Skalitsa Banitsa Recipe - Now World Recognition

Skalitsa Banitsa Recipe - Now world recognition

This is probably the most famous Bulgarian recipe bar shopska salad and with the pastry now bought in a ready to use form from shops is very simple to make.

This particular recipe was given to me by my Bulgarian neighbour Rosa who is also local nursery schoolteacher. It is as far as I'm aware only local to my village Skalitsa which has in my totally unbiased opinion gives better results than the original National recipe. Hence the name 'Skalitsa' Banitsa

Ingredients Needed

All the ingredients are readily available in most villages and every town and city in Bulgaria.

One packet (500 gm) of filo pastry
3 eggs
1 cup Plain flour
1 cup yoghurt
1 tspn Baking powder
Sunflower oil
Sirene chopped up (Bulgarian white cheese)

If you are not in Bulgaria you can use self raising flour instead of the plain flour and baking powder and feta or cottage cheese (adding a bit more salt) instead of sirene.

Step by Step Method

- Turn the oven on to a temperature of 170C.

- Put the eggs, flour, baking powder and yoghurt in a bowl and mix well together and put to one side.

- Unwrap the pastry and lay all the sheets on the plastic wrapping on the work surface.

- Lightly grease a baking tray big enough to take the width of the pastry when rolled up.

- Trickle oil over the whole area of top layer of the pastry and then dribble the mixture randomly over the pastry.

- Sprinkle sirene evenly over the oil based pastry.

- Roll two layers along the length of the pastry and place it on the baking tray - Make sure you roll the pastry very loosely.

- Repeat the same process until all the sheets of pastry have been used.

- If there is any mixture left over brush the top of the parcel rolls in the tray, if there is none left brush some oil over the tops of the skalitsa banitsas.

- Place the tray in the now hot oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Suggested Serving

These are best eaten hot or can be reheated or eaten cold later in the day. I make mine every Saturday and use them reheated a couple in a microwave for one minute every morning for breakfast.

A Good Bulgarian Tip

To get the oil evenly spread over the pastry - pierce a small hole in the top of the sunflower oil
plastic bottle cap and use it as a squeezy bottle.