. (pastry will come up over edges of pan.) brush pastry with butter.
• 11 layer with 3 more pastry sheets, brushing each with butter.
• 12 sprinkle bread crumbs evenly over top.
• 13 spoon 1/5 of meat filling in layer over crumbs and 1/5 of the cheese filling over meat.
• 14 place 1 pastry sheet over cheese filling, crinkling to fit inside dimensions of pan; brush with butter and layer with 1/5 of the meat and 1/5 to the cheese fillings.
• 15 repeat with 3 more pastry sheets, crinkling each, brushing with butter and topping with fillings.
• 16 turn bottom pastry ends up over filling.
• 17 place remaining 8 pastry sheets smoothly over top, brushing each with butter.
• 18 using spatula, tuck top pastry sheets around inside edges of pan.
• 19 with sharp knife, score top lightly in half lengthwise and sixths crosswise.
• 20 (do not cut through) bake in moderate oven (350 degrees f.) 1 hour or until top is golden brown.
• 21 cool at least 10 minutes before cutting along scored lines.
• 22 place a cherry tomato on each of 12 small wooden picks and insert pick in center of each serving.
• 23 garnish with parsley.
• 24 garnish individual servings with fresh fruit kabobs, if desired.
• 25 fresh fruit kabobs:
• 26 to make fresh fruit kabobs, place chunks of fresh pineapple, cantaloupe, whole strwberries or other fruits in season on small wooden skewers.