Spiral Rolls with Phyllo Dough

Gibanica, one of the most popular dishes in Serbia, is a Cheese Pie made with phyllo dough. After using same old recipe (and getting great results) for years, I finally decided to experiment and make this traditional pie a bit differently. Instead of laying flat layers of phyllo dough, this time I rolled it into spirals. Original recipe find here.

The pie turned out beautifully, in my opinion even better than the original recipe. Phyllo dough was so crispy and flaky on the top, and I loved soft layers of cheese and dough in the middle. And it was nice for serving too.

I also made two filling variations: one with spinach and the other plain egg-cheese, because my kids do not like spinach. Do what you like, but I prefer cheese-spinach combo, especially in the Spring time. If you like it too, check out another recipe where I use this combination.

You need:

12 sheets of phyllo dough, I prefer thicker for savory stuff, left 2 hours on room temperature

1/2 cup Canola oil

5 eggs

1lb Feta cheese, crumbled

1 cup Kefir or Greek yogurt

1 package of frozen spinach (optional), thawed and drained

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 stick of butter

You need one large or two smaller baking pans

Steps:

Preheat oven to 400F (205C). Grease the pan with oil.

In a bowl mix beaten eggs, Kefir, crumbled Feta cheese, spinach, salt and pepper.

Open phyllo dough package, unfold sheets and cover them with damp kitchen towel.

Take one phyllo sheet and spread oil over it using pastry brush. Next, add cheese-spinach filling liberally, keeping in mind you need filling for the rest of sheets. Then, start to fold sheet diagonally to get the longest possible roll. Once folded, roll it into spiral shape very carefully and place it on the baking pan. Repeat the same with the rest of phyllo dough.

When you are done with rolling, cut butter into small cubes and place them on the top of spiral rolls. Put the pan into the oven, on the middle rack, and bake rolls for 30 minutes, until they become golden brown. Serve warm.

 

 

Lucija's Meat Pie with Phyllo Dough (Pita sa mesom)

I was looking for a meat pie recipe when my husband said, "Let's call Lucija, she used to make very good meat pie, she will give you the recipe." Lucija, his sister-in-law, married to his older brother, lives in Belgrade, Serbia, and thanks to advanced technology we can clik on video call over Skype and get in touch in a second. That's how I got the recipe. We, emigrants, are very grateful for today's free-of-charge ways of communication!

To be honest, I never made this pie before, but the recipe is good and dish is easy to make, so I wanted to share it with you.

Thanks Lucija for a good recipe!

You need:

1 package (1lb) phyllo dough (thick sheets if possible), left out of fridge for 2 hours
3 tablespoons Canola oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 1/4lb ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup plain Greek yogurt or plain Kefir
3/4 cup Canola oil
3/4 cup sparkling water
5 eggs

Steps:

In medium size pot heat the oil, add chopped onion. After 2-3 minutes of cooking on medium high heat, add ground beef. Stir the meat until you break clusters. Add salt and black pepper. Cook it for 15 minutes. At the end stir in 1 egg. Place the meat aside.

Mix together Greek yogurt, sparkling water and oil. Beat the rest of eggs in another bowl.

Open the phyllo dough package, unfold sheets and cover with damped kitchen towel.

There are two ways of making meat pie with phyllo dough: first is making 4 rolls and then placing them in baking pan, as I did, and the other one is layering phyllo sheets one by one over baking pan which is easier way. I tried first way because I thought my baking pan wasn't big enough for whole phyllo dough sheet.

Preheat the oven to 395F.

Divide total number of phyllo sheets by 4. I had 16 sheets, so used 4 of them to make one roll. Place two phyllo sheets over work surface, using a pastry brush spread lightly the yogurt-sparkling water-oil mixture over it. Place additional 2 sheets over it and brush it with the same mixture. Then spread 1/4 of cooked beef over it. Fold into roll and place in the baking pan that you previously lined with parchment paper.


