Burek
Burek arrived in the Balkans through Ottoman influence, but Croatians quickly adopted it as an everyday dish, available in nearly every bakery from six in the morning. Croatian law even regulates the use of the name 'burek', officially reserving it only for the meat variants — versions with cheese or spinach carry other names. It's traditionally eaten for breakfast, warm, straight out of paper wrapping, and cold drinking yogurt remains the unwritten but essential pairing, its job being to balance out the richness of the buttery or oiled pastry.
A snail made of thin sheets
Thin sheets of dough are rolled with filling and coiled into a spiral, forming burek's classic shape.
A simple meat filling
Ground meat mixed with just onion and seasoning, no other ingredients, remains the classic Croatian recipe.
A yogurt mix poured on top
A blend of yogurt, oil, and sparkling water, poured over the burek before baking, makes it incredibly moist inside.
Eaten with drinking yogurt
Croatians almost always eat burek alongside a glass of cold drinking yogurt.
Ingredients 4 servings
- 10 phyllo/yufka sheets
- 500g ground beef
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 100ml oil
- 200g plain yogurt
- 100ml sparkling water
- 1 egg
How to make it
- 1Mix the ground beef with the finely chopped onion, salt, pepper, and paprika until well combined.
- 2Lay a sheet of phyllo on the counter and brush lightly with oil.
- 3Spread a thin line of the meat filling along one edge and roll into a long, loose coil.
- 4Curl the rolled log into a spiral and place it in a greased round baking pan, continuing with more spirals around it.
- 5Whisk together the yogurt, a little oil, and sparkling water, then pour evenly over the whole pastry.
- 6Bake in a hot oven until the top is deep golden and crisp.
- 7Let it rest a few minutes before cutting into wedges and serving warm.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
