Banitsa Food

SIMPLE BULGARIAN BANITSA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, ( glass pyrex pan works great for this recipe) brush melted butter all over bottom amd sides of baking pan.
• 2. Mix salt, cheese and milk and eggsin a bowl , combine and stir ingredients well.
• 3. Put down 5 sheets of phyllo dough down in buttered pan and brush over with melted butter. You can also put down one sheet at a time and butter seperatelly.
• 4. Pour enough of the mixture to cover phyllo sheets and top with 3 more sheets.
• 5. Continue to repeat the process: put down 3 sheets and make sure to brush them well with butter then layer with mixture until all of the mixture is done, then cover with atleast 2 sheets. I preffer not to butter the top sheets as they tend to get very hard after the banitsa is done baking.
• 6. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden, make sure mixture is cooked in the middle by cutting into banitsa. When the mixture is cooked it will not be runny.
• 7. Once banitsa is done cover it with either a towell or the lid to the pan and let it sit and cool before cutting it or serving. Covering it lets the steam soften the phyllo dough sheets.

BANITSA WITH WHITE CHEESE (BULGARIAN BANITSA WITH PHYLLO PASTRY)

Steps:

• 1. Cheese filling preparation: Beat the eggs and the pinch of baking soda, than add crumbed (or crushed) white cheese and then the yoghurt.
• 2. Spiral Banitsa (Vita Banitsa)/ Traditional preparation.
• 3. Use a round pan +-40cm diameter (the bigger the better).
• 4. Take 12 pastry sheets (phyllo pastry).Grease bottom of a pan with butter.
• 5. Spread a sheet, put a 2-3 small cubes of butter (or margarine), and spread the filling. Roll the sheet and place it in the middle of the pan (as a beginning of the spiral).
• 6. Do all the sheets the same way and join it with the end of the first sheet, making your spiral bigger and bigger.
• 7. When you out the last sheet and finish the spiral and fill the pan pore a tea cup of milk over the spiral.
• 8. Bake in moderate oven (180 ºC) for 45-50 minute
• 9. When it is ready take it out of the oven and brush with water the surface and cover with a cloth until it cools down.
• 10. Serve with an extra small bowl of plain yoghurt.
• Or (lazy way of preparation).
• 1. Take 12 pastry sheets (phyllo).Grease bottom of a pan with butter, no need of a round pan.
• 2. Place the first 3 sheets, spread the top sheet with butter, and spread first 1/3rd of the filling.
• 3. Place 2 more sheets and brush with butter spread 2nd third of the filling.
• 4. Top with 2 more sheets and brush with butter and spread last third of the filling.
• 5. The top last layer of filling cover with last sheets.
• 6. Cut in 9 or 12 squares and pore 1 cup of milk.
• 7. Bake in moderate oven (180 ºC) for 45-50 minute
• 8. When it is ready take it out of the oven and brush with water the surface and cover with a cloth until it cools down.
• 9. Serve with an extra small bowl of plain yoghurt.

SPINACH BANITZA

Steps:

• The filo dough takes two hours to thaw, so either plan ahead, and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or be sure to put it out early in the day.
• Put the chopped spinach and finely sliced leek in a frying pan with a very small amount of oil. Sauté just until spinach is wilted, and leeks have become transparent (about 5 minutes).
• Set spinach mixture aside to cool.
• In a large bowl. mix the crumbled cheese, milk and eggs together. Don't over mix - cheese should be lumpy.
• Add well-drained cooked spinach, mix lightly.
• Take a sheet of filo dough, lay it flat, brush it with melted butter, and stack another sheet of dough on top. Butter again, then lay one more sheet on top. Now you have a stack of three layers. With a teaspoon, place a line of filling all along the bottom edge, then, roll it up into a tight roll with the filling on the inside of the roll. The long roll is then taken and rolled up in a circle. This first sheet of dough is then placed in the baking pan. (I used a pizza pan, it worked perfectly) The process is repeated with the remaining sheets of dough and each consecutive roll is placed around the first one in the pan. The resulting shape resembles a spiral. Repeat until all mixture is used. Brush the remaining butter all over the top. Bake about 30 minutes @ 400 F, or until golden.