GIBANICA

This dandy of a dish came from my Serbian friend, Sigi Beck-Hodjera. I don’t know if this is actually her recipe or not; if memory serves, her Gibanica was always an extemporaneous masterpiece. In the few years I spent with Sigi and her family, I attended several Serbian Slavas; a Slava is a feast of thanksgiving in honor of the patron Saint of the entire family. For me, Gibanica was the highlight of this mind-blowing spread Sigi would lay out in honor of the day. With life thwarting any possibility of attending another Hodjera Slava, I was forced to learn to make Gibanica on my own. So, now I make in honor of cold-weather and usually pair it with soup for the perfect wintery meal. Thank you for this goodie, Sigi!

Ingredients:

1 Packet Filo Dough

1 Container 2% Cottage Cheese

1 container 4% Cottage Cheese

8 eggs

1 tsp Salt

1/3 Cup Light Oil – Sunflower, Vegetable, or Canola

1 Cup Milk

¼ Heavy Whipping Cream

¾ Cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Melted Butter

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine two types of cottage cheese in large mixing bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add salt, oil, milk, and buttermilk, and beat until well combined. Place one layer of pastry in the bottom of a deep pan. Dip almost all of the remaining pieces of pastry into the batter and then place them at random in the pan. Reserve about three undipped pieces for the top, as well as several tablespoons of batter. Cover the top of the mixture with the remaining pastry layers. Cut up the butter into small pieces and place on the pastry. Spoon the remaining batter and the additional tablespoon of milk over the top. Cook for about 40 minutes, until nicely browned on top.