Banitsa
Bulgarian cheese pastry, cheese pie
Ingredients
1 pack of filo dough
3 eggs
1 lb Bulgarian cheese (or feta cheese)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup of milk or yoghurt
Preparation
Mix the crumbled cheese, milk and eggs together. Don't over mix - cheese
should be lumpy. Melt the butter in a cup. Butter the bottom of a casserole
pan. Lay 5-6 sheets of filo dough, one after another (not together) as you
spread some butter in between - use a brush for this. Spread some of the
cheese mixture on top, lay another 3-4 sheets, spreading butter in between.
Repeat until all mixture is used. Lay the last 3-4 sheets on the top with no
butter in between. Spread the rest of the butter on top. Cut in portion sized
squares and bake in the oven until golden (about 30 minutes on 400 F).
About Banitsa
Banitsa (banica and banitza) is a traditional Bulgarian pastry prepared by
layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of sirene (the Bulgarian cheese)
between filo pastry and then baking it in an oven.
Traditionally, some kismets are put into the pastry on some of the national
holidays or other occasions - Christmas Eve, the first day of Christmas, New
Year, Eve, etc. They are usually small pieces of a dogwood branch with a bud this symbolizes health and longevity. Other wishes include happiness, health,
and success throughout the New Year.
Banitsa is served for breakfast with plain yogurt, ayran, or boza. Served hot or
cold, it always is a very tasty meal. There are several varieties which include
banitsa with spinach, banitsa with milk, banitsa with pumpkin (tikvenik), etc.
Bulgarian: Баница
By Sylvia Danchova.