Today is the 4th of July! Not exactly a Bulgarian holiday, yet a massive American one. Must make something special yet quick, because well, Mommy sooooo busy!
Here is a super-yum Bulgarian somewhat festive dish. In addition to holidays, you can make it for:
- breakfast,
- dinner (plus salad and some meat side, e.g. sausage),
- a great snack,
- a perfect leftover/picnic/breakfast tomorrow.
Plus if like me you skip the butter, it is also pretty healthy! Not that butter is bad, I just like it on toast or in cupcakes, so I try for us to not overdose when I can.
Banitsa is also found in different forms in Astoria, Queens, called "cheese pie" at the greek bakeries. But it's not the same thing. Nope, not really. They do put too much fat there, and not enough cheese!
You will need:
Filo dough, 2-3 eggs, a touch of Yogurt, whey or lemonade or some other water based juicy mixture for the "zalivka", oil.
Halfway through making it, turn your oven on.
The Filo dough sheets, I get number #7. I have a recipe for how to make them, but one day I'll get to it. Make sure they are fresh!
Make a nice mixture of Feta cheese (can any fancy Bulgarian dish do without it?), eggs and a bit of yogurt for juiciness.
This is what filo dough sheets look like. What in Bulg. we call "kori"- "кори".
They dry fast, don't leave them out. If you don't use all of them, save them by wrapping them back tightly.
On a greased pan for baking (I use a tiny touch of canola oil and I spread it well), layer one sheet of "kori" alternating with the mixture.
This is about how much mixture you can put, but you can do more. The more you put, the more filling you will have. Break your sheets to fit your pan.
Keep going until you are finished with the mixture and kori. Can be a tricky thing.
When done layer one last sheet on top. With a knife, divide the banitsa in 6 or however many piece by cutting through.
Pour whey over the whole banitsa carefully and slowly and in the cuts of the knife. Don't have whey? (mine is a byproduct of yogurt making). Use lemonade or a water+ butter whisked.
 |
| Ready for the preheated oven |
Place in oven at 350F or 375F. This is what it looks like when almost ready.
Now it is ready. Notice how it rose. It will naturally "deflate" when out of the oven and cooling.
I know you just want to cut and eat it, but let it cool!
A nice balance between the cheese and the "kori". Да Ви е сладко! Bon Apetit!
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