Time: 40 min.

Banitsa is a traditional Bulgarian pie made of thin puff pastry with a cheese filling. Banitsa is typically baked in the shape of a snail, and on major holidays like Christmas or New Year's, a good luck charm is placed inside. This could be a coin, a figurine, or even a piece of paper with a fortune. While in Bulgaria, be sure to try the local banitsa in the many cafes and eateries. Or bake this simple and equally delicious pie at home by wrapping a few sheets of filo pastry around a filling of yogurt and any brine cheese, such as sirene or feta. The pie is very moist and filling.

Ingredients:

• 12 sheets of filo dough
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 220 g Bulgarian sirene or feta cheese, coarsely crumbled
• 350 g of Bulgarian yogurt (kiselo mlyako, preferably sheep's milk)
• 4 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• Equipment: 1 (25 cm) springform cake pan

Substituting ingredients
Measuring containers used

1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Recipes with similar ingredients

filo dough, feta cheese, yogurt, eggs

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Preparation:

Step 1
• Whisk the yogurt with 4 whole eggs. Add the cheese, salt, and pepper and mix.
Step 2
• Melt the butter. Take two sheets of phyllo dough and brush them with melted butter. Top with a third sheet and brush with butter. Flip over and butter the ungreased side.
  
  Spread a quarter of the yogurt-cheese mixture onto the prepared sheets.
Step 3
• Then roll the dough along the long side like a sausage. You should end up with a long, thin roll. Repeat this process three more times to create four long rolls with three sheets of phyllo each.
Step 4
• Place the baking dish on a baking sheet (or simply place the round bottom of the dish on a parchment-lined baking sheet). Begin laying the first roll along the edges of the circle, adding the next roll to it, rolling them toward the center.
  
  Beat the yolk with the remaining melted butter and grease the entire banitsa.
Step 5
• Bake at 200°C for about 25 minutes. The banitsa should be golden brown. It can be made in the form of snacks and eat hot, warm or cold.

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