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If this is the first time you are making Zelnik, you need to
set aside half a day to make it. You will get quicker each
time but bear in mind that this recipe requires you make
your own pastry and that takes time.
The results are well worth the effort and in this day and
age of fast food, cooking with love and creating dishes
from raw ingredients makes for a totally satisfying and
enriching experience.
EQUIPMENT REQUIRED
1 x Flour Sieve
1 x Bowl (Large) & 1 x small bowl
1 x plastic scraper or spatula
1 x pastry brush
2 x frying pans
1 x small pot
1 x cup
1 x fork
2 x tea towels
1 x wooden spoon
1 x chopping board
1 x knife
1 x wooden dowel 1.5cm diameter x 1 metre long. (This is what is
traditionally called a “sukalo” which simply means rolling pin in the
Macedonian language. You will find the pastry much easier to work
with if you use this in place of a standard rolling pin.)
2 x 35cm diameter deep baking pans (preferably non stick) These
pans are traditionally called “Tepsia” in the Macedonian language.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
Now that you have all the ingredients and required
equipment, let’s get cracking. Begin by putting 4 cups of
flour and a good pinch of salt through your sieve into the
big bowl.
Place 2 tablespoons of the flour into the cup and add the
yeast from one packet.
Add some warm water. It should be warmer to touch but
NOT HOT as high heat would kill the yeast. Add enough
water to half fill the cup and mix so that the flour and yeast
mix together.
Leave this to the side till the yeast mixture doubles in size.
While you are waiting for this to occur, cut the ends off
your leek and slice it in half.
Wash it under water to get rid of any dirt in amongst the
leaves.
By this time your yeast mixture will have grown.
Make a well in the centre of your flour and add the yeast
mix.
Use one hand to mix the dough and the free hand to add
the warm water in dribbled amounts. For this mix it will
need about 500mls of warm water.
Keep mixing the dough until it starts to form together into a
ball.
Take the dough out of the bowl and kneed it on the bench
for a couple of minutes.
Your dough will be ready for proving once it has formed a
smooth consistency and all the flour has been evenly
mixed together. A good test for this is if you press the ball
with your finger it should bounce back at you a little.
Use some olive oil to grease the bowl and place the dough
in the centre to prove. Place a little oil on the dough ball
and spread it over the surface.
Then cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave in a warm
place to rise and double in size.
Now, it is time to concentrate on the fillings. We are
making two different fillings but you can just double the
ingredients of one and make two Zelnik’s with the same
filling if you prefer.
Cut it in half.
Cut those two pieces in half.
Cut those 4 pieces in half.
Cut those 8 pieces in half to give you 16 equal sized
pieces.
This will make up 5 pieces for the base and 3 pieces for
the top of each pie.
Roll each piece of dough between your hands to make
balls and place them on the sifted flour.
Cover them with a tea towel to prevent them drying out.
Heavily dust one area (shown at the back of the table) and
lightly dust the work area (show at the front of the table.)
We are about to use the sukalo!
Now transfer the stack to your work area and use the
sukalo to make the criss cross pattern on the stack.
Roll out your pastry as evenly as possible. Don’t be afraid
to be rough with it. Flip it over, or keep spinning it around
till you have the right shape you want.
Use the baking pan to check if your pastry is big enough
for the pan.
Flip one end of the pastry over the sukalo and roll the
pastry on.
Now place it over the greased pan.
Fix up the edges so that it sits in the corners with a little
overhang on the edges.
Add the filling you prepared earlier, in this case we will use
the leek and ricotta mixture.
Use the fork to even out the filling and spread it around
the base.
Now roll out one of the top’s with the 3 “kora” and place it
on the top.
Use your pastry brush and brush the edges with the
Ghee / Oil mixture.
Now use your hands to twist and roll over the edges of the
pastry around the pans edge and then score with a knife.
This is a traditional way of decorating the dish and also
helps to seal the edges.
Brush the entire top with the Ghee / Oil mixture. This will
help your pastry become light and crispy while cooking.
Finally you need to puncture some holes in the top of the
pastry to allow internal air to escape while cooking. If you
don’t do this, the top will rise like a balloon and separate
itself from the filling.
Your preparation is now complete and all that is left is the
cooking.
Place the Zelnik in the preheated oven and depending on
the height of the shelf, whether it is a fan forced oven or
not, it should take about 30 to 45 mins to bake. You will
know when it is ready by the way it looks. It should be
evenly golden brown on the top and the base should be
cooked.
Yummy!!!!
If you are not going to eat it straight away, then it is best to
place it on a cooling rack to cool so that the moisture
disperses away from the pastry and prevents it from
getting soggy.
It is a good idea to cover the cooked Zelnik with a tea
towel to keep the pastry soft while it cools down.
There you have it, scrumptious Zelnik. Enjoy.
If you have some left over, yeah right, as if!, you can put it
into freezer bags and freeze it for another time. It warms
up really well in either a conventional oven when wrapped
in tin foil or in a microwave, without the foil.
Dobro Ruchok,
Bon Appetite,
Good eating.