Balkan Gibanica Recipe | olivemagazine

A cheese pie in its serving dish with one square out of it

3 eggs
lightly beaten
200ml whole milk
200-225ml sparkling water
plus extra as needed
½ tsp baking powder
300-400g cow’s or sheep’s milk white cheese (or feta)
crumbled
50-60ml sunflower oil
500g filo pastry sheets (14-16 sheets)
1 tbsp sesame seeds or nigella seeds (optional)

Method

step 1
Put the eggs, milk, 200ml of the sparkling water and the baking powder in a large bowl, and whisk to combine. Add the cheese and 1 tsp of the oil, and mix well.
step 2
With a pastry brush, brush a 32cm x 24cm baking dish with a little of the oil. Line it with a filo sheet, scrunching it a little and ensuring it reaches up the sides of the dish. Brush with oil and repeat with two more filo sheets. Then, take a filo sheet and, with your hands, scrunch it into the cheese mixture, scoop it out and put it loosely in the baking dish, making sure to take some crumbled cheese with you as you lift it out. Repeat, distributing the scrunched-up filo sheets and cheese mixture evenly in the tin, until you have used up nearly all the mixture (especially any crumbled cheese) and all but three of the filo sheets. Fold over the filo sheets from the sides of your baking dish and put a filo sheet (again, slightly scrunched) over the top. Brush oil over it and then pour over any remaining egg and cheese mixture. Put another filo sheet on top and brush with a little of the oil, then repeat with the final filo sheet. Brush any remaining oil over the top.
step 3
Using a serrated knife, cut through the filo sheets carefully to make 8-12 slices, taking care not to press down or pull the filo sheets as you cut. Drizzle the rest of the sparkling water along the cut lines. Give the tin a gentle shake to distribute the liquid – it should be quite wet and you should just about see liquid around the corners and up to the top layer of filo but the gibanica should not be submerged. If it looks too dry, drizzle a little more sparkling water into each corner and give the gibanica another gentle shake.
step 4
Allow to stand and absorb some of the liquid for 15-30 mins while you heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Sprinkle the sesame or nigella seeds over the top (if using), then bake for 40-50 mins until golden brown, puffy and the middle is set. Allow the gibanica to cool for 30 mins before slicing it along the pre-cut lines to serve.