Every time I spend an extended amount of time on the East Coast, which is quite often, I take one of my precious days off and spend it eating with my longtime agent and friend Jeff Googel, whose appetite rivals that of most mortal men. My favorite of these adventures was our tour of Arthur Ave in the Bronx, where I ate so many cured Italian meats, cheeses, breads and pastries but wound up being surprised the most by my first ever bite of the Balkan favorite, burek (which inspired this recipe). It was the last thing I ate that day, and surprisingly, the most satiating.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 50 min |
| Active: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces ground lamb
- 12 ounces ground sirloin
- 1 medium onion, small dice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing
- 9 sheets store-bought phyllo dough, thawed
- Whole-milk Greek yogurt, for serving
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the lamb and beef and cook until browned, about 7 minutes. Remove to a large baking sheet to cool completely. Add the onions to the skillet and sauté until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the allspice and paprika and season with salt and pepper. Remove the onions to the baking sheet to cool completely.
- For the yogurt wash: Meanwhile, combine the olive oil, yogurt and egg in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.
- Grease the bottom of a 12-inch cast-iron enameled brazier or cast-iron skillet with the cooking spray. Place one layer of phyllo on the bottom. It’s A-OK if it crinkles; that adds dimension and texture.
- Brush with the yogurt wash and place another sheet. Brush with the yogurt wash, then repeat again so you have three layers of phyllo. Spread half the cooled meat mixture into an even layer on the phyllo and place another layer of phyllo. Brush with the yogurt wash, then repeat the above process so you have another three layers of pastry and yogurt wash. Add the remaining meat and top with another three layers of yogurt-washed phyllo. Tuck in any overlapping sheet and brush the top with the remaining yogurt wash.
- Bake until the phyllo is golden, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, then slice into wedges. Serve with a small glass of Greek yogurt with the dill, mint and lemon zest stirred in.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 375 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 20 g |
| Cholesterol | 90 mg |
| Sodium | 385 mg |
Reviews
Just made this for our Easter dinner because we didn’t want ham. The flavor was really good, but the phyllo dough we bought was smaller, so I would recommend using two sheets per layer instead of one if you use the 9×14 sheets. I also didn’t see why you had to layer the meat because the middle layer of phyllo dough gets lost when cooked. Maybe this is due to our dough being smaller, but we watched the episode where Jeff made it and he didn’t layer it. So, use half the dough on the bottom, add all the meat mixture, then place the other half of the dough on top. I always make a recipe as directed the first time I make it, then tweak it as needed for the next time.
Fabulous. I love the kitchen and the chef’s/cook’s (I love Sunny for calling herself that) recipes. Jeff this was great. I did up the level of spice, added garlic and doubled the onion but it was great. My son’s response was Mom this is fabulous. Thanks Jeff.
Tasty! I wanted to try it with allspice but I didn’t have any, and in my culture we don’t put allspice in burek, so no big deal I just skipped it. Washed it down with buttermilk (plain kefir works even better) because it’s a traditional pairing. Tip- let it sit about 10-15 minutes before putting in the oven. It rehydrates the phyllo a bit for a more homemade texture and it mitigates some of the breakage.