Fudge & Баница

I've found relatively easy and cheap gift to bring when I go na gosti: fudge. I’m not much of a cook, and the first few times I tried making fudge it failed to become fudge. First attempt, it turned into a plastic-like rock; then, it never became solid. After trial and error and several bags of sugar, I figured it out and everyone loves it. There isn’t anything quite like fudge available here and since it lasts for a long time, I can bring it again and again without having to buy or make anything new. I’ve even taught fudge making to some Chiprovtsi colleagues…Not an easy task without a dictionary, conversions from cups to metric, or any way of conveying certain parts of the process. For example: I know that when the boiling mixture turns into a slightly malleable ball if dripped in cold water, it must be removed from heat. This is a difficult thing to explain.

A lot of fudge...there are 6 cups of sugar in there

In return for the fudge lessons and the promise to demonstrate making apple pie, I also have been given more canned fruit, vegetables, and random foods than I’ll ever be abe to eat alone. People must think I’m starving (I’m definitely not), because they bring me food all the time. I’ll be jogging at 6 am and will here a voice calling ‘girl, girl’ followed by a baba carrying a bag of raspberries and a bunch of grapes. It’s very difficult to run while carrying grapes.

My fruit compote and pepper cupboard. The rest of my fresh fruits, jams, and veggies are elsewhere. I'm pretty sure I'll never go hungry in Bulgaria.

I’ve also been taught to prepare a few new Bulgarian dishes: Chiprovtsi banitsa and pumpkin banitsa. Below are the recipes for traditional banitsa and pumpkin banitsa. Both are awesome and are super fast and easy to make. The pumpkin one is like a pumpkin pie pastry and the cheese one is, well, like a sweet cheese pastry. I’ll restate this below, but I don’t have exact measurements, whenever I've been present, it has been prepared without measurements and to taste. The recipes are very flexible. I made up the measurements for you below as close as could guess.

_______________________

Rolled Traditional Banitsa...The top one was my first attempt, below is what it's supposed to look like.

Layered Traditional Banitsa

BANITSA RECIPE FROM KRAVODER

I’ve learned several different ways to make traditional banitsa, but this is by far, my favorite. I prefer it puffy, without much sugar, and with lots of eggs, cheese, and yogurt. You can completely leave out the yogurt and decrease the eggs if you want.

The banitsa in Chiprovtsi uses a dry type of phyllo (which is called suxi kori za banitsa, other phyllo is called kori za banitsa) that is wetted just prior to layering and uses 4 eggs, same amount of cheese, no yogurt, no baking soda, more oil, more sugar, and more orange soda on top. It is also sliced in the middle before pouring on the orange soda. Most banitsas don’t use yogurt in the recipe, but I think its better with yogurt. I’ve also had slight variations of all ingredients below since they use whatever they have at the time.

Use either store bought phyllo or the recipe for homemade phyllo below. I’d recommend the store bought. I’ve only had homemade once and it turned out a bit tough. I’ve had it made with thick phyllo rolled in a circular pattern and many layers of thin phyllo. Both are can be incredible. So, if the store has the slightly thicker phyllo, use it to roll burrito style then wrap in a growing circle starting from the middle of a large circular pan; if they have the thin stuff, layer it. You might need two packs of store bought. Follow cooking directions for the phyllo on package, or try 400*F and adjust to what works best.

Filling:

- 5 eggs

- 1 ½ cups plain yogurt

- 2 ½ cups crumbled of Bulgarian sirene (any white brine cheese or feta can be substituted)

- 1 Tablespoon baking soda.

- Sugar to taste, start with maybe 2 tablespoons or so

- 2 Tablespoons oil (sunflower is what is most prevalent and commonly used here, I don’t think I’ve had it made with any other type)

- Pinch of salt

Mix 5 eggs, yogurt, cheese, baking soda, sugar, and oil together. Add the cheese last, it shouldn’t be smooth, the cheese can either be crumbled or grated large, but shouldn’t be beat in with the eggs and yogurt, just stirred around a bit. Leave oil and sugar out, you’ll need a bit more for the top. In oiled pan, place first layer of dough, spread a few spoonfuls of filling evenly, add next layer, and continue until last layer of dough is on top.

On top: (if you have extra filling, you can that instead, but add a bit more baking soda or soda water)

- ¼ cup soda water or orange soda if you like it sweeter

- 1 egg, beaten

- ½ Tablespoon oil

- Sugar to taste

Beat 1 egg; mix with soda water and ½ tablespoon oil; pour over top layer. Sprinkle with sugar to taste. Cook. Banitsa should puff up and turn light brown. Remember, if you use the homemade dough above, you won’t be layering, but spreading a thicker layer on the dough and rolling it up like a burrito. You’ll need more working space to spread mixture on dough and transfer to pan. Still prepare the extra egg/soda water mix for on top. All of the measurements are guesses, I’ve been shown many times how to make banitsa and each time is a bit different and never have measuring utensils been used. Adjust to preferences and let me know if you like it!

Layered Traditional Banitsa, sliced to serve

PUMPKIN BANITSA

Kori/Phyllo Dough:

(It might be easiest to use store bought phyllo dough, but you should look for the thickest available if you want to make it in rolls. If you have to use the thinner stuff, you’ll make it with lots of layers. Process explained below).

Mix all ingredients together and knead the dough on floured surface for 5-7 minutes. Set aside under newspaper or towel. Do this before grating the pumpkin. That will take a while and give the dough a chance to set.

- Flour, a lot, maybe 4 -5 cups. You’ll need to end up with three balls between softball and baseball size of dough. There will be a bit left over.

- 1 teaspoon salt

- water, until good consistency. More flour if sticky, more water if dry

- ¼ cup oil

- 2 Tablespoon apple or white vinegar

Prepare the pan by coating the bottom with oil. Heat oven to 375*F. This may need adjustment, so watch the banitsa while it cooks. It could take between 35-50 minutes. It should turn medium brown on top.

Filling:

- 1 med-small pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and grated. You can probably use canned pumpkin instead. I don’t think it would change cooking time too much

- Oil, around 1 cup. You’ll use it to coat the pan and a bit on top also. Only put around half a cup in the pumpkin mix. If it seems dry, add more; if using canned, add less.

- 1 cup sugar (to taste, I prefer much much less, you could substitute some sweet potato for healthier version...though with the oil and dough not sure it'd make much difference)

- 1 cup chopped walnuts (to taste)

- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (to taste)

After you’re done grating the pumpkin, cut the dough ball into 3 equal balls. Spread first ball flat with hands as thin as possible. It should be pretty big. Like super large pizza size. Don’t worry if there are a few holes, it's not a big deal. Trim off the edges of the dough with a knife. Spread a third of the pumpkin mixture evenly on dough then roll up like a burrito. In the center of large circular pan wind around in a circle starting from the middle. Repeat with other two balls. Pour a little oil on top and sprinkle with sugar. Serve with ice cream or plain yogurt.

If you’re using store bought phyllo dough, prep the pan with oil and lay first sheet on bottom. Spread a small amount of filling thinly and evenly on top of dough. Repeat until dough and filling are finished. The top layer should be dough. Pour a little oil on top and sprinkle with sugar. Serve with ice cream or plain yogurt. You can also try the circular way, but with tighter circles. If you’d prefer individual servings, use store bought dough and make miniature banitsas on a cookie pan. Decrease cooking time. Use 2-4 sheets of dough per banitsa.