Recipe: Gibanica

Gibanica

The Flan Pastry for base:
250g flour
80g butter
1 egg
2-3 tbsp cream
a pinch of salt
1 tsp sugar

The Filo pastry for layers:
400 g flour
1 egg
2 tbsp oil
a dash of vinegar or lemon juice
a little lukewarm water
a pinch of salt

The Poppy Seed Filling:
200 g ground poppy seeds
50 g sugar
few drops vanilla extract
abb. 100 ml milk or cream
1 egg

The Cottage Chesse Filling:
400 g cottage chesse
1 egg
100 ml sour cream
50 g raisins
50 g sugar

The Walnut Filling:
200 g ground wallnuts
50 g sugar
few drops vanilla extracts
cinnamon ( to taste)
100-200 ml milk

The Apple Filling:
500 g apples
30 g sugar
grated peel of 1 lemon
cinnamon (to taste)
butter to greasing the baking pan
cream for topping( to taste)

Gibanica is made from two type of pastry: flan and filo. The flan pastry is used to cover the bottom of the deep baking pan, since the base must be harder because gibanica is heavy.
Mix all the ingredients for the flan pastry in the bowl. Knead thoroughly until the dough is smooth and well mixed ; allowe to rest for 30 min.
In teh meantime, prepare the filo pastry; mix all the ingredients into a dough, make several smaller loaves and allow them to rest for 30 min.

While the dough is resting, prepare the fillings:

Poppy Seed Filling-grind the seeds, scald with boiling milk, add sugar, spices and vanilla , then mix.
Cottage Cheese Filling-break up the cottage cheese with the fork; add the egg; cream ,washed raisins and sugar. Mix thoroughly.
Walnut Filling- grind the walnuts and scald with milk, add sugar,vanilla and cinnamon then mix. This filling must be a smooth paste.
Apple Filling- peel the apples, cut into thin slices, then stew with sugar. Add the cinnamon and grated lemon peel.

Roll out the more brittle flan pastry dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use it to line a greased baking dish, preferably an earthen one. The dough must stretch over the edge of the dish.
Sprinkle some flour over a cloth and strech the filo dough very thinly over it and allowe to dry a little.

Now you can start composing the gibanica.
Spread a 1/2 inch thick layer of poppy seed filling on the flan pastry, cover with a sheet of filo pastry and sprinkle with some melted butter. Spread the cottage cheese filling over the filo pastry and cover with another piece of filo pastry and again sprinkle with melted butter. Spread the walnut filling over this leaf, cover with another leaf of filo pastry and sprinkle with butter. Make a layer of apple filling , cover it with another piece of filo pastry and sprinkle with more butter. Repeat the whole process again. Cover the final layer of filling with one or two leaves of filo pastry and sprinkle with butter. Finally spread some cream over the gibanica and bake in a moderate preheated oven for app. one hour.

Gibanica

6 eggs
1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
32 oz. large curd cottage cheese
1 c. sour cream
1 lb. filo dough, thawed
1 c. melted butter

Beat eggs, then add flour and salt, mixing well. Add cottage cheese and sour cream; beat again. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place 2 sheets of filo dough in a well buttered 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Brush 2 tablespoons butter over dough. Spread about 6 tablespoons cheese mixture over dough. Repeat with 2 layers of dough and 6 tablespoons of cheese mixture. Brush each layer of dough with butter. Continue layering in these quantities until only 2 sheets of dough remain and all cheese is used up. Add last 2 sheets of dough; drizzle any remaining butter over it. Bake until top is golden, about 1 hour. Cake will rise, but once removed from oven, will sink to normal height. To serve, cut in squares. Serve warm as a side dish to meat or as a brunch.