Cheese Burek
Across the Balkans and Turkey, burek is breakfast, lunch and snack food all at once. We roll sheets of filo around a salty cheese filling into long ropes, then coil them into a tin. You get shattering golden layers outside and soft, just-set cheese within.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Total
- 1 h 20 min
- Servings
- 8
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 460 kcal
Ingredients
For the filling
To assemble
Makes: 1 pie Ø 28 cm, 8 slices
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
Oven
190 °C · top and bottom heat, no fan
With a fan: 170 °C
-
Step 1: Make the filling
Mash the curd cheese and feta together with a fork into fine crumbs. Add the eggs and 100 g yogurt and mix into a thick, fairly smooth paste.
-
Step 2: Get set up
Heat the oven to 190 °C. Mix the melted butter with the oil and brush it over a 28 cm round tin. Unroll the filo and keep it under a damp tea towel so the sheets don’t dry out and crack.
-
Step 3: Roll the ropes
Lay down a sheet of filo, brush lightly with the butter mixture, top with a second sheet and brush again. Spoon a 2 cm strip of filling along one long edge and roll up loosely. Gently scrunch the roll like an accordion — this stops it tearing when you coil it.
-
Step 4: Coil it up
Coil the first rope into a snail in the centre of the tin, then butt each new rope against the end of the last, continuing the spiral out to the edges. Repeat until you run out of filo and filling — usually 5–6 ropes.
-
Step 5: Bake
Brush the top with the rest of the butter mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Beat the yolk with 1 tbsp yogurt, brush it over the burek, scatter with sesame and bake for another 15–20 minutes until deep golden and crisp.
-
Step 6: Check the filling
Push a knife in between the coils near the centre: the filling should be set, with no runny egg. If the top browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
-
Step 7: Rest and slice
Leave the burek in the tin for 10 minutes so the filling settles, then cut into 8 wedges with a sharp knife. Serve warm, with yogurt or ayran.
Tips & variations
-
Tip
Thaw filo overnight in the fridge without opening the pack. Filo rushed on the counter tends to stick together and tear.
-
Tip
Brined cheeses vary a lot in saltiness. Taste first; if it’s very sharp, soak it in cold water for 20 minutes.
-
Variation
Add 150 g spinach, wilted and squeezed very dry, to the filling for a spinach and cheese burek.
-
Storage
Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in a 180 °C oven for 10 minutes — the microwave turns filo limp.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 8 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 460 kcal | 3,680 kcal |
| Protein | 18 g | 144 g |
| Fat | 25 g | 200 g |
| Carbohydrates | 40 g | 320 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
Cooked it? Rate the recipe
No ratings yet — yours will be the first.
