[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":394},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:bosnian-zeljanica":3,"recipe:country:bosnia-and-herzegovina":183},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"pronunciation":7,"countrySlug":8,"emoji":9,"summary":10,"intro":11,"story":12,"whyThis":13,"tips":18,"substitutions":25,"variations":38,"serveWith":48,"storage":50,"faq":51,"equipment":67,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":74,"restMinutes":75,"difficulty":76,"course":77,"diet":79,"mainIngredients":81,"ingredients":86,"instructions":134,"nutrition":157,"images":164,"keywords":174,"publishedAt":181,"updatedAt":181,"authorSlug":182},"bosnian-zeljanica","Zeljanica (Bosnian Spinach and Curd Cheese Pie)","Zeljanica","zel-YAH-nee-tsa","bosnia-and-herzegovina","🥬","Wilted spinach and young curd cheese bound with egg, rolled through thin pastry and baked into a coil that is brittle on top and soft, juicy and green inside.","Zeljanica is the greens pie of the Bosnian pita family: spinach or chard squeezed dry, mixed with crumbly young curd cheese and egg, spread down a sheet of thin pastry and rolled into a coil that bakes into overlapping crisp ridges. Cut into it and the layers go from shattering-dry at the surface to almost custardy where the filling has steamed the pastry from the inside. The flavour is mild and dairy-forward rather than herby — the cheese does the seasoning, the greens keep it from being heavy, and a spoon of sour cream on the plate is standard. It is one of the few Bosnian classics that is naturally vegetarian, sold in every pie shop next to the meat burek, and eaten as often for a light dinner as for breakfast.","Every Bosnian pita is the same technique wearing a different filling, and zeljanica is what happens when the filling comes from the garden rather than the butcher. The name comes from zelje, the general word for leafy greens, and in practice it means whatever is in season: spinach in spring, chard through summer, and in villages a mix of nettle tops, beet greens and wild leaves gathered before they toughen. Because it costs almost nothing to make, it was for a long time everyday food rather than special food — the pie you made when there was no meat, which in much of rural Bosnia meant most of the week.\n\nThe cheese is the part that gets lost in translation. Bosnian mladi sir is a fresh, barely salted curd cheese, drained but still moist, closer to farmer's cheese or quark than to feta. It melts into the greens rather than staying in distinct salty pockets, which is why zeljanica made with feta tastes like a different dish — good, but sharper and more Greek. Cooks who cannot get the real thing usually blend a mild curd cheese with a small amount of brined cheese to get both the texture and enough salt.\n\nThe pie also carries a quiet rule about handling greens. Spinach and chard are mostly water, and water is the enemy of pastry, so the leaves are salted, wilted or blanched and then wrung out hard — Bosnian grandmothers do it in a cloth, twisting until the last drop stops running. Skip that step and the filling steams the coil into a pale, soggy spiral that never crisps, no matter how long it stays in the oven. Done properly, the pie holds its shape for days, gets reheated in the same pan it was baked in, and is generally considered better on the second morning than the first.",[14,15,16,17],"Salt-and-squeeze method for the greens, which is the single difference between a crisp pie and a wet one.","A curd cheese blend that behaves like Bosnian mladi sir instead of turning the filling into a salty feta pie.","Built as a coil in a round pan, the way it is actually made, rather than layered flat like a Greek spanakopita.","Uses shop-bought filo honestly and explains where hand-stretched jufka changes the result.",[19,20,21,22,23,24],"Wring the greens out in a clean tea towel until no more liquid runs — you should lose close to half the raw weight in water.","Taste the filling before it goes near pastry. Curd cheeses vary wildly in salt, and an under-seasoned zeljanica is flat and milky.","Keep the filo you are not using under a barely damp cloth. Uncovered sheets go papery and crack within about five minutes.","Use two overlapping filo sheets per rope so the seam does not split when you lift and coil it.","A splash of sparkling water in the filling makes it lighter and slightly puffed — a common trick in Bosnian kitchens.","Bake on the lowest shelf for the first 20 minutes so the base sets before the top browns.",[26,30,34],{"original":27,"swap":28,"note":29},"Young curd cheese (mladi sir)","400 g quark or dry cottage cheese plus 100 g crumbled feta","The quark supplies the soft texture, the feta the salt. Ricotta works too but is sweeter and wetter, so drain it in a sieve first.",{"original":31,"swap":32,"note":33},"Spinach","Swiss chard, beet greens, or a mixture including