Bulgarian recipes: banitsa with cottage cheese and cheese

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Do you know any Bulgarian recipes? Banitsa is a fairly common pastry in Bulgaria, for the preparation of which only simple and affordable products are used. How exactly to cook it, we will tell in the presented article.

General information

Before telling you about how the Bulgarian banitsa pie is prepared, it is worth telling you about what Bulgarian folk cuisine is in general.

Bulgarian cuisine is the national pride of the country. It is widespread not only in the mentioned state, but also in other territories of South-Eastern Europe. It should be especially noted that it is very similar to Greek, Romanian and Turkish cuisines. This fact is explained by the fact that both Bulgaria and these states are located in the neighborhood.

One cannot but say that Italy, Armenia, Hungary and the Mediterranean had a great influence on this layer of culture.

Traditional dishes

What dishes does Bulgarian cuisine include? Banitsa is a typical pastry for this country. Indeed, the basis of many Bulgarian dishes are cheeses (for example, cheese), as well as cottage cheese.

It should be especially noted thatthese ingredients are not only added to baked goods, but also used to make many casseroles and salads.

Every Russian housewife should have Bulgarian recipes available. Banitsa, tikveni, popara, tutmanik, myranitsa, tekitsa, buttercup, katma and more - all these dishes will allow you not only to decorate the festive table, but also to feed all the invited guests quite satisfyingly.

By the way, despite the complicated names, such products are prepared easily and simply, without requiring the purchase of outlandish ingredients.

Delicious Bulgarian banitsa: recipe with photos of baking

Bulgarian banitsa is a very simple but incredibly tasty snack. And, of course, there are a great many recipes for its preparation. We decided to present only a few proven methods that are sure to bring something new to your diet.

What ingredients are commonly found in Bulgarian recipes? Banitsa turns out very tasty if you use the following set of products:

• finished phyllo dough - about 400g;
• cheese (preferably homemade) - approximately 300 g;
• natural drinking yogurt - about 200 ml;
• raw chicken eggs - 4 pcs.;
• vegetable oil - dessert spoon;
• quick soda - a pinch.

Preparing the test

The classic Bulgarian banitsa pie is made with phyllo dough. For those who don't know, we'll go into detail about this foundation.

Phyllo dough is an unleavened stretch dough. It is very thin(approximately 1 mm). As a rule, it is used to prepare Greek dishes, namely burek, baklava, tiropita and others. By the way, in Turkish cuisine, such a base is called yufka.

Properly cooked Bulgarian banitsa with cheese should be very tender and melt in your mouth. That is why the mentioned basis is used to form it.

Phyllo dough is made from water and flour with a little olive oil or wine vinegar. Sift the flour well, and then add to the liquid and knead until the base becomes elastic. After that, the dough is rolled out to a minimum thickness and used for its intended purpose.

If the recipe for the Bulgarian dish banitsa you use provides for the use of this particular base, then you should strictly adhere to the rules. If you do not want to knead such a dough yourself, you can purchase it at any store. However, it should be noted that it is recommended to completely defrost the base immediately before forming the product.

Preparing the filling

How is the Bulgarian banitsa prepared? The recipe with a photo shows that the preparation of an appetizer may involve the use of different products. As a filling, we decided to use home-made cheese. But before using this product, it should be handled carefully.

Spread raw chicken eggs in a small bowl, and then lightly beat with a fork until smooth. Then into drinking natural yogurtthrow a pinch of table soda and mix well. As for the cheese, it is placed in a deep plate and kneaded a little with a fork. Finally, all the ingredients are combined and thoroughly mixed.

Formation process

How is banitsa (Bulgarian dish) formed? After the dough is thawed and the filling is processed, they begin to manufacture a semi-finished product. To do this, take a heat-resistant form and lightly coat it with vegetable oil. Then a rolled out layer of dough is placed on the sheet, on which a little filling is placed. Having leveled the cheese with a spoon, it is again covered with a base, spread the filling, etc.

