Laconian Galatopita
A Tribute to Laconian Cuisine, part 3.
Milk pies are very common in many parts of Greece, but they originate from the Greek Vlach communities (famous for their shepherding skills), who once resided in the mountains of central Greece. A milk pie, called a ga-la-tò-pi-ta in Greek, even though very similar to it, is not to be mistaken with the famous Greek Galaktoboureko or the Bougatsa, whose recipes call for two different, specific, and unique kinds of phyllo pastry. You can find the recipe for a rustic phyllo-pastry milk pie in this older post on the blog. The Laconian Galatopita, which we’re looking into today, is traditionally made without phyllo.
Galatopitas are served all year round but are particularly popular during the last week of the carnival in Greece. (Can you tell I’m posting this super late for this year’s festivities? Oh, well.) According to tradition, the Greek carnival’s final week (Tirini meaning “of cheese”) is a dairy-consumption week. In the old days, you were allowed to eat dishes based on animal products (cheese, butter, milk, and eggs), but you had to abstain from meat.
The reasoning behind this practice was to prepare one’s body before the Great Lent (the 40-day fasting period before Easter). Shepherds happily sold their fresh dairy, and all week long, the women at home made all kinds of custard, cheese, and pasta pies, yogurt, artisanal cheeses, and butter. At the end of the week, on Cheese Sunday (Kiriaki Tirofagou), an abundance of cheesy, creamy dishes were served, followed by the celebrations of Clean Monday, one’s last chance to consume fish and seafood before Lent. In Mani, galatopitas are also typically served as an Easter dessert.
Galatopita
Equipment
- non-stick 8” X 2” square pan
Ingredients
- 4 cups dairy milk (1000 ml)
- 1 vanilla bean
- ½ + ⅓ cups sugar (205 g)
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cups + 1 tbsp fine semolina flour (175 g)
- orange zest (from 1 medium-sized orange)
- ¼ cup butter (60 g or ½ stick) cold or at room temperature
- powdered/icing sugar
- ground Ceylon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 400 °F/200 °C.
- Scrape the vanilla pod (see method below). Add both the seeds and the pod to the milk and warm it up in a large pot over medium heat.
- When the milk is warm enough, take out the vanilla pod, add the eggs, sugar, eggs, semolina flour, and orange zest. Use a large whisk to stir the mixture non-stop but gently while waiting for the pudding to thicken. (If you don’t, it will become lumpy and stick to the bottom of the pot!)
- As soon as it starts thickening, take the pot off the heat and slowly whisk in the butter until it's well incorporated.
- Pour the mixture in a non-stick or well-buttered 8” X 2” square pan.
- Place on the middle rack and bake for 40 minutes at 400 °F/200 °C.
- Take the pie out of the oven and let it cool down completely. (You can also chill it for a couple of hours.)
- Dust with icing sugar and cinnamon, or cocoa powder. Cut up and serve.
Notes
How to scrape out the vanilla seeds:
Working on one half at a time, hold down the tip of the bean against the cutting board. Use the dull side of your paring knife—not the sharp!—and scrape the vanilla seeds from the skin. Move from the tip of the pod while also holding it from there and scrape down the entire length. Use the seeds immediately (scrape as soon as the recipe asks you to add the seeds and mix them right into the rest of the ingredients). Don’t throw away the empty vanilla pod—use it to infuse milk or cream, or stick it in a jar of sugar. *recipe originally developed by Kicking Back the Pebbles for Politismos eMagazine*images by Athina D. Pantazatou for Kicking Back the Pebbles
Γαλατόπιτα
Ingredients
- 1 λίτρο γάλα (1000 ml)
- 1 λοβό βανίλιας
- 200 γραμ. ζάχαρη
- 2 αυγά
- 180 γραμ. σιμιγδάλι ψιλό
- ξύσμα πορτοκαλιού (1 μεσαίο πορτοκάλι)
- 50 γραμ. βούτυρο σε θερμοκρασία δωματίου
- ζάχαρη άχνη
- κανέλα Κεϋλάνης
Instructions
- Προθερμαίνετε το φούρνο στους 200 °C
- Ξύνετε τη βανίλια (θα βρείτε οδηγίες στις σημειώσεις) και ρίχνετε τα σποράκια και το περίβλημα σε μία μεγάλη κατσαρόλα μαζί με το γάλα. Ζεσταίνετε το γάλα σε μέτρια φωτιά. Προσοχή, δεν πρέπει να κάψει.
- Όταν το γάλα ζεσταθεί, αφαιρείτε τα ξυλαράκια της βανίλιας και προσθέτετε τη ζάχαρη, τα αυγά, το σιμιγδάλι και το ξύσμα πορτοκαλιού.
- Με έναν μεγάλο αναδευτήρα ανακατεύετε συνεχώς μέχρι η κρέμα να αρχίσει να πήζει. Χρειάζεται αργό και συνεχές ανακάτεμα αλλιώς μπορεί να κάνει σβόλους και να κολλήσει στον πάτο του σκεύους.
- Μόλις αρχίσει να πήζει, βγάζετε την κατσαρόλα απο τη φωτιά και σιγά σιγά προσθέτετε προσθέτετε το βούτυρο. Αναμειγνύετε καλά.
- Βουτυρώνετε ένα τετράγωνο ταψί φούρνου (20 x 5 εκ.) και το γεμίζετε με την κρέμα. Ψήνετε στη μεσαία σχάρα, στους στους 200 °C για 40 λεπτά περίπου.
- Βγάζετε την πίτα από τον φούρνο και την αφήνετε να κρυώσει καλά. Πασπαλίζετε με ζάχαρη άχνη και κανέλα. Σερβίρεται και κρύα απ' το ψυγείο!
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