nettle tops","Chard is arguably the more traditional choice — strip out the thick stalks, since they stay crunchy and tear the pastry.",{"original":35,"swap":36,"note":37},"Filo pastry","Hand-stretched jufka","If you already stretch your own dough, use it. The pie becomes chewier and holds the filling better, and it is what any Bosnian household would do.",[39,42,45],{"name":40,"description":41},"Zeljanica sa pirinčem","A spoonful of cooked rice stirred into the filling, which absorbs stray moisture and stretches the pie further. Common when the greens are very young and watery.",{"name":43,"description":44},"Kopriva pita","Made with blanched nettle tops instead of spinach in early spring — earthier and darker, and a genuine rural tradition rather than a novelty.",{"name":46,"description":47},"Flat-layered version","Instead of coiling, the filling is spread between whole oiled sheets in a rectangular pan. Faster to assemble, though the layers stay softer than in a coil.",[49],"A bowl of thick sour cream or plain yoghurt on the side, and pickled peppers if you want something sharp against the dairy.","Keeps 3 days refrigerated, covered. Reheat uncovered at 180°C for 10 minutes to bring the crackle back — it emerges nearly as good as fresh, which is more than most pastry manages. It also freezes well baked: cool completely, wrap portions individually, and reheat from frozen at 180°C for 20–25 minutes. Do not freeze it unbaked with raw greens in the filling, since they weep as they thaw and soak the pastry through.",[52,55,58,61,64],{"question":53,"answer":54},"What is the difference between zeljanica and spanakopita?","Both are greens-and-cheese filo pies, but zeljanica uses mild young curd cheese and is usually rolled into a coil in a round pan, while Greek spanakopita leans on salty feta, dill and spring onion and is more often layered flat and cut into squares. Zeljanica tastes creamier and plainer; spanakopita is sharper and more herbal.",{"question":56,"answer":57},"Why is my pie soggy in the middle?","Almost always because the greens were not squeezed hard enough. Spinach and chard are over ninety percent water, and any that stays in the filling turns to steam and soaks the pastry from the inside. Salt the greens, let them sit ten minutes, then wring them out in a cloth until they stop dripping. Baking on too high a shelf also leaves the base underdone while the top colours.",{"question":59,"answer":60},"Can I use frozen spinach?","Yes, and it is a reasonable shortcut. Thaw it fully and squeeze it dry with even more force than fresh, since frozen spinach holds a surprising amount of water. Use about 600 g frozen to replace 900 g fresh. The texture is slightly softer and the colour darker, but in a baked pie the difference is small.",{"question":62,"answer":63},"Is zeljanica vegetarian?","Yes. It contains cheese and egg but no meat or meat stock, and it is the standard vegetarian option in Bosnian pie shops. Vegans cannot easily adapt it, since the curd cheese and egg are what bind the filling — a version with mashed potato and greens (krompiruša territory) is a better meat-free and dairy-free choice.",{"question":65,"answer":66},"Can I make it ahead for a party?","Assemble the coil in the pan, cover and refrigerate for up to a day, then bake it fresh — this gives the best result. Fully baked zeljanica also reheats well, so you can bake it the morning of and give it ten minutes in a hot oven before serving. Avoid holding a baked pie warm for hours, as trapped steam softens the crust.",[68,69,70,71],"Round baking pan about 30 cm","Clean tea towel for wringing the greens","Pastry brush","Large mixing bowl",6,35,40,10,"medium",[78],"main",[80],"vegetarian",[82,83,84,85],"spinach","quark","phyllo-dough","eggs",[87,92,96,99,103,107,112,116,120,124,127,129],{"ref":82,"qty":88,"unit":89,"name":90,"group":91},900,"g","fresh spinach or chard, thick stalks removed","For the filling",{"qty":93,"unit":94,"name":95,"group":91},1,"tsp","fine salt, for drawing water from the greens",{"ref":83,"qty":97,"unit":89,"name":98,"group":91},400,"young curd cheese or quark",{"ref":100,"qty":101,"unit":89,"name":102,"group":91},"feta",100,"feta or white brined cheese, crumbled",{"ref":85,"qty":104,"unit":105,"name":106,"group":91},2,"piece","eggs, beaten",{"ref":108,"qty":109,"unit":110,"name":111,"group":91},"sour-cream",3,"tbsp","sour cream",{"ref":113,"qty":93,"unit":105,"name":114,"optional":115,"group":91},"onion","onion, finely chopped",true,{"ref":117,"qty":118,"unit":94,"name":119,"group":91},"black-pepper",0.5,"freshly ground black pepper",{"ref":84,"qty":121,"unit":89,"name":122,"group":123},450,"filo pastry sheets, thawed","For assembly",{"qty":101,"unit":125,"name":126,"noScale":115,"group":123},"ml","neutral oil, or half oil and half melted butter, for brushing",{"qty":101,"unit":125,"name":128,"noScale":115,"group":123},"milk mixed with 1 tbsp oil, for