← Nouns Cooking · Greek

Ingredients

• 1 l whole milk
• 150 g Sugar
• 120 g fine semolina
• 3 Eggs
• 40 g Butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch Salt
• 450 g filo pastry, thawed
• 180 g unsalted butter, melted
• 4 tbsp icing sugar, to serve
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. Heat the milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan until steaming. Whisk in the semolina in a thin stream and cook over medium-low heat, whisking, for 4–5 min until thick.
2. Beat the eggs in a bowl, whisk in a ladle of the hot custard, then stir everything back into the pan off the heat. Add the butter and vanilla, cover the surface with cling film and cool for 10 min.
3. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F) and brush a 23 × 33 cm tin with butter.
4. Lay in half the filo sheets, brushing each with melted butter and letting them overhang. Spread over the custard, fold in the edges, then top with the remaining sheets, buttering each one and tucking in the sides.
5. Score the top layers into squares and bake for 40–45 min, until puffed and deep golden.
6. Cool for 15 min, then cut into squares and dust very generously with icing sugar and cinnamon. Serve warm with coffee.

Tips

• In Thessaloniki it is eaten warm for breakfast, often with a Greek coffee; savoury versions with feta or mince are just as popular.
• Crumpling the top filo sheets loosely instead of laying them flat gives an extra-crunchy lid.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

My Greek Dish Dimitra's Dishes Diane Kochilas