Repeat the same with the rest of phyllo sheets until you get 4 rolls. Using sharp knife cut the rolls into square pieces as I did on the picture above. Pour the yogurt mixture evenly over the cut rolls and let it soak into dough for 10-15 minutes. Do the same with beaten eggs and wait another 10 minutes.

Move the pan to the oven and bake for 40 minutes until the top becomes golden brown.


Serve it warm, best with plain Greek yogurt.

Serbian Famous Cheese Pie - Gibanica gužvara

So you think you tried in your life the best possible food that you have could... but you didn't if you never ate this famous cheese pie, Gibanica. Sometimes I crave this food so much that I feel pain in my stomach. I know it is silly, but that's in my genes... I come from Balkans, phyllo dough in any combination (cheese, meat, potato, etc) is our staple.

I could write all day long about Gibanica... but to make it short, you should know few things about it. To make good Gibanica you have to use high quality cheese and not-too-thin phyllo dough. Unfortunately, in the U.S. it is impossible to find  Balkan white cheese and sometimes it is challenging to find thick phyllo dough too (usually you can find only thin one for balkava but try in some ethnic shops).

After many trials I found the best possible recipe for Gibanica with ingredients that you can find in North America. My recipe is related to Maja's (please visit her blog, it it full of interesting stuff). She introduced me to upside-down technique used in Bulgaria to make Gibanica fluffy, not flattened. On her blog you will find nice pictures guiding you through the whole process of making this dish.

Find here recipe for another Cheese pie with phyllo dough.

You need:

1 package of thick phyllo dough (if you use thin one Gibanica will still be ok but more like souffle)

3/4 cup flour

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

200g Feta cheese

100g regular sour cream

2 cups Kefir

1 cup Greek yogurt

5 eggs

100 ml canola oil

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 390F (200C).

In a big bowl mix sifted flour, salt and baking soda. In another bowl crumble Feta cheese with fork and add sour cream and flour and stir everything well. Add Greek yogurt and Kefir, eggs and canola oil, stir until the mixture is smooth.

Unroll the phyllo dough and place it on a work surface. Cut the dough sheets into smaller pieces with sharp knife. Separate them, and fold into the filling mixture by woden spoon. Do not throw all pieces at once, because it is not easy to mix them that way and the filling won't penetrate all phyllo dough pieces. When you stir in all phyllo dough leave it for 5 minutes to settle down. Then pour the mixture in round or rectangle baking pan.

Bake the pie for 45 minutes when the crust is golden brown as it is on pictures. Before you remove the pie from the oven, place upside down the same size four coffee cups on the work surface in position to support the rim of the baking pan.

When the pie is done, remove it immediately from the oven and place it upside down so cups can carry it and leave the pie hanging from above for 20 minutes. No need to say that you have to be very careful when doing this procedure.

Then, turn the baking dish over and serve Gibanica warm.

Since there is Nuttela Day we should consider having Gibanica Day too, don't you think so?

 

Cheese and Spinach Phyllo Pie

It is similar to Greek Spanakopita, but even better. Cheese and spinach make one of the most fabulous combos in pies. I use half of Feta and half of cottage cheese to get a good balance of flavor. It is always better to use thicker phyllo dough for this kind of pie, however is not easy to find it here in the U.S. When it is about making phyllo pies there is a rule - thin sheet phyllo goes well with sweet and thicker with savory pies.

On the pictures you can see how great feast I had. Cheese and spinach phyllo pie with dry smoked beef and kefir. I think this food  žwould help even Novak Djokovic recover immediately after his epic match with Rafael Nadal on Australian Open. Btw, what a great finals, what a great victory!

You need:

1 package of phyllo dough – if it was in the freezer move it to the fridge overnight, and then it has to be out of the fridge for 2 hours

For the first filling:

3 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sparkling water

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon. salt

1 cup plain yogurt

For the second filling:

1 cup crumbled Feta cheese

1 cup cottage or Ricotta cheese

2 bunches of fresh spinach

Steps:

Make the first filling – mix eggs, yogurt, oil, sparkling water, salt, baking powder and flour.

