Burek on red and white checkerboard paper

Burek

Name: Burek
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: North Macedonia
Ingredients: 200ml vegetable oil plus extra for frying and the tin; 1 onion finely chopped; 500g beef mince (at least 20% fat); 2 garlic cloves finely chopped; 2 tsp salt; 4 eggs; 500g filo pastry; sparkling water for sprinkling

Published: April 18, 2024 at 12:24 PM

Save recipe

Serves 4

A little effort

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 50 mins

0 reviews

loading...

Get 5 months for £5 when you subscribe today

By using shop-bought filo pastry you can make a savoury pie that comes pretty close to Macedonian burek. Swap the meat for a different filling, if you like

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Macedonian tarrator (chilled cucumber soup)

A star rating of 0 out of 5.0 ratings

Artichoke, courgette and lemon farro salad

A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 rating

BBQ kofte with whipped feta and tahini slaw

A star rating of 0 out of 5.0 ratings

Try this recipe for burek, then try our Macedonian pilinja pecheni (braised quail), Macedonian susamliji (sesame cookies) and Macedonian tarrator (chilled cucumber soup). Now discover how to cook like a local from Macedonia.

Chef's tips for burek:

If you swap out the minced meat, avoid anything that's too wet or the pastry will become soggy
I use a 23cm round cake tin but you can use any size or shape, just bear in mind that the thinner the tin, the less cooking it will need

Burek recipe

Ingredients

Nutrition

200ml vegetable oil

plus extra for frying and the tin
1 onion

finely chopped
500g beef mince (at least 20% fat)
2 garlic cloves

finely chopped
2 tsp salt
4 eggs
500g filo pastry
sparkling water

for sprinkling

Nutrition: per serving

kcal1142
fat77.2g
saturates15g
carbs72.9g
sugars4.8g
fibre5.1g
protein36.4g
salt4.2g

Method

step 1

To make the filling, heat a little oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the onion for 5 mins until soft. Add the beef, garlic and 1 tsp of the salt, and break up the meat so there are no large clumps. Cook for 5 mins or until browned and cooked through. Season with black pepper and set aside to cool.
step 2

Whisk the eggs and 200ml of oil with the remaining salt. Lay the filo on a chopping board or clean worksurface. Cover with a damp tea towel so it doesn’t dry out too much.
step 3

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lay a sheet of filo into an oiled 23cm round cake tin – any filo that doesn’t fit in the tin can be scrunched up around the edges to form a crust. Brush with some of the egg mixture. Repeat with a further three filo sheets to create the base for the pie. Spoon some of the filling into the tin and spread it evenly over the pastry. Scrunch up two sheets of pastry a little to create layers and arrange in the tin. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture and sprinkle with a little sparkling water. Repeat until you have four sheets of pastry left.
step 4

Layer the final four sheets into the tin, brushing each with the egg mixture, to create a crust. Bake for 25-30 mins or until golden brown. Allow to cool for 15 mins before slicing.

Now try our Turkish recipes.

Turkish poached eggs swirled into yogurt on a plate

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

0 reviews

Want to see this content?

This page contains olivemagazine content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.

Accept and continue