Cheese Pie

Gibаnicа is a sort of a cheese pie made in layers of somewhat thicker phyllo and a mixture of cheese and eggs. Most often it is made as the so-called gužvаrа, when phyllo in the middle is crumpled and mixed with the filling. This sort of pie is made in central Serbia, while in the southern parts and in Montenegro sаviјаča is made – a pie of thin phyllo dough folded and rolled over. Such pies may be filled with all sorts of mixtures:  cheese, meat, sorrel leaves; and in Bosnia and Herzegovina the pie made of thicker phyllo, called burek, also with a variety of fillings. In Serbia, however, burek is similar to gibanica, but it is not so thick and crumpled. And it is very rich.

LANGUAGE

The word gibаnicа comes from an Arab word giban – cheese. Burеk is, of course, a Turkish word and comes from the verb, bur – to fold.