Skip to main content

Koulakia Koulakia

Chances are, the majority of you have not heard of koulakia before. They are a dumpling stuffed with feta cheese, typically found in Greek cuisine.

My mom made these growing up from my great-grandmother's recipe, and I'm here to share it with you.

Warning: This is not an exact measurement kind of recipe. We're going to make it like yiayia made it, eye-balling it. So know that you may need to adjust flour and water ratios along the way.

Starting off:

2 c white all-purpose flour
3/4 c water (add slowly 1/4 c at a time, kneading into the flour to make the pasta dough)
2 t salt

I toss this all into the Kitchen Aid with the dough hook on a low setting as I add the water so I can see how it's coming together.

Set a large pot of water to boil on the stovetop while we make the dough.


Once you've achieved a ball of dough (you're shooting for no crumbles and not too sticky), flour a surface and roll out flat. You may need to do this in batches depending on how much dough you're working with.



On the side, cube feta cheese into 1/2" cubes (this is about 1/2 lb. of feta). Set aside.


Slice the rolled dough into rectangles measuring 1 1/2" x 3" long. Place 1 cube of feta inside each slice and fold over, pinching the edges. My mom uses a fork to pinch the sides, while I like to hand pinch.


Once the water is at a rolling boil, drop each dough ball into the water (carefully). I like to use a strainer spoon to push them around the in the water so they don't stick to each other.


Boil about 12 minutes, until cooked through. Carefully remove them from the water and allow to rest on a kitchen towel to let some of the water run off.


Sure you could make a fancy sauce for these, but we keep it simple. Melt a stick of butter in a small sauce pan over med/high heat just enough to get a nice golden brown color, then remove it from heat immediately. Any longer and it will burn and taste bitter.


Pour over your beautifully made koulakia for a little butteriness.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Current Faves

Here are just a few things I'm currently loving this summer: All the new layouts for Shutterfly photo books . After YEARS of saying I'd get around to scrapbooking photos from last year, and the year before, and the year before, I finally caught site of one of my good friend's adorable little girls gracing the cover of one of these photo books at her home. That was it -- it was decided I would finally get around to creating my own albums. So far I have created albums for 2007, 2008, 2009, our wedding, and our honeymoon. More to come!   If you haven't previously seen pics on the blog of our pup, Flaps, you don't know what kind of cuteness you are missing. He's a Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier we rescued last Fall when he was only 10 weeks old. My pup-based obsession right now -- these great, fluffy dog beds from L.L.Bean.  I haven't braved the recent Maxi Dress trend, but I picked up this black Maxi Skirt from Old Navy and have been wearing

DIY Burlap Placemats

BLOG UPDATE! These placemats are now available on my Etsy store TheSundayPaperie Customize with any words you'd like! I saw this picture on Pinterest, courtesy of the design blog, Cottage and Vine , and fell in love with the simplicity and quirkiness of these placemats. The original poster advises some basic burlap and just using a Sharpie for the lettering. A great afternoon DIY project.  I set out to make 6 to use on my kitchen table when it's fully set. Now, for what the write? Here were a few options: 6 synonyms for 'eat': eat, nourish, chow, bite, dine, devour 6 ways to say 'eat' in various languages: eat (English), φάω (Greek), comer (Spanish), manger (French), essen (German), jeść (Polish) Or I was thinking to just write out the works one through six. After a little survey of friends online, the concesus was to write it out in various languages. So here is how it went down: I wanted each placemat to be 14" x 20", so I p

Instant Pot Thick Greek Yogurt

We are Greek, yet I have never attempted to make my own Greek yogurt (I know, *gasp*). We are Fage faithful purchasers, since this is what my husband and I both grew up and deem "the real stuff." But since our Crock-Pot Express joined out family at Christmas, I decided it was time to try it out. Worst case, I was out a half gallon of milk. This recipe was a huge (good) surprise though! Perfect tart taste and thick, creamy consistency. Ingredients: 1 half gallon of milk (use can use any fat level, I used 2%) 3 T of Fage Plain Greek Yogurt (be sure it says "Live Cultures" on the container) Instant Pot or Crock-Pot Express Cheesecloth Mesh Strainer or Colander Digital Thermometer Large Bowl Hel pful Tip: O nce you start making your own yogurt, save 3T of your last batch to add to the new one as your “starter”.  I like to freeze it as a yogurt cube, then I never have to worry about saving some. Instructions: Starting with a