Gibanica (Cheese Pie) Recipe
Gibanica is a traditional pastry made from wheat flour and filled with soft cheese. The filling can include spreadable cheeses like cottage cheese or crumbly cheeses like feta. While it’s often prepared with ready-made phyllo dough for convenience, it can also be made with freshly rolled dough and then baked.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Phyllo dough
- 7 Eggs
- 1 ½ lbs Cottage cheese
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 lb Farmers’ cheese or feta (crumbled)
- 3 tbsp Soda water
- 2/3 cup Corn oil (divided)
Instructions
- Thaw phyllo dough according to package instructions.
- Grease the bottom of an extra-large and deep baking pan, preferably 11-by-16-inches.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then stir in the cottage cheese, salt, baking powder and farmers’ cheese.
- Stir in the soda water.
- Cover the bottom of the pan with a single layer of phyllo dough, making sure some of the pieces hang over the sides.
- Evenly sprinkle 1 tablespoon oil over the dough.
- Take a piece of phyllo dough and wrinkle it into the dish with as many bumps as possible so it doesn’t lie flat. Depending on the size of the pan, use 2 to 3 pieces of dough for each layer.
- Evenly sprinkle 1 tablespoon oil on the dough, including the sides and corners. Do not allow the oil to pool.
- Sprinkle 1/2 to 3/4 cup egg-and-cheese mixture on the dough, including the sides, enough to make sure the edges and crevices are covered. Do not allow the mixture to pool.
- Repeat laying down 2 to 3 pieces of wrinkled dough and sprinkling them with oil and the egg-and-cheese mixture until there is 1 layer of dough left.
- Cover the top of the dish with that last remaining layer, folding in any excess on the sides.
- Cover the top with a final layer of the egg-and-cheese mixture and oil. Do not dump any mixture leftovers on top.
Nutrition
Calories: 564kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 21gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 153mgSodium: 1135mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3g
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