ReceptnaptárBanitsa (Bulgarian egg and cheese pastry)
Banitsa is the emblem of the Bulgarian breakfast, and many people enjoy it with a glass of boza or yogurt. Crumpled filo sheets, salty white cheese and an egg and yogurt mixture bake together into one. On New Year's Eve, Bulgarians hide little slips of paper in it that foretell the coming year's fortune. It is simple and filling, and at its best fresh and warm.
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Ingredients
Method
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- Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the yogurt, oil and bicarbonate of soda and whisk until smooth.
- Crumble in the cheese in small pieces and add salt to taste - go carefully, depending on how salty the cheese is.
- Preheat the oven to 190 °C and grease a round or rectangular tin with oil.
- Scrunch the filo sheets lightly into loose folds and lay them side by side in the tin.
- Drizzle and brush the egg and yogurt mixture between the layers and over the top so every sheet is soaked.
- Bake at 190 °C for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
- After baking, cover with a tea towel for 5 minutes so the steam softens it from inside.
- Serve warm, with a glass of sour milk or yogurt if you like.
A Receptnaptár original recipe. Calories and protein are estimated.
Tips
- Crumple the sheets loosely rather than folding them, because the filling gathers in the creases, and that is what makes banitsa soft inside and crisp outside.
- Bulgarian sirene is best, but good-quality feta also works; the crumbly cheese gives banitsa its salty, tangy flavour.
- The 5 minutes under a cover after baking cannot be skipped, because the steam softens the upper layers and keeps the pastry from being dry.
Frequently asked questions
What is boza?
A lightly fermented grain drink that Bulgarians have with banitsa at breakfast. It has a sweet-sour taste; where it is not available, yogurt or sour milk is the best substitute.
Why does it contain bicarbonate of soda?
It reacts with the acid in the yogurt and gives the pastry a slight lift, making it lighter. Only a very small amount is needed, because too much leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.
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