Burek
Raw seasoned ground meat rolled loosely inside crumpled, oiled phyllo sheets and coiled into a spiral, so the filling steams inside while the pastry bakes into a craggy, flaky crust. Spread throughout the Balkans via the Ottoman Empire from the 15th-16th century onward, it's a genuinely shared institution across Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, North Macedonia, and Turkey, with Bosnia especially credited for codifying the spiral technique.
Meat
⚠ Contains: Egg, Gluten. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 1 package (450g) phyllo dough, about 20 sheets, thawed
- 500g ground beef or lamb (traditionally a beef/lamb mix)
- 1 large onion, finely grated or minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground paprika
- 120ml vegetable oil, for brushing the layers
- 60ml sparkling water or plain water
- 1 egg, for egg wash, optional
- Yogurt or ayran, for serving
Steps
- Mix the ground meat with grated onion, salt, pepper, and paprika until well combined but not overworked.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F and brush a round baking pan with oil.
- Lay one sheet of phyllo flat, brush lightly with oil, spread a thin line of meat mixture along one edge, then loosely roll into a long rope, leaving air pockets for flakiness rather than packing tightly.
- Coil the rope into a spiral in the pan, and repeat with the remaining sheets, continuing the spiral outward until the pan is full.
- Brush the top generously with oil and water, or egg wash, to encourage crisping.
- Bake 35-45 minutes until deep golden brown and crisp.
- Let rest 10 minutes before slicing, and serve warm with yogurt.