Tikvenik (Bulgaria)

This recipe came from last year's Food Blog Challenge. Challenge number two was to learn to do something new with pumpkin. The Kohler's made this old Bulgarian recipe, Tikvenik (TEEK-vih-NEEK) a rolled phyllo or “banitsa” with a slightly sweetened pumpkin filling. Everyone liked the taste of this pumpkin baklava type recipe, and the phyllo was not particularly difficult to work with, but (and this is a pretty big but) it is truly unattractive as food goes. I'm sorry to say this, but this plate was the best of the best, mostly the ends where the phyllo stayed crispy. I would be embarrassed to serve this to guests. Also, if you are adding the nuts, they need to be chopped really fine.