Croatian Burek Recipes

BUREK

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Brown ground beef in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain fat; stir in allspice, paprika, salt, and pepper. Transfer beef to a large bowl and stir in potato and onion.
• Unroll phyllo pastry and transfer 2 sheets to a work surface; stack sheets. Spoon 1/8th of the ground beef mixture down one long edge of the phyllo pastry. Roll phyllo into a tube, encasing beef. Shape the tube into a coil (snail shape). Place the roll on an ungreased baking sheet; brush with melted butter. Repeat, placing finished rolls up against one another to keep them from unrolling.
• Bake burek in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

FETA CHEESE BUREK (PHYLLO DOUGH)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet lightly.
• Mix feta cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, and eggs together in a bowl. Whisk milk and oil together in a small bowl.
• Brush milk-oil mixture over 3 sheets of phyllo dough and stack together. Place some of the cheese mixture in a straight line on one end of the dough. Roll up tightly to form a spiral shape. Transfer spiral to the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining milk-oil mixture, phyllo dough, and cheese mixture.
• Bake burek in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 40 minutes.

EASY CROATIAN BUREK RECIPE

Steps:

• Take a large bowl and combine the flour and the salt
• Add the water bit by bit, mixing until the mixture forms a dough
• Knead the dough for around five minutes, until it turns quite stretchy
• Split the dough mixture into batches of four and press down to flatten
• You need to find a bowl or a pan which is large enough to hold the dough when it is piled up on top of each other
• Add a little bit of vegetable oil to the pan or bowl and put the first flattened piece of dough inside
• Add a bit more oil (not too much), and add another piece of dough - repeat until you've done the same with all four pieces
• Add more vegetable oil on top of the last piece and place to one side to rest
• Preheat your oven to around 200°C (390°F)
• Add a little vegetable oil over your work surface (a table is best) - just a little!
• Remove one piece of dough from the bowl and remove the excess oil
• Flatten the piece of dough until it reaches a thickness of no more than around half a centimeter
• Handle the dough and stretch it outwards, over and over, so that you pull it to around 1 meter in diameter - you might end up with a few holes but don't worry about it too much. By the end, you should be able to see through the dough
• Take one side of the dough disc and fold it over, towards the center
• Repeat this process until you have a shape that resembles a pentagon
• Repeat with the second piece of dough
• Add your filling (see below for the filling instructions) to the dough piece
• Add the first piece of stretched dough into the middle of the second one, and cut away the thick edge of the second piece - you can throw this away, you won't need it
• Fold over the edges of the dough, so that you get a pentagon shape once more, and put it into a baking pan or tray
• Put the pan in the oven and bake for around half an hour, until it is a golden color
• Remove from the oven and let it cool down
• Cut into 12 pieces
• Repeat the process with the rest of the dough
• Bake until the pastry turns golden, and serve while warm!
• Take a mixing bowl and add in both kinds of cheese, combining together
• Add the egg and combine once more
• Take a large pan and heat up the oil over a medium heat
• Add the onion and cook until soft
• Now, add the mince and cook for around 2 minutes, stirring regularly
• Now, add the potato, the rosemary, the garlic, and the paprika, and stir to combine
• Add the salt and continue to cook, ensuring the beef mince is cooked through
• Once cooked, drain the beef with a sieve to get rid of any excess oil and press down to dry it out

TRADITIONAL CROATIAN GOULASH RECIPE (GULAš)

Steps:

• Clean the meat from the veins if there are some and cut it into smaller pieces, 3 × 3 cm. Marinate the meat in the mustard and spices and let it sit in the refrigerator for one hour
• Heat one tablespoon of pork fat or vegetable oil in a pot and fry the meat on all sides until it gets browned. Once the meat is cooked, transfer it to a plate and add another tablespoon of fat to the pot
• Cut the onions very fine, peel the carrots and shred it using a grater. Cook the onions and carrots over low heat for 15 minutes. You can salt the vegetables a little to make them soften faster
• Once the vegetables have browned and become slightly mushy, add the meat and bay leaves and garlic. Pour over with wine and simmer for 10-15 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate. Now is the right time to add 2/3 the amount of liquid
• Cover the pot and cook over low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally. After the first hour, pour over the rest of the water or stock and cook for another 30-45 minutes
• Allow the stew to cool slightly and serve it with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and few slices of fresh hot pepper if you like to spice it up a bit
• Slice ​​some fresh bread, season the salad and simply enjoying these wonderful flavors

BUREK RECIPE CARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a small frying pan heat the olive oil and add the onions. Cook on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes until the onions are translucent.
• Add the beef and the rest of the ingredients. Cook until the beef is browned.
• Remove beef mixture from heat and place in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator. Warm meat with juice will ruin the delicate phyllo and make it soggy.
• Take phyllo dough and unroll carefully. Cut in half. Cover with a moist tea towel to avoid drying.
• Take 3 sheets of phyllo at a time and place a good amount of meat down the center, leaving about 2" at both top and bottom. Using a pastry brush, brush all around the edges of the dough. Fold in once all around. Fold from the short side up and roll tightly like a cigar. Brush with melted butter and place seam side down on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the burek are golden brown. Serve with a side of plain yogurt.
• Any leftover phyllo can be stored again in the freezer. Make sure you wrap it tightly so it doesn't dry out.