Bougatsa inspired by My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 #MoviesandMunchies

Are you a Big Fat Greek Wedding fan?  I LOVED the first one and enjoyed the second one as well.  Here are my thoughts on Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.

In this film, the Portokalos family travels to Greece to visit their father's home town after his death.  Toula has promised to deliver her father's journal to his 3 best friends from his childhood.  She is accompanied by her husband, daughter, and brother, who has recently separated from his wife, and her aunt.  They are later surprised by Nikki and Angelo.

Their mother, who is suffering from dementia is left in the care of Athena and her family, all of whom make some cameo appearances in the film.  Toula and Ian's daughter is an adult attending college but not doing as well as her parents and the rest of the family believe.

Toula is also surprised to learn that she has an older brother, Peter, from a relationship that her father had before leaving Greece and of whom he had no knowledge.  Peter's son, Christos, is in love with Qamar, who is not Greek and therefore not acceptable as a partner in his father's eyes.

Aunt Voula is exactly the same as she is in each of the movies.  A loving, busybody, who believes she knows what is best for everyone and most often that means food.  The Bougatsa I am sharing with you today was announced by her and brought out during a very tense time at the dinner table and, of course, it made everything better.

This was my least favorite of the three movies but it was still worth watching and it inspired me to look up Bougatsa and make this recipe found in my copy of It's All Greek to Me by Debbie Motonpoulos.

Most of the recipes I found for Bougatsa had you make individual hand pies.  I was attracted to the recipe in It's All Greek to Me because it made a 9x13" pan and I was having a Gotcha gathering for our youngest daughter so was serving a crowd.

It is a delicious dessert and I can see why it is so popular in Greek cuisine.  It is very similar to the Phyllo Custard Pie (Galatkoboureko), also from this cookbook, that I was inspired to make after reading a book but without the syrup making it a hand-held dessert instead of one needing a plate and fork.

Desserts, Pastry, Custard

Desserts

Greek

Yield: 12 servings

Author: Wendy Klik

Bougatsa (Phyllo and Custard)

Smooth, citrus-scented custard enfolded in crisp phyllo pastry.

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M

Ingredients

• 4 c. milk
• 1 c. sugar
• zest of one lemon, finely grated
• 3/4 c. semolina flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 lb frozen phyllo pastry sheets, thawed
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 T. cinnamon

Instructions

1. Combine the milk, sugar, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When steaming but not boiling, slowly add the flour, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl. Gradually add 1 cup of the milk mixture, whisking constantly. Return this mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes longer until smooth and custardy. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Unfold your phyllo and remove one sheet, covering the rest so they don't dry out. Lay this sheet into a 9x13" baking pan covering one-quarter of the bottom and overlapping the side and top. Brush with melted butter and repeat this in the other 4 quarters of the pan, twice using 8 sheets of phyllo and buttering after each.
4. Lay two phyllo sheets on the covering the bottom of the pan, buttering after each. Then spread the custard evenly over the phyllo in the pan and sprinkle with the cinnamon.
5. Layer the remaining phyllo sheets onto the custard, buttering after each, then fold the overhanging pastry on top and brush with the remaining butter.
6. Place into a preheated 350* oven for about an hour, until golden brown and flaky.
7. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Adapted from a recipe found in It's All Greek to Me

Nutrition Facts

Calories

287.13

Fat (grams)

12.24 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

6.88 g

Carbs (grams)

38.65 g

Fiber (grams)

1.17 g

Net carbs

37.49 g

Sugar (grams)

20.64 g

Protein (grams)

6.38 g

Sodium (milligrams)

193.53 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

57.29 mg

Similar Recipes

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Galaktoboureko

Rhubarb Blueberry Custard Pie

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