Banitza - Baked Cheese Pastry
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Banitza is one of the most popular and typical Bulgarian dishes - a breakfast or a snack, usually accompanied by yogurt.

Ingredients:

10-12 sheets Filo pastry 
20 oz Bulgarian white cheese (French feta cheese from Costco will do, so will Greek feta)
1 and a half butter sticks (melted)
4-5 eggs
2 table spoons of yogurt
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda


Instructions:

To prepare the filling, mix together the crushed feta cheese, yoghurt, eggs, and baking soda. 

Take one sheet of dough, lay it out flat and sprinkle lightly with butter. Lay another sheet of dough on top of the first, sprinkle a bit of butter and add some of the filling in a row. Then, roll up the two sheets together into a roll with the filling on the inside of the roll (just like you'd roll a crepe). Then take that long roll and roll it up in a spiral. Place this in the baking pan. Repeat the process with the remaining sheets of dough and place each consecutive roll around the first one in the pan. The resulting shape resembles a spiral (see photo). Spread some of the remaining filling on top of the finished pastry. Cook in a preheated oven (375F) for about 40 minutes or until the banitza has risen slightly and has nicely browned on top. Leave to cool for about 30 minutes and serve.


For extra enjoyment, serve with "ayran" - a mix of 50% yogurt (there's Bulgarian yogurt in Whole Foods) and 50% water.