Galaktobouriko- Greek Semolina Custard Phyllo Dessert

Galaktobouriko is a traditional Greek dessert that can be made in a pan, or into individual rolled portions (about 4 inches long). My family makes galaktobouriko in a pan, and serve it at practically every holiday.

Galaktobouriko- Greek Semolina Custard Phyllo Dessert

Ingredients:

For custard:

• 7 cups milk 
• 8 eggs
• 1 cup semolina (if possible, use fine semolina, otherwise, Farina brand is fine)
• 2 cups white granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cognac
• dash of vanilla extract
• 1 stick sweet butter

For syrup:

• 3 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 lemon peel
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 8 whole cloves

Other ingredients:

• 1 lb. #4 Phyllo pastry sheets (we use Apollo Fillo)
• 2 sticks sweet butter

 Instructions:

For syrup:
***Note: I usually make the syrup first because it must be cooled to room temperature before pouring over the custard/phyllo dessert

- Boil all ingredients (sugar, water, lemon juice, lemon peel, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves) in a pot until thick for about 10 minute. Mixture must have a syrup-like consistency.

- Allow to thoroughly cool to room temperature.


For semolina custard and phyllo crust assembly:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

- In a pot, heat milk, 1 stick sweet butter and semolina on very low flame, stirring constantly to avoid sticking at the bottom, until thick, and remove from fire.

- In a blender, blend eggs and sugar, and fold into semolina mixture.

- Reheat to thicken and remove from fire. Cover the pot with a clean towel, and allow mixture to cool.

- In a separate pot, melt 1 stick sweet butter, and using a pastry brush coat a 9x14 stainless pan with the butter. (Melt additional stick as necessary)

- Rotate pan to north-south orientation. Arrange alternating layers of phyllo and butter (8 sheets of phyllo in total) at the bottom of the pan.

- Arrange 2 sheets of phyllo in the horizontal position overlapping the two and allowing about a 4 inch excess to hang over the sides of the pan.

- Pour cooled semolina mixture into the pan, and fold over the excess flaps of phyllo (in order to create a phyllo crust on every side).

- Brush the folded over phyllo with melted butter and layer an additional 8 sheets of phyllo with butter in between each layer. Do not forget to brush butter on the top layer of phyllo.

- With a scissor, trim excess phyllo from the sides of the pan, leaving about 1 inch all around (to cover the edges of the pan).

- With a butter knife, gently tuck the layers of phyllo into the sides of the pan avoiding cutting through the phyllo.

- Evenly score the phyllo into even squares, and bake 40-45 minutes or until phyllo turns evenly golden brown.

- Remove from oven and cut through each piece following the scored phyllo.

- Using a soup ladle, pour the cooled syrup evenly over the hot phyllo, and allow the syrup to soak through in between each pouring. Pour enough syrup to ensure the custard and phyllo absorb it, however, avoid drowning it in the syrup.

Revani- Greek Semolina Cake

There are many variations to Revani, some people add poppy seeds, garnish with powdered sugar, almonds or coconut flakes. My family's recipe is plain, which is what we prefer. Revani can be made for any holiday and is a wonderful, quick recipe.

Revani- Greek Semolina Cake
Ingredients:

For cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups coarse semolina (we use Farina brand)
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups melted shortening (Crisco)
• 8 eggs, beaten
• 3 drops lemon extract 

For syrup:

• 4 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• peel of one lemon

Instructions:
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

- Mix all dry ingredients (flour, Farina, sugar, and baking powder) in a bowl.

- Add melted Crisco shortening to dry mix.

- Add beaten eggs and lemon extract to mixture.

- Mix well all together.

- Pour into greased 9x14 pan.

-Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the cake has a golden color.

- While the revani is baking, prepare the syrup: add water, sugar and lemon peel into a pot, and boil until thickened into a syrup like liquid, about 15 minutes.

- After the revani is done baking, while still hot, score and cut through into diagonal diamond-shaped pieces, without removing from pan.

Revani- scored and cut through

- Pour hot syrup evenly over the revani.

- Remove and arrange pieces in a platter when cooled. (Any remaining pieces should be refrigerated and eaten later- within 3-4 days).

