One of our favorite desserts! Our bougatsa recipe is a traditional, custard pie, but in researching the history, we found that it had a deeper history than a simple dessert.

Bougatsa is a traditional, rustic Greek pie consisting of a phyllo pastry layered with a filling of minced meat, cheese, or semolina custard. The name of the dish is a derivation of the Ottoman word pogatsa, denoting a pie filled with cheese.

Bougatsa has origins from the Byzantine period, when Constantinople was Greek, and it began as a dough that was stuffed with numerous sweet and savory fillings. Over time, bougatsa evolved to incorporate a thinly rolled, hand-made phyllo pastry. As many Turkish immigrants settled in Northen Greece, bougatsa became a specialty of Serres and Thessaloniki.

Today, the pies can be found throughout Greece, and now with our recipe, you can make your own!