Galotoboureko (Greek Pastry)

Galotoboureko (Greek Pastry)

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I don't think I've ever bought Cream of Rice but I do like Cream of Wheat - lately I've been eating it about once a week with lots of Brown Sugar Splenda.  I'm really not sure if this recipe is intended to be breakfast or dessert but I call it breakfast (I mean, not like I've never eaten Baklava for breakfast and that is also a Greek pastry.)  My mom was Greek.  I remember her making Baklava one time but if we ever saw it anywhere we always got some.

I was debating between using my 2 c. or 4 c. pan.  (I only made 1/2 the recipe.)  I chose the larger and was glad of it.  I measured the milk in my Oxo measuring cup that lets me see the level line from the top instead of having to squat down and pour at the same time.

I put the margarine in first (Country Crock Plant Butter) and let it start to melt.  Then added the milk and let the butter finish melting and mix well with the milk before adding the cream of rice.

I stirred a lot while the cream of rice was cooking.

I had it on 7 to boil.  I turned down to 4 but had to keep lowering it, all the way to Low, within the 1 minute it was supposed to be simmering, because it was way more than a simmer.

I used the Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar so it has a slightly brown color since it is not bleached.  It's also a little chunkier than refined sugar so when it was stirred in it almost got a little clumpy.  I added it in three parts, stirring well in between each addition.  It wasn't a problem but did need a little bit of extra attention.

The cream of rice sat for about 30 minutes and was still plenty warm but a great temperature for the eggs - they incorporated without any curdling at all.  (Normally when I make Cream of Wheat I let it sit for 20 - 30 minutes before I eat it and that makes it the perfect eating temperature.  One time I made a lot of cupcakes from scratch and that recipe only uses egg whites so I have a lot of frozen egg yolks and one day was looking at what to do with them and one suggestion was to stir into Cream of Wheat but I did it when it was finished cooking and still very hot so I wound up with scrambled eggs in my Cream of Wheat.  This way was SO much better.)

Adding eggs slowly while stirring is almost a three person job.  My eggs were all beat up together but blobbed out in approximately one at a time.  I also did this mixing job in three parts.  

When I stirred the eggs in I made sure to dig down deep, especially along the side, and turn over from the bottom.

I have had this partially used box of Phyllo dough in my freezer for a few years.  I moved it to the fridge a couple of weeks ago when I had hoped to make this recipe but I kept having to put it off.  Regardless, the dough was just like it was the first day I used it except one corner was too dry and stuck together so I just tore it off.

Even though I'm making half the recipe I still needed six layers of dough.  So I took three full sheets and just folded them in half and put in the pan.

Then I realized I was supposed to brush each sheet with butter so I opened them up and got them brushed.

For the top layers I did one sheet at a time but only brushed half with butter.  Once all three were on I folded over 1 sheet at a time until there were 3 sheets doubled over.

The recipe said to trim the sheets - ha, I'm not one to trim.  I just mushed them down around the corners and added butter until they stuck down.

Ready for the oven.

Oops, I almost forgot to cut through the top layers - that was not very easy.  In some spots I just poked up and down in a choppy fashion.  In some spots I had to put my finger to the side of the knife and sort of stretch it apart.

After 40 minutes of baking it looked ready.

While it cooled to "lukewarm" I started the syrup.

I love this spoon.  I used a spoon I got from my mom.  It was just like the ones she always used to make pudding with.  I had to turn the mixture down to Low and still had lots of bubbles.

I could touch the pan with bare hands so I figured that was lukewarm enough.

I moved it down to the stove top and followed the lines to cut all the way through to the bottom layer.

Ready for the syrup.

I put more than half the syrup to make sure it was well-coated and because I know that we're not really syrup-on-the-spot people.

It seemed a little loose when I served it but maybe because it was still quite warm.  I couldn't wait any longer for breakfast.

Two of us ate more than one-third.  It was very good.  After breakfast I poured the rest of the syrup on before storing in the refrigerator hoping that the extra syrup would get absorbed into it like a Tres Leches cake.

I was surprised that the pastry layers were not more crispy - like baklava.  The kid just peeled off the top layer and ate it and then ate the rest.  I wiggled it around until it cut into pieces and ate it with the filling.  I can't figure out why it was soggy but I'm still happy with this recipe.  Even the second day re-heated in the microwave it was just as good.  I also tried a bite cold and that was good too - I could see it being served cold as a dessert.