Have you ever tried Burek? I was fortunate enough to eat it for years thanks to my ex’s family, and Egi is a master in this field. Her Burek was spectacular, crunchy, and well-filled. The Burek or Byrek is a savory pie typical of Turkish and Balkan cuisine, made with layer upon layer of phyllo dough, which can be filled with spinach and feta like mine or with other vegetables or meat. It mainly depends on the country of origin and thus the typical cuisine of the place. Phyllo dough is the base of many Albanian recipes, both for sweet ones like Baklava, or for Burek as in this case. As I was saying, the main ingredient of Börek (from Turkish) is the yufka, a very thin sheet of phyllo dough. The most traditional börek is made with cheese, minced meat, and spinach. However, other vegetables should not be excluded. Before baking Burek, you can brush the last layer of phyllo dough with egg yolk. In my case, I always used only extra virgin olive oil.
My recipe is made with phyllo dough already stretched into sheets, while Egi’s Burek recipes, of course, involved making the dough at home as well. I’m not very familiar with phyllo dough; I tried it only once with Eddy for Baklava, and we spent hours and hours rolling out thin sheets to make all the layers for this delicious and typical Christmas dessert.
Having bought the phyllo dough a few days ago to make the Filled Rolls , I decided to finally make Byrek. I had wanted to do it for years but always postponed, now that I’m on a diet and feta cheese has become a staple in my fridge, I couldn’t delay any longer.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Albanian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 180.08 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 18.99 (g) of which sugars 0.37 (g)
- Proteins 6.05 (g)
- Fat 9.45 (g) of which saturated 2.82 (g)of which unsaturated 2.00 (g)
- Fibers 2.22 (g)
- Sodium 443.42 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 10 sheets phyllo dough
- 10.58 oz spinach
- 1.76 oz feta
- 1.41 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
Tools
- 1 Baking Pan
- 1 Knife
- 1 Stove
- 1 Pot
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Brush
- 1 Small Bowl
- 1 Oven
Steps
The first ingredient to cook for the Byrek is the spinach. Boil some water in a pot and add salt. When the water reaches a boil, add the spinach. You have two choices here: fresh spinach that needs to be washed beforehand or frozen spinach cubes. If using the latter, you can add them directly to the boiling water while still frozen.
Once the spinach is cooked, drain and let it cool in a colander to remove all excess water.
While the spinach cools, we can start preparing the Byrek. Preheat the oven in static mode to 350-390°F. Using store-bought phyllo dough, we don’t have to spend too much time preparing our Burek. We can lay out the phyllo sheets on a work surface and use a kitchen brush to brush each layer with extra virgin olive oil. Many recipes suggest using between 6 to 8 layers. I spoke with Egi yesterday afternoon, and she told me that she only uses 4 layers of dough; I made a compromise. Five sheets of phyllo at the bottom and 5 to close the Börek.
After brushing the pan with oil, I laid the phyllo dough base in the mold. I squeezed the spinach well and placed them on the dough. As you can see in the photo.
At this point, I added the feta, cut into not too large pieces. I brushed another five sheets of phyllo dough, layering them on top of each other and placing them over the spinach to seal the Börek. I closed the edges with my hands, cutting off the excess phyllo with scissors. I baked it and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Our typical dish of Turkish and Balkan cuisine will turn golden brown on the surface, which means it’s ready. Serve the Burek only when it has cooled a bit. You need to give the spinach inside some time to set after cooking. All that’s left is for me to wish you Bon Appetit!
Storage:
You can store the Burek in the refrigerator, in a container, for a few days. If consuming it the same day, simply seal the baking dish you used for cooking in the oven with aluminum foil.
Variations:
As mentioned in the introduction, there are many variations. Have fun choosing the filling: with meat, vegetarian, with fish, with vegetables, so you have a different Byrek each time. My favorite is ricotta and spinach or with feta. Among those I like the most is also the version with spinach, cherry tomatoes, and ricotta, very delicate.
