Albanian Meat Pie Food

BUREK

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Brown ground beef in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain fat; stir in allspice, paprika, salt, and pepper. Transfer beef to a large bowl and stir in potato and onion.
• Unroll phyllo pastry and transfer 2 sheets to a work surface; stack sheets. Spoon 1/8th of the ground beef mixture down one long edge of the phyllo pastry. Roll phyllo into a tube, encasing beef. Shape the tube into a coil (snail shape). Place the roll on an ungreased baking sheet; brush with melted butter. Repeat, placing finished rolls up against one another to keep them from unrolling.
• Bake burek in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

ALBANIAN MEAT PIE

Steps:

• In a saucepan add the olive oil and fry the onions for 2 minutes before adding the mince and browning.
• Add the tomotoe puree, salt, pepper, paprika, potatoes and beef stock. Bring to the boil, leave to simmer for 10 minutes/ When the mixture has thickered and water boiled away turn off the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
• If using homemade pastry, place a filo pastry disc in a large baking tray and add filling on top the add the second disc on top and seal the edges by tucking them down.
• For premade pastry, layer sheets of filo pastry on top of each other brushing a layer of olive oil after each one before the next one is place down. Once 6/8 sheet are laid add the filling on top. Repeat the layering until a further 6/8 sheets are on top of the filling - olive oil brushed on each one.
• Put a thin layer of oil over the top.
• Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown.
• Once removed from the oven, pour half a cup of water over the top and half a cup of water around the edges. Cover the meat byrek with two tea towels and leave to stand for 1 hour before serving. You can skip this step if you prefer a crisper pie.

ALBANIAN SPINACH PIE (BYREK ME SPINAQ OR PITE)

Steps:

• (NOTE: A round cake or pie pan is recommended because it's more authentic but any similar sized pan will do).
• Brush the pan with some of the oil, and start laying the filo leaves inside. First, lay two leaves, sprinkle or brush with oil, then lay two other leaves, and repeat the procedure until HALF of the leaves are laid. Make sure that they cover the pan by hanging them about one inch over the edges of the pan. Change directions, so that the entire pan is evenly covered.
• Sprinkle spinach with salt, then mix well by hand. Let sit for a minute.
• Add the feta cheese, onions, eggs and stir.
• Spread spinach mixture over the filo leaves in the pan.
• Cover the spinach with the rest of the pastry leaves repeating the first-half procedure.
• Roll the hanging edges of the bottom leaves over the pie (think of a pizza crust), sprinkle top with oil.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot.