Ham & Cheese Gibanica
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 55 minutes
- 200g/7ozs feta cheese (Danish or Bulgarian feta is ideal)
- 200g/7ozs cheddar cheese, grated
- 300g/10.6ozs ham, finely chopped in food processor
- 3 sticks/80g/2.8ozs green onions, finely chopped
- 5 eggs, beaten
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 350ml/12ozs natural or Greek yogurt
- 1 cup/250ml/8.8ozs milk (skim milk is fine)
- 125ml/4flozs oil (canola, grapeseed or rice bran oil is fine)
- 1.5 teaspoons Vegeta
- 2.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup sparkling water
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 375g/13.ozs filo pastry
- 1 egg for egg wash
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Line the base of a 20x20cm/8x8inch square tin with a square of parchment and oil the sides.
Step 2 - Using a large bowl take a fork and press down on the feta crumbling it but leaving a few little lumps of feta. Add the cheddar, ham, green onion, beaten eggs, minced garlic, yogurt, milk, oil, Vegeta and baking powder. Place the sparkling water and tablespoon of oil in a separate cup and have a pastry brush ready.
Step 3 - Open the filo pastry packet and cover it with a tea towel. Layer two pieces of filo criss cross across the bottom and sides, one covering the top to bottom and the other from side to side. Brush with some water/oil on the base. Reserve one sheet of filo for the end. Then take a sheet of filo and crumple it up and dip it in the cheese mixture. Make sure to soak it well, you don't want any dry pastry bits. Scrunch into a loose ball and place the wet pastry it on the base of the tin. Don't worry if you have a lot of cheese mixture and it pools - you want it wet.
Step 4 - Repeat until you get a layer of wet pastry balls, then repeat with a second layer of this on top of the first - try and use up all of the cheese mixture and pastry. Tuck in the filo on the sides and then add the extra reserved sheet of filo on top and tuck it under the sides. Then brush generously with the oil/water mixture all over the top of the pastry, particularly down the sides of the gibanica.
Step 5 - Beat the extra egg with what is left in the bowl of the cheese mixture and pour over the top brushing it out to the edge. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 50-55 minutes (cover it with foil after 40 minutes if it is starting to brown too much). Cool for 10 minutes and then slice and serve.