We recently visited Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city. Zagreb is full of interesting history, beautiful sights and quirky museums.

It is also full of great food! One of the must eat dishes in Zagreb is burek, a cheese and meat filled phyllo pastry from Ottoman origins. We’ve eaten a ton of burek in Turkey, and were excited to try the Croatian version.  

We’ve even heard that in Croatia, burek is often used as a metaphor for the country’s complex history and identity, with some saying that the layers of the burek represent the different cultures that have shaped Croatia over the centuries. We tried a number of great bureks in Zagreb, and now we’re ready to make our own. Check out or video below or keep reading for the recipe!

Croatian Burek Recipe

Ingredients

• One package of phyllo dough
• 1-2 potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1lb (450g) ground beef
• 1 ½ cups (375g) feta cheese
• 1 egg
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Allow your phyllo dough to thaw to room temperature
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit or 180 celsius
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the potato.  Boil until the potato is cooked through and can be easily pierced by a knife or fork.  Remove the potato and set it aside to cool
4. Dice the onion
5. Add the olive oil to a pan on medium high heat.  Add the beef and saute until it starts to get some color.  Add the onion to the same pan, cook until the beef is browned and cooked through
6. Add the beef and onion mixture to a large bowl.  Add the potato to the same bowl and break it up to combine it will with the beef mixture.
7. When the mixture has cooled a bit, add the feta cheese
8. Take one sheet of phyllo dough and lay it flat.  Sprinkle it on both sides with a bit of water, just enough that it is moistened enough to be pliable to work with, but not so much that it is soaked and you can’t move it or roll it.
9. Spread a generous amount of the meat filling along the bottom edge of the phyllo sheet.
10. Then, roll the sheet up into a log.
11. Place it on a parchment lined baking sheet and roll the log inside itself to form a spiral shape.
12. Repeat steps 8-11 with your remaining filling and dough.
13. Make an egg wash by combining the egg and about 1 Tablespoon of water and brush it on top of the burek.
14. Bake the burek at 350 degrees fahrenheit (180 celsius) for 30-40 minutes, until it is golden brown.  Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.  Enjoy!