Pita Zeljanica - Cheese and Spinach phyllo pie

We already had a recipe for "Burek" - the savory meat pie made with delicious phyllo pastry. Now it's time to write down a recipe for his most famous vegetarian (ovo-vegetarian) competition on the market of Bosnian pies - Pita Zeljanica. Delicious layers of thin phyllo pastry filled with...

​Time needed: about 2 hours
Dough preparation and resting: about 1 hour
Baking time about 40 minutes

Ingrediens

- For the dough (same as for Burek)
430 g all purpose flour (3 and 1/4 cups)
240 ml warm water (1 cup)
1 and 1/2 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp salt
​(+ some 1/2 cup of oil extra)

​- For the filling
250 g of cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream (or creme fraiche) 
2 eggs
1 cup of either blanched or frozen whole spinach leaves 
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

​Method
1. Put the flour and salt into the mixing bowl and combine.
2. In another bowl combine water and vinegar and add together with the oil to the mixing bowl.
3. Make a nice and smooth dough. You can make the dough by hand or use a mixer (mixing about 8-10 minutes).
4, Take the dough out of the mixing bowl using a dough scraper and put it on a lightly floured surface. 
5. Dust slightly with flour and form a ball. 
6. Divide the ball in two equal parts and form each one into a small ball. 
7. Take some of that extra oil and coat the balls with it. Cover with clean film and a tea towel.
8. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
*now would be a good time to make your filling

9. Prepare the table for the dough. Put a cotton tablecloth on your table an dust it with flour. This amount of dough stretches easily over a 150 cm x 150 cm (60 inch x 60 inch) table. 
10. Take one ball of dough (keep the second one covered) and put it on the floured tablecloth. Using a rolling pin (or in my case a clean wine bottle because I don't have a rolling pin here) roll the dough out to about 3 mm thick (about 1/8 inch)
11. Using a brush, or simply the palm of your hand cover the surface of the dough with oil. Let it rest for another 5 minutes
12. After 5 minutes get both of your hands under the dough and with the back of the hand start slowly stretching the dough form the middle towards the outside.
13. Keep stretching the dough slowly on all sides until you can almost see through it. ​

14. Prepare your filling by combining the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream salt and pepper in one bowl. Keep the spinach separated
15. Spread the cheese filling in small bits using a spoon across your dough. 
16. Over the cheese spread small heaps of spinach and drizzle with oil. 
17. By lifting the tablecloth roll the dough from two sides. This will leave you with a two rolls of dough in the middle of the table.

18. Using a sharp knife cut through the middle separating the two rolls. 
19. Shape your dough rolls into individual spirals and place them on an oiled baking sheet.
20. Repeat the process with the second ball of dough. 
21. Bake your pies in a preheated oven at 200°C (400°F) for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
22. When you take the baked pies out of the oven give them it a light brush with some more oil and cover with a tea towel for couple of minutes before serving. ​

Have a bite!