A dear friend is the chef extraordinaire of making Banitza. Banitza is a Bulgarian food that practically melts in your mouth. While it appears there are as many recipes as there are cooks in Bulgaria, my friend's version is simply unbeatable. Alas, I do my best and get close, but his is still the best. It tastes salty from the feta and savory from the spinach and has the perfect crunch texture from the butter and filo dough. We made it for brunch today and it was very hard to wait until it was done. It fills the kitchen with pavlovian mouth-watering smells.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces butter, melted
- 1/2 box filo sheets
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup club soda (equal amount of club soda to eggs, adjust soda as necessary)
- 8 ounces feta cheese
- 10-12 ounces frozen or cooked spinach (squeeze out extra moisture)
Preparation
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13x9 baking dish.
Layer four sheets of filo sheets, lightly buttering each one before laying in the next one. After the fourth sheet, crumble 1/3 of the feta and 1/3 of the spinach over filo. Start layering another sheet of filo, pressing down slightly before buttering and layering 3 more sheets. Repeat the feta/spinach two more times with four sheets of filo in between each layer. Finish the dish with the last sheets of filo and butter the top.
With a sharp knife cut into desired serving sized squares. Whisk eggs together and add an equal volume of club soda and lightly blend. Pour over filo/feta/spinach layers. Use a fork to slightly move layers and edges apart so the egg mixture soaks down in.
Bake in oven for 40-50 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes and serve.
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