Flaky Veggie Phyllo "Pizza"

When he’s in charge of pizza night, Saba follows a ritual: He starts the day before, making the dough from scratch, using no other flour but Tipo 00 (which is known for creating dough with a light, chewy texture). He budgets at least 12 hours for the dough to rise, and when he (and the dough!) is ready, he rolls and assembles one pizza at a time, pulling from several bowls of neatly prepared toppings, like a real pizzaiolo. Finally, he heats up his Ooni pizza oven to bake the pies. It’s a whole thing, and he is very proud of it. Needless to say, pizza night my husband’s way is not something that happens frequently. And yes, it’s special for that reason alone.

But this recipe is not that! And you might not approve of calling it “pizza,” but let’s just go

The Mediterranean Dish: Simply Dinner Suzy Karadsheh

with it. This is pizza night my way—lazy but delicious. It takes less than 15 minutes to assemble and does not require time for the dough to rise, nor a special oven. Made in a sheet pan, from phyllo dough and without sauce, it’s definitely not traditional. Yet the phyllo makes a light and flaky base for a simple assortment of veggies and cheeses.

Serves 4 to 6

 
INGREDIENTS

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• 12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen (see Tip)

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella, or more to your liking

• 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup), or more to your liking

• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (about 14 tomatoes)

• 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped

• 2 scallions, trimmed, green and white parts finely chopped

• ⅓ cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped

• ⅓ cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• ½ teaspoon dried oregano

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Into a small bowl, place ¼ cup of the olive oil and set it next to a large sheet pan. (The sheet pan should be slightly larger than the size of your phyllo sheets.) Brush the bottom of the sheet pan with olive oil.

3. Unroll the phyllo sheets and place them on a clean kitchen cloth. Dampen, ever so slightly, another clean kitchen cloth and lay it over the top of the phyllo sheets to prevent them from drying out as you work.

4. Place 3 sheets of phyllo onto the sheet pan and brush the top sheet with olive oil. Repeat with another 3 sheets of phyllo. Now, sprinkle half of the shredded mozzarella and half of the crumbled feta cheese evenly on top. Continue layering and brushing the phyllo sheets, 3 at a time in the same pattern, until you’ve used all 12 sheets, brushing the very top sheet with olive oil and adding the remaining mozzarella and feta cheeses. Evenly spread the tomatoes, bell pepper, scallions, olives, and parsley on top. Sprinkle with the dried oregano and red pepper flakes (if using).

5. Use a sharp knife to cut the phyllo into 12 squares and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the phyllo edges and bottom turn golden brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and serve. (Any leftovers can be warmed up in a medium-heated oven for about 5 minutes or until just warmed through.)

TIP: Storing Unused Phyllo

You’ll need only 12 sheets of phyllo for this recipe. As soon as you take those out, go ahead and roll the rest of the sheets back up and tightly wrap them in plastic wrap. Save them in their box in the fridge for up to 1 week— maybe you can make the Baklava Ricotta Cheesecake

Reprinted with permission from The Mediterranean Dish: Simply Dinner by Suzy Karadsheh copyright © 2024. Photographs by Caitlin Bensel. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.

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