Culture week

Banitza recipe 

Take Philo dough out of the freezer 

Gather ingredients 

2 eggs 

1stick of butter 

Cottage cheese 

Feta cheese 

2 can of spinach 

2 containers of 21 sheets of philo dough

Melt butter 

Crack eggs in a bowl 

Drain canned spinach and add to the bowl 

Crumble the feta cheese in the bowl with eggs

Put 1 whole container of cottage cheese 

Combine all together 

Coat class pan in butter 

Place 2 layers of Philo dough on the glass pan 

Lightly coat with butter 

Add two more layers of Philo dough and lightly cover with water so it’s not too heavy 

Repeat with 2 more layers 

2 more layers put the spinach and cheese spread on a layer 

Add two more sets of 2 layers of Philo dough, add a brush of water 

Add another layer of 2 Philo dough, do not brush with water

Add another layer of spinach and cheese spread 

Add 3 more layers of 2 sheets of Philo dough with water in between and then another layer of Philo dough without water and add the last 3rd of spinach and cheese mix. 

Then add more layers of Philo with butter in between. Repeat until no more Philo. 

Oven at 360 for 40 mins 

This was really enjoyable for me because I’ve eaten this ever since I was younger!! It is a dish very frequently made in Bulgaria and other countries around there. It is known as banitza. There are many many varieties and ways to make this. In Bulgaria, the bakers roll out each layer of Philo dough really early in the morning. Here we used store-bought Philo dough.  There are other ingredients you can use instead of spinach too, popular in Bulgaria is leek and cheese banitza and just plain cheese banitza. I love eating it because it reminds me of my family and Bulgarian culture. This is the first time I’ve made this and I made it with my dad. It was a wonderful and yummy learning and bonding experience.