Banitsa and a Bulgarian Fairy Tale

Banitsa is a traditional Bulgarian food prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of cheese between filo pastry and then baking it in an oven. I will show you how to make it step by step.

Ingredients

 

Pastry sheets
1/2 kg spinach
1/2 cup yogurt
1 coffee cup oil (or melted butter)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup feta cheese
3 eggs

Squeeze gently water from washed spinich. Stew in oil (or melted butter). Leave to cool. Afterwards stir in cheese, eggs and yogurt. 

Take 12 pastry sheets. Grease bottom of a pan with butter or oil. Brush 3 sheets with butter. Place sheets one atop the other. Spread 1/3 of filling. Top with 2 more sheets, each brushed with butter or oil. Spread second third of filling. Repeat one more time.

 Top last layer of filling with 3 oiled sheets, and add a bit of egg yolk on top to give it a nice brown colour.

Bake in a moderate oven until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. 

As we enjoy the Banitsa, I wonder what Bulgarian fairy tale would go well with this dish? 

Any suggestions?

African Fairy Tale Recipes

We have been very lucky to have travelled to Africa.

We absolutely love the food and the wild animals!

Did Vikings Eat Beans?

Today, I would like to make a bean dish. I am researching old viking folklore in order to find out whether there are any of the stories that mention any particular food, such as for example beans.

I have found a good website, a BBC HIstory Site, which mentions viking food:

"With no fridges or freezers our Viking family has to take special measures to stop their food going bad. Meat and fish can be smoked or rubbed with salt. Fruit can be dried; grains are made into bread or ale. Dairy produce such as milk is made into cheese. Cooking the meat will make it last a little longer, making sausages will make it last longer still.

At sunset the family gather together in the long house. The usual evening meal will be enlarged tonight because it is one of the three Viking feast nights. In their homelands a horse would have been sacrificed to the old Gods. Horsemeat was spitted and roasted rather like a kebab. Sven and his family nominally follow the Christian faith, however, so although they celebrate the traditional feast, tonight they will dine on roast lamb. There will also be salted fish and pork, goat and plenty of fresh bread. For dessert the Vikings will eat fresh fruit and a little honey on buttered bread." 

Read more here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/food_01.shtml

Nevertheless, this site does not mention anything about vikings eating beans. 

This next site:

http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/food.shtml

informs us that vikings did eat fava beans, but silly me, black beans come from southern Asia, so not a staple viking dish. Perhaps my black bean dish is better suited for an Asian fairy tale recipe.

I must however, first of all remember to soak these black beans overnight.