Croatian Cheese Burek

This is my version of burek, which is a type of pastry you’ll find in bakeries all over Croatia. Burek can be filled with different things, such as meat or spinach but the cheese ones are my favourite.

Ingredients

• 250g cottage cheese

• 100g feta cheese, crumbled

• 2 tbsp sour cream or Greek-style yoghurt

• 3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 1 tbsp chopped mint or dill

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 15 sheets (375g packet) filo pastry

• 150ml olive oil or melted butter

• 1 egg, lightly beaten, to glaze

• 1 tbsp nigella seeds or sesame seeds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-bake). Combine the cottage and feta cheeses in a bowl. Add sour cream or yoghurt, and herbs and season with pepper and just a little salt, as the cheese is already quite salty. Mix well to combine.

2. Place one sheet of filo on a clean work surface and brush with oil or butter. Lay another sheet of filo on top and brush with oil/butter then add a third layer of filo and brush with oil/butter. Work quickly and keep the remaining filo sheets under a clean tea towel so they don’t dry out.

3. Spread one-fifth of the filling evenly along the edge of one wide side of the pastry but leaving the ends free of filling. Loosely roll up into a log to enclose the filling and finish with the seam underneath. Seal the ends with oil/butter. Now coil the length into a spiral shape, tucking the ends underneath.

4. Place the coil onto a baking tray and brush with oil/butter. Repeat the same process with the remaining sheets of filo and filling. Brush the coils with egg to glaze and sprinkle the tops with nigella or sesame seeds. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown all over. Some filling may leak out but that’s okay. Best served while still warm.

Enjoy!

Recipes & images by Julie Le Clerc.
Burek is a Balkan dish you will find all over Croatia. Click here to read a few other great dishes to enjoy in Croatia, or more specifically Split.