Faruk Podrug
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Burek - traditional Bosnian food.
The burek pastry is called yufka and is made by preparing a simple dough of flour and water and then soaking balls of the dough in oil for a few hours. The resulting dough is shiney with shortening and, beaten out, becomes elastic. Rolled and tossed until it is a thin and translucent parachute, the yufka is filled with meat (classic burek) cheese, potato, or spinach and cheese and rolled into a coil and baked. At the Sac burekdzinica it was served with a side of thick clotted cream. Breakfast doesn't get better than this for 2 Euro.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina the word burek refers only to the meat-filled pastry dish. Thin dough layers are stuffed and then rolled and cut into spirals (resembling an American cinnamon bun).
The same dish with cottage cheese is called sirnica, one with spinach and cheese zeljanica, one with potatoes krompiruša, and all of them are generically referred to as pita (trans. pie).
This kind of dough dish is also popular in Croatia, where it was imported by Bosnian Croats, and is usually called rolani burek (rolled burek).
In Bosnia, burek only refers to one special pastry dish filled with meat. In Serbia and Croatia, one always specifies the type of stuffing (burek sa mesom - 'burek with meat', for instance).
Burek (Borek) Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 box phyllo pastry sheet (12 inches x 17 inches)
3/4 cup butter, melted
Instructions:
Heat a large frying pan and add the oil. Saute the onion until soft, and then add the beef, spices, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the meat is crumbly but not dry. Cool completely before you continue.
Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough on the counter. Brush with some of the butter. Place a heaping 1/3 cup of meat mixture acrosss the sheet along the long side, 2 inches from edge. Fold the bottom over the meat mixture and roll into a snake shape. Cut the roll in half and coil each roll into a snail shape. Place on a nonstick baking sheet and butt the end up against the edge of the pan to prevent uncoiling. Brush with additional butter.
Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until just golden.
Keep the remaining sheets of phyllo dough covered with plastic, and work quickly to prevent in from drying out.
Hint on handling phyllo dough: Be sure the dough is at room temperature before you open the box. Place the sheets of dough on a large cookie sheet and cover them with plastic wrap and then a heavy towel. In this way, they will not dry out while you are working with them. Work fast for best results and do not have the butter too hot when brushing the dough.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Burek - traditional Bosnian food.
The burek pastry is called yufka and is made by preparing a simple dough of flour and water and then soaking balls of the dough in oil for a few hours. The resulting dough is shiney with shortening and, beaten out, becomes elastic. Rolled and tossed until it is a thin and translucent parachute, the yufka is filled with meat (classic burek) cheese, potato, or spinach and cheese and rolled into a coil and baked. At the Sac burekdzinica it was served with a side of thick clotted cream. Breakfast doesn't get better than this for 2 Euro.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina the word burek refers only to the meat-filled pastry dish. Thin dough layers are stuffed and then rolled and cut into spirals (resembling an American cinnamon bun).
The same dish with cottage cheese is called sirnica, one with spinach and cheese zeljanica, one with potatoes krompiruša, and all of them are generically referred to as pita (trans. pie).
This kind of dough dish is also popular in Croatia, where it was imported by Bosnian Croats, and is usually called rolani burek (rolled burek).
In Bosnia, burek only refers to one special pastry dish filled with meat. In Serbia and Croatia, one always specifies the type of stuffing (burek sa mesom - 'burek with meat', for instance).
Burek (Borek) Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 box phyllo pastry sheet (12 inches x 17 inches)
3/4 cup butter, melted
Instructions:
Heat a large frying pan and add the oil. Saute the onion until soft, and then add the beef, spices, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the meat is crumbly but not dry. Cool completely before you continue.
Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough on the counter. Brush with some of the butter. Place a heaping 1/3 cup of meat mixture acrosss the sheet along the long side, 2 inches from edge. Fold the bottom over the meat mixture and roll into a snake shape. Cut the roll in half and coil each roll into a snail shape. Place on a nonstick baking sheet and butt the end up against the edge of the pan to prevent uncoiling. Brush with additional butter.
Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until just golden.
Keep the remaining sheets of phyllo dough covered with plastic, and work quickly to prevent in from drying out.
Hint on handling phyllo dough: Be sure the dough is at room temperature before you open the box. Place the sheets of dough on a large cookie sheet and cover them with plastic wrap and then a heavy towel. In this way, they will not dry out while you are working with them. Work fast for best results and do not have the butter too hot when brushing the dough.