finishing",{"ref":108,"qty":130,"unit":131,"name":132,"group":133},null,"to taste","extra sour cream, to serve","To serve",[135,140,143,147,150,154],{"title":136,"text":137,"timerSeconds":138,"tip":139},"Draw the water out of the greens","Shred the spinach finely, toss it with 1 teaspoon of salt and leave for 10 minutes until the leaves collapse and a pool forms in the bowl. Wring the greens out hard in a tea towel — you should be left with a dense green ball roughly half the original volume.",600,"If the towel still drips when twisted, keep going. Every drop left in there ends up in your pastry.",{"title":141,"text":142},"Mix the filling","Break up the curd cheese with a fork, then fold in the crumbled feta, beaten eggs, sour cream, black pepper and the squeezed greens along with the raw onion if using. Taste and add salt only if the cheese is mild — the filling should taste slightly saltier than you want the finished pie to be.",{"title":144,"text":145,"tip":146},"Build the ropes","Lay two filo sheets overlapping by a few centimetres on the work surface and brush them all over with oil. Spread a finger-thick line of filling along one long edge, leaving 3 cm clear, and roll it up loosely into a rope.","Keep the unused filo under a barely damp cloth or it dries out and cracks while you work.",{"title":148,"text":149},"Coil the pie","Oil the pan and lay the first rope around the outer edge, then continue with the remaining ropes spiralling inward, leaving a small gap between turns so each one can crisp. Brush the whole surface with the remaining oil.",{"title":151,"text":152,"timerSeconds":153},"Bake until the ridges are brittle","Bake on the lowest shelf at 190°C for 20 minutes, then move to the middle and bake another 20 minutes, until the coil is deep golden and the ridges sound dry and papery when tapped with a spoon.",2400,{"title":155,"text":156,"timerSeconds":138},"Finish with milk and rest","Pour the milk-and-oil mixture evenly over the hot pie, cover with a cloth and leave for 10 minutes — the top softens just enough to cut cleanly while the base stays crisp. Cut into wedges and serve warm with sour cream.",{"calories":158,"protein":159,"carbs":160,"fat":161,"fiber":162,"sodium":163,"estimated":115},480,19,42,27,4,760,[165,168,170,172],{"src":166,"alt":167},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbosnian-zeljanica\u002Fhero.jpg","Golden coiled zeljanica pie in a round pan, sliced to show green spinach and white curd cheese filling",{"src":169,"alt":167},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbosnian-zeljanica\u002Fhero-16x9.jpg",{"src":171,"alt":167},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbosnian-zeljanica\u002Fhero-4x3.jpg",{"src":173,"alt":167},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbosnian-zeljanica\u002Fhero-1x1.jpg",[175,176,177,178,179,180],"zeljanica","spinach pie","bosnian pita","filo pastry","curd cheese","vegetarian 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(Bosnian Grated Potato Bake with Garlic Cream)","Kljukuša","Bosanska Krajina",20,5,[316,78],"side",[80],[229,108,297,252],[320],{"src":321,"alt":322},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fkljukusa\u002Fhero.jpg","Shallow pan of golden baked grated potato kljukusa with crisp edges, covered in white garlic sour cream",[309,324,325,326,327,328],"grated potato bake","bosnian potato","garlic sour cream","bihac","krajina",{"slug":330,"title":331,"nativeName":332,"countrySlug":8,"region":189,"baseServings":162,"prepMinutes":245,"cookMinutes":333,"restMinutes":292,"difficulty":76,"course":334,"diet":335,"mainIngredients":336,"images":338,"keywords":342,"publishedAt":181,"updatedAt":181,"authorSlug":182},"bosnian-sogan-dolma","Sogan-Dolma (Sarajevo Stuffed Onions in Tomato Broth)","Sogan-dolma",70,[78],[196],[113,251,202,337],"tomato",[339],{"src":340,"alt":341},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbosnian-sogan-dolma\u002Fhero.jpg","Shallow pot of stuffed onion rolls standing upright in red tomato broth, topped with a spoonful of sour cream",[343,344,345,213,212,346],"sogan dolma","stuffed onions","bosnian dolma","minced beef and rice",{"slug":348,"title":349,"nativeName":350,"countrySlug":8,"region":189,"baseServings":162,"prepMinutes":219,"cookMinutes":190,"restMinutes":351,"difficulty":192,"course":352,"diet":353,"mainIngredients":354,"images":358,"keywords":362,"publishedAt":181,"updatedAt":181,"authorSlug":182},"tufahije","Tufahije (Bosnian Walnut-Stuffed Poached Apples)","Tufahije",240,[270],[80,224],[355,356,276,357],"apple","walnuts","heavy-cream",[359],{"src":360,"alt":361},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftufahije\u002Fhero.jpg","Poached whole apple stuffed with ground walnuts in a stemmed glass, topped with whipped cream and a walnut half",[348,363,364,284,365,212],"stuffed apples","walnut dessert","poached 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