Gibanica

Flaky and cheesy, this traditional Balkan filo pastry pie is packed with feta and cottage cheese for a rich filling sandwiched between crispy layers of pastry. Often prepared for guests or for festive holidays, this pastry is typically served as a snack or appetiser.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  6

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 330 ml chilled soda water
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ½ cup (125 ml) vegetable oil plus extra for greasing
• 400 g feta, crumbled
• 200 g tworog or cottage cheese (see Note)
• Salt
• 500 g filo pastry
• Sour cream, to serve

Resting time: 15 minutes 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Grease a rectangular 23 x 33 cm baking tray with oil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy, then whisk through the soda water, baking powder and oil. Stir through the crumbled feta cheese, cottage cheese and a large pinch of salt. Set aside.
3. Unroll the filo pastry sheets. Place one sheet in the base of the greased baking tray (trim to fit the filo pastry, if too large), then spoon in 1-2 ladles of the egg and cheese mixture, making sure to include pieces of cheese. Spread the mixture across the filo dough, but don’t press down on the dough, allowing it to settle in the tray. Continue layering filo pastry and cheese mixture, finishing with a layer of the cheese and egg mixture.
4. Use a spoon or fork to tuck in the edges of the filo pastry down into the baking dish. Allow the gilbanica to stand for 15 minutes before baking (this allows the filo sheets to absorb some of the liquid).
5. Bake the gilbanica for 45 minutes, or until golden-brown (cover with foil if it browns too quickly!). Remove the gilbanica from the oven (it will be almost doubled in size and very puffy), then cover with foil and a clean tea towel.
6. Allow the gilbanica to cool and deflate, then remove the foil and cover with the tea towel – this stops the pastry from getting soggy! Serve at room temperature, cut into squares, with a dollop of sour cream.

Note

• Farmer's cheese (also called tworog / tawrog / tvorog) can be found at European delis. If you can’t find it, you can use cottage cheese but for this recipe it will need to be drained. To do this, simply measure out the cottage cheese and place it into a strainer. Let it sit over the sink or a bowl for about ½ hour before using so the excess liquid drains.
• If you happen to come across some double cream feta cheese, use that instead of the cottage cheese!
• Only cover the gibanica with the foil and dish towel briefly (until it deflates and cools slightly). Then make sure to remove the foil and re-cover with the dish towel only. If the foil is left on too long, the gibanica is likely to get damp and soggy!

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.