George has always told me about the savory sweet Vasilopita that his mother Georgia used to make. All he could recall was that it has chicken and sugar in it.
Well that’s not much for me to go by! And his mother is long gone now. So I decided that this year I wanted to figure it out. I contacted a few people thinking that it was the traditional regional recipe from Trikala in Thessalia, Greece. However, when I spoke with his aunt Lenio (Eleni), who makes this same pita every year, we discovered that it was indeed yiayia Erasmia’s recipe, completely unique to the regional specialty.
And it’s fairly simple to execute.
It’s made with nine sheets of homemade phyllo. The filling is layers of walnuts, boiled chicken, cinnamon spiced sweetened rice, boiled beef and pork.
To be honest with you, it sounded like it was missing ingredients to me. However, I executed it exactly as I was directed, and asked her for some divine guidance. The results proved to me exactly why the family loves this pita so much.
So as I thought about the simple ingredients, I remembered that the family that she was raising was poor. New Year’s Day, which is Saint Basil’s Day in the Orthodox Calendar, would be the time to celebrate abundance of a new year. This pita is using three different types of meat. The rice is sweetened with sugar and spiced with cinnamon and a touch of clove to celebrate the sweetness of the new year. The boiled meats are only tossed in a little bit of olive oil and salt which balances the sugar.
It is a very nutritious meal and rich , especially for a family that lived very modestly.
Ingredients for a 9 inch pie pan:
1 cup of boiled chicken
1/2 cup boiled beef
1/2 cup boiled pork
1 1/2 cups boiled rice
2 tbsp of granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp clove
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 package of country style thick phyllo if you can find it. It’s rustic so the phyllo sheet is best a little thicker.but if you can only find what is available, you will need to add a few more sheets to get similar results.
Or 9 sheets homemade phyllo ( I used my friend Krystina’s phyllo recipe and will link it for you here. This was my first time making my own phyllo from scratch and I was so happy with the results!
https://kouzounaskitchen.com/2018/01/16/the-best-home-made-phyllo-dough/
In 4 separate bowls:
Chopped walnuts
Shredded Boiled chicken (drizzle olive oil & a little salt)
The rice mixed with sugar, cinnamon & clove
Shredded boiled beef & pork (drizzle olive oil & a little salt.
Assemble:
Drizzle olive oil in your pan and drizzle a little olive oil over each sheet.
Lay out 3 sheets of homemade phyllo. Sprinkle walnuts. Cover with the fourth sheet.
Add the chicken. Cover with the fifth sheet.
Add the rice mixture. Cover with the sixth sheet.
Add the pork & beef. Cover with the remaining three sheets.
Fold over any edges hanging over the pie dish to create a rustic border. Brush olive oil all over the top.
Bake at 350 F for nearly two hours until a deep golden brown.
This proved to be a very delicious rustic pita! I am so happy that I can continue a family tradition for my husband.
Kali Oreksi!
on xenia street 