Make the second filling – combine cottage cheese, crumbled Feta cheese and spinach (cleaned, washed and chopped).

Preheat oven to 395F (200C).

Divide all phyllo sheets by 4 to get the same number of layers that you need for each roll (you will have four rolls). You have to work fast with phyllo dough. Cover it with wet cloth, otherwise it will dry out.

Spread the sheet of phyllo dough and brush it with the first filling. Put over the next sheet and repeat. If the phyllo dough is too thin, brush every second sheet. The last layer brush with the first and spread the second filling. Roll the dough and transfer to the greased baking pan.

When you have all four rolls in the pan, pour the rest of the first filling over them. Place baking pan in the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes until the top gets golden brown color.

Allow to cool down a bit before you cut it.

Serve it warm with kefir.

You can find my other savory phyllo pie with mushrooms here.

Apple Strudel with Phyllo Dough

If you are a big fan of apple pies, but you are a little bit bored with American pies, and you want something different, something more European, you should definitely try Apple Strudel with Phyllo Dough. That is my father’s favorite dessert. Every time my mom wanted some favor from him, she would make him apple strudel, and she would get what she wanted. The path to a man’s heart always goes through his stomach.

At the bottom of the post you can see pictures from the absolutely fantastic Ladew Garden, an hour away from Baltimore City. I spent a wonderful time there with my family and I cannot wait until spring to see this place in full bloom.

You need:

• 2 1/3 lb apple (about 6 medium apples) Granny Smith apple is the best kind for this strudel
• 1 package of phyllo dough
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons bread crumbs or Cream of Wheat
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• ¼ cup powdered sugar

Steps:

1. Don’t forget to transfer phyllo dough from the freezer to the fridge for overnight. Also, the dough should be at room temperature for at least one hour.
2. In a small saucepan bring to boil vegetable oil and water. Let it cool.
3. Peel and grate apples. Do not drain. Add raisins and chopped walnuts, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Put it aside.
4. Divide the phyllo dough sheets to get four rolls. Last time each of my rolls had four sheets, but the number may vary.
5. Cover phyllo dough with a damp cloth to prevent from drying out which causes cracking.
6. Place a parchment paper on the baking pan. Preheat the oven to 430F (220C).
7. How to make rolls. Place the sheet of phyllo dough on work counter and brush it with the mixture of oil and water with a pastry brush. Put the next sheet over and repeat brushing. On the forth or the last sheet spread grated apple mixture evenly. And, sprinkle it with a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of bread crumbs or Cream of Wheat. Fold dough up along the long side to enclose the filling.
8. When you have all rolls in the pan, cover their top with the rest of water and oil.
9. Transfer the pan to the oven. After 10 minutes decrease the oven temperature to 395F (200C). Bake it for an additional 20 – 25 minutes. The strudel should be done when the top is golden brown.
10. Serve it always with powdered sugar sprinkled on the top. It looks better and it tastes better.

 Ladew Garden

Mushroom Phyllo Pie (Pita sa pečurkama)

I like anything made with phyllo dough. Sweet or savory. Maybe because of its crunchiness, or something else... Never tried to make that dough from the scratch, but one day, I promised myself, I will.

This is not like regular mushroom pie, but since it goes with phyllo you have to believe me it must be very good. I found out that some people call this pastry Mushroom Strudel, but in my opinion strudel is something else.

You do not need much stuff, but you should be careful with your choice of phyllo dough since thicker is better, but even thin one will work if you are easy on the filling. Remember to defrost the phyllo in the fridge the night before you work with it.

Check this link out if you want to learn more about how to work with phyllo dough. 

