This dish is one of the most wellknown dishes of the Balkan region, whether it is called zeljanica, as in the former Yugoslav republic, or spanakopita in Greek: spinach, feta and cottage cheese are wrapped into thin layers of filo pastry, giving it both strong flavours and lovely crisp texture. What’s more to want from a vegetarian dish!

The recipe is one my colleague was given by her mother-in-law, who has clearly mastered this dish. My colleague claims she can never make it as well as her mother in law, which leads me to the conclusion that you should never to give away your recipes but always hold on to one or two secret ingredients, in order to make your sons come back to you, at least for dinner.

Here I have not held back anything: I don’t like cottage cheese and have therefore replaced it with quark, but other than that this is it. The result is absolutely delicious, easy to replicate and perfect for a larger gathering. Only remember to salt the spinach well and to drain it carefully, otherwise you’ll end up with spinach soup.

If you want to make your own filo pastry in order to create the intricate spiral shape of the traditional Bosnian savoury dishes, check out my instructions (and the equally popular sirnica recipe) here.

Zeljanica – Spinach and Feta Pie (serves 4)

• 3 bags of spinach
• loads of salt for draining the spinach
• 400 g quark, ricotta or cottage cheese
• 3 eggs
• 200g sour cream
• 200g Greek yoghurt
• 400g feta cheese, cut into small crumbles
• a handful of grated cheese
• 1 pack filo pastry
• oil and water

Wash the spinach, cut it and layer it, sprinkling a generous amount of salt on each layer. Leave to wilt for a good half hour. Heat the oven to full heat (200 or 220C). Thoroughly squeeze the spinach: you want to get rid of all the excess water (and salt!). Mix the eggs in a big bowl; add the quark/cottage cheese. sour cream, yoghurt and feta cheese, as well as the grated cheese. Mix well before adding the spinach. Oil your ovenproof dish and place a layer of the filo pastry on the bottom and sides of the dish. Brush with the water-oil mix and add another two layers, each time brushing them with the oil.  Put in all the mixture and level it before adding another layer of filo pastry on top. Brush with the oil-water mix and repeat with the remaining sheets. Cut off the excess pastry and fold in the rem, then cut the top layers into pieces. Bake for 30 minutes on the bottom shelf, reducing the heat after 10 minutes to 180C.

Zeljanica, Bosnian spinach and feta pie

Enjoy your veggies!