Hilopites

Hilopites are small squares of egg pasta, cut from a sheet rolled with eggs and milk rather than water, and they belong to the mountain villages of Epirus, Thessaly and the Peloponnese more than to the islands. They were made in quantity in high summer, spread on cloths and sheets across a shaded terrace to dry, then stored for the winter in cotton bags.

Their classic partner is a long braise with plenty of sauce. Kokoras krasatos, rooster simmered slowly in red wine and tomato until the meat gives way, is served spooned over a mound of them, and beef or rabbit kokkinisto is treated the same way. In their simplest form they are boiled, tossed with browned butter and covered in grated mizithra or kefalotyri.

The egg and milk in the dough make them richer and softer than a plain durum pasta, and they cook quickly, going from firm to collapsed in a minute or two, so they are best boiled just before serving rather than held. Village-made hilopites are thicker and thirstier than the commercial kind and take a little longer, and both leave a starchy water worth saving to loosen a sauce.