Carry out the described actions until all products are in a heat-resistant form. Moreover, the base must necessarily act as the final layer. From above it is again lubricated with vegetable or butter. This is necessary in order for the Bulgarian pie to turn ruddy and acquire a golden crust.

Heat treatment

How to implement Bulgarian recipes? Banitsa cooks well both in a slow cooker and in the oven. In this section of the article for baking a European dish, we decided to use the second option.

The oven is preheated to 180 degrees, and then the filled baking dish is sent into it. In this form, the cheese pie from the draft dough should be cooked for 40 minutes.

As soon as the crust of the product is browned, it is carefully removed, placed on a flat plate, and then sprinkledsome water and cover with a clean and dry towel. In this form, the banitsa should stand for about 20 minutes.

Bringing a delicious European dish to the table

Now you know the recipe for a popular southern European dish (see above for how to cook). Bulgarian banitsa is served to the table in an already cooled state. It is cut into portioned pieces and distributed on saucers. Guests are served this appetizer with sour cream and fresh herbs.

Delicate cottage cheese Bulgarian pastries: recipes

Banitsa can be either fresh or s alty (for example, with cheese), or sweet. To prepare the last version of the dish, rustic cottage cheese with sugar is often used. But first things first.

What ingredients are needed to make a Bulgarian banitsa pie with cottage cheese at home? For such a tasty and delicate product, we need the following components:

• puff pastry without yeast - 2 standard packs;
• high-fat rustic cottage cheese - about 200 g;
• white fine sugar - approximately 100 g;
• vegetable oil without a characteristic aroma (that is, refined) - 3 dessert spoons;
• large country egg - 1 pc.

Preparing the foundation

Bulgarian banitsa with cottage cheese is very tasty and tender. Puff pastry gives such properties to the pie. As you know, during the baking process, the mentioned base increases in size several times, and also becomes soft and fluffy.

Of course, making puff pastry at home is quite possible. But in order for it to really turn out the way it should be, the culinary specialist needs special skills and a lot of free time. Therefore, in the absence of these possibilities, we recommend that you do not suffer and purchase dough at the nearest store. Fortunately, today it is not as difficult to find it as several decades ago.

After the puff pastry is purchased, it is divided into separate sheets and completely thawed. Before using the base to form a cake, it must be rolled out correctly. How this is done is always indicated on the product packaging. If there is no instructions, then we recommend that you simply roll the dough into a rectangular layer along one of the sides.

Making the stuffing

After selecting and processing puff pastry, you can safely proceed to the preparation of the filling. To do this, take the usual rustic high-fat cottage cheese, and then knead it with a fork. After that, a slightly beaten egg and white sugar are added to it. For aroma and taste, you can add a couple of pinches of vanillin to the ingredients.

After mixing all the ingredients, you should get a sweet and viscous curd mass.

How to form correctly?

Bulgarian puff pastry banitsa is very easy to form. To begin with, the rolled rectangular layers are smeared with a small amount of refined oil, and then a little sweet curd mass is placed. In this case, the filling is evenly distributed overthe entire sheet, not reaching the edges of 2 centimeters. After that, the dough with cottage cheese is rolled up into a roll, which, in turn, is twisted in a spiral and placed in a heat-resistant form.

Having formed all products in the same way, they are also laid out in a dish. In this case, you should get a cake in the form of a kind of snail shell.

How to bake properly?

After the snail-shaped puff pastry pie is formed, it is immediately sent to the oven. The product with cottage cheese filling is baked for 38 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees.

The readiness of the Bulgarian pie can be determined by its color. If the banitsa has become golden brown and has noticeably increased in size, it can be safely removed from the oven.

Bring the curd dish to the table

After baking the Bulgarian banitsa with cottage cheese, take it out of the oven and leave it right in the mold until it cools completely. Then the product is cut into identical pieces and presented to the table along with strong tea.

By the way, if you take the cake out of the mold immediately after cooking, it may fall apart. In addition, it is easy to burn yourself with such a product. After all, when hot, the filling of the banitsa freely goes beyond the limits of the dough.