Ingredients:
- 1lb phyllo dough. I used Apollo #4 which has 20-22 sheets. Different brands have different number of sheets. Also, same brands have thinner or thicker offerings. From as low as 7-8 per pound to up to 25 sheets per pound. Use the ones that have minimum 17-18 sheets.
- 7oz water (200ml)
- 3.5oz oil (100ml)
- 1tsp salt
- 2tsp baking powder
Filling (any of these, pick one, fillings are about 12oz cooked):
- 12oz-14oz home made ricotta (do not use store made)
- 10oz ground beef sauteed with 1 medium onion
- 12oz-14oz fresh leeks (sauteed before adding)
- 1 small, 3/4 medium or 1/2 large head sauerkraut (not regular cabbage) (sauteed before adding)
- 12oz chopped grilled chicken coated with buffalo wings sauce (1/4 cup) and 1/4 cup blue cheese (optional)
- 1lb (500g) frozen spinach (sauteed before adding)
- 8oz (250g) shredded mozzarella and 4oz (120g) chopped ham
- 1lb fresh cabbage and 1 medium onion, saute onion with 2Tbsp oil, add cabbage, add 2 more Tbsp oil and 1/4 cup water, cook for 15 mins, covered on low
Instructions:
- Grease the pan (12″ diameter x 2″ deep) with 3 Tbsp oil. Don’t forget the vertical edges.
- When working with sheets, don’t forget to cover them or they’ll get dry and brittle very quick.
- Add 4 sheets in the pan, so they look like this.
- Mix the oil/water/salt/baking powder combo well and add 3-4 Tbsp and spread.
- Then add 7-8 sheets slightly crumbled like this.
- Add 3-4 Tbsp of the oil/water mix and 1/2 of the filling (ricotta or sauteed meat/onion)
- Add a single sheet on top.
- Add 3-4 Tbsp of the oil/water mix.
- Then add 7-8 sheets slightly crumbled like this. Make sure you have 3 or 4 sheets left.
- Add 3-4 Tbsp of the mix and 1/2 of the filling (ricotta or sauteed meat/onion)
- At this point you’ll have 2 or 3 sheets left.Add the remaining sheets on top.
- Add 3-4 Tbsp of the oil/water mix.
- Fold the bottom sheets over the top to close the burek.
- Get a toothpick and poke holes at about an inch distance across the whole pie.
- Add the remaining oil/water mix. If you don’t have any, just make a mix of 1.5 Tbsp oil and 3 Tbsp water.
- Bake on 400F for about 20-30 something minutes.
- When it’s ready, flip it over and cut in 4 or 8 pieces.
