Flija (Layered Pancake) is a traditional Albanian recipe for a dish of classic slow-cooked breakfast pancake made of alternating layers of batter and filling. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Albanian dish of: Layered Pancake (Flija).
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The traditional way of cooking flija is in a large pan that's set on a barbecue pit on the ground.
The pan is covered with a large lid known as a saç which keeps in the smoke, adding to the flavour of the flija. Low heat is typically used and the flija is cooked slowly over a couple of hours.
If you don't have the appropriate equipment, you can still prepare a flija at home using a grill (broiler) so the flija sits under the heat with the oven door open. This is what I will describe in the method below.
Ingredients:
For the Flour Batter:
1kg Flour
1l Water
1 tsp Salt
Prepare the Flour Batter: Mix together the flour, water and salt ensuring all the lumps are dissolved. The mixture should be thick but still of a pouring consistency, add a little extra water if required. Set to one side when made.
Prepare the Batter Filling: Mix together the butter, oil and chosen yogurt/cream ensuring all the lumps are dissolved (chose only one of the batter filling options). The mixture should be runny. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes before given it another good mix. The consistency should be similar to custard. Put to one side.
Cooking: Pre-heat your gill (broiler) to a medium setting (mark 4 of 6). Take a large deep baking tray or pie pan and rub some olive oil over the base. Add the first layer of flour batter using a squirty bottle; don't try to pour the batter as it will be too thick in the pan. You need to make a star effect by leaving triangles between each line of batter layers. Place under the grill, cooking until golden brown. This will take between 3–5 minutes.
Remove from under the grill and using a brush or the back of spoon rub over the whole pan (both battered and un-battered areas) a layer of the batter filling. Then, add a layer of the flour filling, use the same star effect; this time placing the lines of batter through the gaps left from the previous layering. Also, leaving the same triangle shapes between each line. Place under the grill until golden brown. This will take between 3–5 minutes.
Repeat step 4 until all the mixture has been used and ensuring each triangle gap is filled with flour batter on each layer - this will take around 2 hours. After every couple of layers, use one layer just to fill up any spaces (large gaps between the batter stars) that may have started to show.
Once the Flija is ready serve straight away, cut into wedges and accompanied with honey or yoghurt.
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