• 1 kg fresh unsalted anari cheese (Cypriot ricotta)
• 100g sugar
• 1 spoon cinnamon
• 50g rose water
• 80g milk
• 400-500g tsipouro fat (or vegetable shortening or sheep's butter)
For the syrup
• 5 cups sugar
• 5 cups water
• 6 cloves
• 2 pieces of true cinnamon stick
• Juice of ½ lemon
METHOD
For the syrup:
1. In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients for the syrup. Let the syrup boil for 3-4 minutes, then remove it from the heat. Set it aside to cool completely.
For the dough:
1. Place all the dough ingredients in a mixer and knead until you have a fluffy dough. Be careful: it might not take all the water, or it might need a little more. When the dough is ready, let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling:
1. In a bowl, add the fresh anari cheese (which you crumble with a fork), the sugar, cinnamon, rose water, and milk. Mix all the ingredients well with a spoon and set the bowl aside.
2. Cut the dough into four balls and lightly roll each one out with a rolling pin to give it a rectangular shape, not too big and not too wide. Roll out each piece of dough using a pasta machine, starting from setting 0 and continuing to 2, 3, and 5, dusting with flour before each pass. That is, from thickest to thinnest.
3. Cut it into 2 pieces and set them aside, and continue rolling out the rest, dividing each into 2 pieces. Place 3 dough pieces vertically next to each other and lightly stick their edges together to join them. Brush with the tsipouro fat or butter. Place about 3 large spoonfuls of filling over the rolled-out sheets and spread it evenly.
4. Push the bottom base upwards and the top part downwards to make the dough look like a bellows (accordion). Cover the middle part where the filling shows with the edges so it is covered. Take the 2 ends and gently stretch while simultaneously twisting one hand upwards and the other downwards to create a spiral shape. Place the anaropites (cheese pies) in a round or rectangular non-stick baking pan, which you have greased with the tsipouro fat or butter, and brush the remaining butter or fat on top with a brush.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 160-170°C for 45-60 minutes. When the anaropites are ready, remove them from the oven and pour the cold syrup over them. Cut or poke the anaropites with a skewer so the syrup is absorbed better. Let the anaropites soak up the syrup and serve.
