Gibanica

Ingredients

• Filo pastry500 g
• Brined white cheese400 g
• Curd cheese400 g
• Eggs6
• Kefir400 ml
• Soured cream200 ml
• Vegetable oil150 ml
• Sparkling water100 ml
• Saltto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Mash both cheeses with a fork and mix them with the eggs, kefir, soured cream and half the oil.

   12 min

2. 2

   Stir in the sparkling water; it lightens the custard and keeps it from setting dense.

   4 min

3. 3

   Taste the custard for salt: brined cheese varies, and it has to be adjusted rather than measured.

   3 min

4. 4

   Oil the tin and lay two whole filo sheets flat on the bottom, uncrumpled.

   6 min

5. 5

   Dip each remaining sheet in the custard, crumple it like a concertina and lay it in the tin.

   20 min

6. 6

   Pour the remaining custard over, cover with two whole sheets and brush them with oil.

   8 min

7. 7

   Bake at 190 °C for fifty minutes, sprinkle it with water and cover it with a cloth for ten minutes.

   62 min

About the dish

The filo sheets are not laid flat but crumpled like a concertina and dipped in the custard. Crumpled layers give air pockets and browned ridges; laid flat they set into a dense slab.

Two cheeses go in: a salty brined one for flavour and a curd one for texture. Brined alone is harsh, curd alone is bland.

The finished gibanica is sprinkled with water and covered with a cloth for ten minutes. The steam softens the top crust just enough to cut it without shattering.

Worth knowing

• — Keep the filo under a damp cloth. In the air the sheets dry within two minutes and crumble in the hand.
• — There must be enough custard for every sheet. If it runs short, add kefir; a dry sheet stays tough.
• — Cut gibanica warm rather than hot. Hot, it slumps; fully cold, it loses the tenderness it is baked for.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

520 kcal

Protein

22 g

Fat

34 g

Carbs

32 g

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