You need:

• 1 package of phyllo dough
• 23 oz (650g) button mushrooms, finally sliced
• 1 large onion, finally chopped
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Salt & black pepper

Steps:

1. Prepare baking pan. I use one with dimensions 10x15 inches (25x38cm), so no need to cut the phyllo. Place baking sheet and spray oil.
2. Preheat the oven to 475F. (240C)
3. Be careful with handling phyllo dough, especially if it is too thin. Cover it with a damp cloth while you work because it keeps the dough from drying out. Since I make four big rolls, lengthwise, I divide whole numbers of phyllo sheets by 4. There are usually 20 phyllo sheets per package, so 5 layers for each roll.
4. Make two fillings.
5. First filling is with mushrooms and onion. Heat the pan, pour a tablespoon of canola oil, saute chopped onion, and add sliced mushrooms. Season the filling with salt and fresh pepper. You shouldn’t cook it more than 7 minutes over high heat. Put it aside to cool down.
6. Second filling goes with beaten eggs, sour cream, canola oil and baking powder. Mix everything together and add salt.
7. When the fillings are done start to fill the phyllo dough. Place phyllo sheets on the counter. If the phyllo dough is thick you can spread the second filling on each sheet, mushroom filling put on the top one. If you work with thin phyllo dough, spread the second filling on every other sheet, and the mushroom filling on the top. Try to reduce the amount of filling. You have to be fast, do not allow the dough to become moist, otherwise you won’t be able to transfer the roll to the baking pan. When you finish with filling, roll up the phyllo lengthwise. If you use silicon pad or parchment paper for rolling, it will make things much easer for you.
8. After you make enough rolls to fill in the baking pan (I make 4 rolls), cut the pie in even squares.  Spread the rest of the second filling over the pie.
9. Bake it for 15 minutes on 475F (240C). And, decrease temperature to 395F (200C) and bake it for additional 15 minutes.
10. When the top is golden brown remove it from the oven and cool it down.

You can have mushroom phyllo pie as a breakfast, or serve it as an appetizer. But, remember, the best way is eating it with ajvar and kefir. Don’t have any doubt about it!

Below is the picture of my dear friend Darlene who made Mushroom Phyllo Pie using my recipe. Looks really nice.

Baklava, Juicy and Fabulous

Baklava with Turkish coffee, OMG! What a treat! I just looove it!

I have to admit that it took me time and courage to make it, but it is so simple. You need only few ingredients: phyllo dough, walnuts, vegetable oil, lemon, sugar and water. That's it! I have baklava version that is juicier than usual and not heavy at all.

Just to let you know there many kinds of baklava...some are with butter, or with sheep lard (I tried one in Istanbul), other are with eggs, sour cream, raisins, etc. Baklava is originally from Turkey, some would say from Persia, and it is very popular in the Middle East and the Balkans.

You need:

• 1 package of phyllo (fillo) dough (you can find it in the freezer section in Whole Foods and some other stores; keep in mind that phyllo dough must be out of fridge for couple of hours before use, otherwise it will be sticky and difficult to handle)
• 1 lb chopped walnuts
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 lemons
• 2 cups water

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Find appropriate baking pan. If it is small one you can cut phyllo sheets and have baklava with more layers. Mine has dimensions 14x10 inch.
2. Slightly oil the pan using pastry brush or oil spray.
3. Unroll phyllo sheets. While you work cover phyllo with wet cloth to keep it from drying out. After you set  3 layers of phyllo dough sheets in the pan, oil and cover it with 1-2 tbs. of chopped walnuts. And repeat it until all sheets are used (the last one should be only oiled).
4. Cut baklava into small squares or diamond shapes using very sharp knife.
5. Put it in the oven and bake for 50 min.
6. Cook syrup in the meantime. Heat 2 cups of water, add 2 cups of sugar and juice of 2 lemons. Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract if you want. It's done in 20 min. 
7. When baklava is done (the top should look crispy and brown) immediately pour hot syrup over it . 
8. After some rest serve it... with a cup of coffee, of course!