Category: Greek Recipes

Crema Caramela (Custard)

At a recent #Tweetea meetup an introductory question was asked of discussion participants, “What is your favorite pudding?” I knew instantly that I would confess my guilty pleasure is Crema Caramela.

When I was a little girl, my YiaYia made Crema Caramela for me. It was my all time favorite dessert and still is. I looked in my Greek cookbooks for a recipe and I found this one in Hellenic Cuisine by Sts. Constantine and Helen Ladies Society of Detroit.

1 qt scalded milk
12 eggs
1 – 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Combine eggs, salt and one cup of sugar. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and mix well. Melt or caramelize 1/2 cup of sugar in a heavy skillet and glaze the bottom of a large Pyrex tube pan. Pour custard mixture over caramelized sugar glaze and bake in a water bath at 350 degrees for one hour or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Important: Place tube pan in pan of hot water to bake. Unmold upside down so that caramel glaze frosts custard.

Pastitsio – Baked Macaroni with Meat Filling

Pastitsio for Patty!

1 lb.  elbow macaroni
1/2 lb. butter
1-1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 can tomato paste
4 oz. grated cheese (Kefalotiri or Gruyere or Parmigiana)
1 medium onion – chopped
cinnamon and nutmeg
salt and pepper

#1 sauce: 2 eggs, 1 cup of milk
#2 sauce: 2 cups milk, 4 eggs, 3 tbsp. flour

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water and drain. Proceed as follows: Saute chopped onion in a little butter; add ground beef and stir until brown; add tomato paste thinned with a little water. Add seasoning – salt pepper cinnamon and nutmeg to taste ( a pinch of each). Cook until beef is done. Melt butter and pour half over drained macaroni mixing carefully. Spread half of macaroni on bottom of 9 x 13″ pan; sprinkle  some of the grated cheese on top. Spread entire meat sauce over the macaroni, and cover with remaining macaroni as the top layer. Add rest of cheese. Over this pour the #1 Sauce. Shake pan so that the sauce will penetrate to the bottom of the mixture.

#2 Sauce: In a saucepan place remaining melted butter and add the 3 tbsp. of flour gradually , stirring constantly. Add milk and continue stirring. Slowly add eggs and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Spread over macaroni and bake in moderate oven for 40-45 minutes. Cut in squares and serve.

This recipe is from Hellenic Cuisine by Sts. Constantine and Helen Ladies Society, Detroit MI 1956 page 103

Spanakoteropita – Spinach Cheese Pie

This recipe is posted per the request from my new friend Lisa.

2 lbs. spinach
1 bunch green onions
1 lb.  feta cheese – crumbled
7 eggs
1 lb. butter – melted
1 lb. pastry sheets – phyllo dough
salt and white pepper

Wash spinach and allow to drain overnight in a colander. Chop spinach and green onions in a large mixing bowl. Add crumbled feta cheese, unbeaten eggs and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Pour half of the melted butter over spinach mixture and toss lightly to combine all ingredients.

Using a 10 x 15″ pan, place six pastry sheets in greased pan, spreading each with melted butter. A pastry brush is the best for buttering the phyllo dough. Top with a thin layer of spinach mixture, alternating with buttered pastry sheets. Cover with six individually buttered pastry sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Cool and cut into squares. Serves 20.

This recipe is from  Hellenic Cuisine by Sts. Constantine and Helen Ladies Society, Detroit MI 1956 page 122