Revani- cut & arranged on a platter

(Just a note: I made this recipe, but completely forgot to take pictures of it, and my family and I enjoyed it so much that there was none left, however, rather than not including pictures, I got these images from Google.)

Koulourakia- Greek Easter Cookies

This is a traditional Greek Easter dessert recipe. They are typically made during Holy Week, and are eaten on Holy Saturday night after the official celebration of Jesus' resurrection. As a young girl, my Giagia would make koulourakia with her mother in the village in Greece. Her mother would sing a song (a traditional lamentation song sung on Holy Thursday for the crucifixion of Christ) to her while making them. As a little girl, my mother would help my Giagia make her koulourakia for Easter, and my Giagia would sing the song to her. And now, every year when my Giagia makes her koulourakia, my mother and I go to help her and she sings the song to us. I intend on upholding the tradition with my children some day as well...

Koulourakia- Greek Easter Cookies
Ingredients: Yields about 120 koulourakia

• 1 and 1/2 cup milk
• 6 eggs
• 2 and 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 lb. whipped sweet butter
• 2 teaspoons baking ammonia
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• dash of vanilla
• 3 tablespoons Rosewater (anthonero)
• lemon zest from one lemon
• about 7 lbs flour (we use Gold Medal All-Purpose Flower and we stick to that every year)
• egg wash- (2 beaten eggs, mixed with 2 tablespoons Rosewater)

Instructions:
-Pre -heat oven to 350 degrees F.

-Beat butter in electric mixer until fluffy.

-Add sugar, eggs and Rosewater into the butter.

-Dilute ammonia and baking powder in milk and add to butter mix, along with the vanilla and lemon zest. 

-Once mixture is blended well, start adding flour in small increments until pliable but not hard.
(If you have a large enough mixer, you can add the flour into the mixer. If not, pour butter mixture into a large mixing bowl and add flour slowly while hand kneading.)

-Use a medium size ice cream/baking scoop to make even sized dough balls.

-Knead and roll out the dough into 6 inch rope-like portions, fold the rope in half, and twist twice.

-Place on a greased cookie sheet and arrange in rows. (Leave enough space around each cookie in order to ensure they do not connect with other cookies while baking).

-Bake for 15 minutes, and brush egg wash on each cookie.

-Bake 30-40 minutes in total (depending on your oven) until light golden color. 

Spanakorizo- Spinach Rice with Shrimp

This recipe was one that I ate as a child. Though I did not appreciate it as much when I was younger, it brings back fond memories of my Giagia (grandmother) and I totally love it. Traditionally, spanakorizo is made without shrimp, however, my mother and I have modified the dish to make it more wholesome. The recipe could also be made with tomatoes, however, my family prefers less tomatoes, and so we keep the spanakorizo more lemony. Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I do now!

Shrimp Spanakorizo
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. fresh spinach
• 1 lb. uncooked shrimp
• 1 tbsp. chopped dill
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper for taste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2/3 cup rice
• 1 and 1/2 cups water
• juice from half a lemon

Instructions:

Here are our main ingredients.

Prepare all your ingredients:  Chop onion and dill and set aside. De-vein and remove tails from shrimp and set aside.

 Dill & onion (before I chopped them up).

Shrimp- de-veined and tails removed (before cooking)

In a pot, pour in olive oil.  Add in onions and saute in oil until the onions are soft and opaque.
Wash the spinach thoroughly, drain, and chop.

(I prefer my spinach whole because once it is cooked, it wilts- the choice is yours!)

Add the spinach to the sauteed onions and simmer slowly until almost completely cooked.
Once the spinach is almost completely cooked, add in the shrimp, and let cook until opaque.
Add water, bring to a boil and stir in rice, chopped dill, and salt and pepper.

Here is our rice- this is a bit more rice because I was making 6-8 servings, because my family is a typical Greek family - huge, loud and always hungry!

Cover and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the rice is soft and all the water is absorbed.
Add the juice of half a lemon before removing the rice from the heat.
Remove from heat, let it cool for about 5-10 minutes, and serve while hot.

Here is our Shrimp Spanakorizo...looks delicious!

And remember, though it is not completely necessary, pour yourself a nice glass of white wine &  enjoy!