Traditional Balkan zeljanica — a pie with spinach, wild greens and cheese

Zeljanica is one of the most beloved pies of Balkan cuisine — a pie with thin homemade pastry sheets, filled with spinach and wild greens and white cheese, baked in the oven until the crust turns a crisp golden colour. Similar to our own spinach pie, zeljanica originates in the village traditions of the Balkans, where spring wild greens — nettles, sorrel, dock — were turned into a simple, delicious filling.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 500 g flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• about 300 ml lukewarm water

For the filling:

• 500 g fresh spinach (or a mix with wild greens: nettles, sorrel)
• 250 g white cheese (feta or sheep’s cheese), crumbled
• 2 eggs
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 150 ml oil or melted butter, for brushing the sheets

Preparation steps

1. Make the dough: mix the flour with the salt, add the oil and the lukewarm water little by little, and knead until you get a soft, elastic dough. Cover with a cloth and let it rest for 20–30 minutes.
2. Make the filling: wash and finely chop the spinach (or the greens). If using nettles, blanch them for 2–3 minutes in boiling water and drain well. Mix the greens with the crumbled cheese, the eggs, salt and pepper.
3. Roll out the sheets: divide the dough into 8–10 balls and roll each one out into a very thin sheet (the thinner, the better). Brush each sheet with oil or melted butter.
4. Add the filling: spread some of the filling over each sheet and roll it up into a roll. If you like, you can arrange the rolls in a spiral in the baking tray.
5. Baking: arrange the rolls in an oiled tray, brush the surface with oil and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 35–40 minutes, until golden.
6. Serving: let it cool slightly, cut into pieces and serve warm — it goes wonderfully with yoghurt or ayran.

Preparation time: about 30 minutes (plus the dough’s resting time). Baking time: 35–40 minutes. Servings: 6–8.

PHOTO: Homemade zeljanica with a spinach filling. (Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Miomir Magdevski — free licence)