CHEESE PITA in One Hour – Serbian GIBANICA Quick and Easy
Here is a recipe for a cheese pita that is amazingly quick and easy to make perfect every time:
Gibanica (ɡibanit͡sa) is one of the most popular and versatile dishes in the Balkans. It can be enjoyed at any time of day, warm or at room temperature. It is a great appetizer but served with a cup of buttermilk; it makes a satisfying breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
It is a savory type of pita, a term used to describe pastries made with phyllo dough sheets. This cheese and phyllo dough delicacy is made daily in Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, and other regions of the former Yugoslavia. (My Bulgarian friend Kina tells me it is called ‘banica’ in her homeland.)
Variations are subtle, and the recipe is so simple that it is rarely written down: filling of eggs and dairy is mixed to a consistency of buttermilk or crepe batter. This traditional pita takes very little time to make, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser that looks more complicated than it is.
The Serbian gibanica is prepared wrinkled style (‘gužvara’) because the sheets of phyllo dough are scrunched up, dipped in the batter, and assembled in a baking dish. It is baked until golden brown, puffed up, and delicious.
CHEESE PITA in One Hour – Serbian GIBANICA Easy & Perfect Every Time
Ingredients
- 1 lb Box of Filo dough
- 6 eggs
- 1 lb feta cheese or farmer's cheese salted to taste
- 1 cup kefir or plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup carbonated mineral water
- 3/4 stick melted butter
Instructions
- Remove the feta cheese from the brine, rinse, and crumble it into pieces with a fork. Prepare all of the ingredients.
- Whisk the eggs with the cheese and kefir. Add mineral water. Your filling is done!
- Brush the bottom of the baking dish with melted butter and place a sheet of dough, leaving the corners exposed if you are using a round baking dish. Repeat the process by lightly buttering the sheet and adding another. The 'base' layer is now ready.
- Quickly tear and lightly scrunch pieces of dough into the egg and cheese mixture. Place each handful next to the other, covering the baking dish. Do not press.
- Arrange the scrunched-up dough sheets into the baking dish, reserving one or two sheets for the top. If you have some egg and cheese mixture left, gently pour over the entire dish. Fold over the corners of the bottom sheets and lightly butter them. Place one sheet and tuck in the ends.
- Spoon melted butter and gently sprinkle over folded dough, saving several spoonfuls for buttering the final layer.
- Gently brush with butter. (If you prefer, finish with one more sheet and butter again.) Poke the entire top with a fork 2 to 3 inches apart. Your gibanica is ready for the oven!
- Preheat the oven to 360ºF and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until golden brown. This will depend on your oven. Check the surface after 45 minutes; if it is not golden brown, bake for 10 -15 minutes. Gibanica will puff up, so let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting it into pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.
