King’s Burek
One day I felt like making burek - and so I did it. This one is packed with goodness! The recipe has been tasted multiple times and was very enjoyed - one guest said that it’s not just the normal burek. It’s King’s burek. ;)
Ingredients
For 3 bureks / portions:
head of cabbage (approx. 800 g)
mushrooms - champignons, shiitake… (500 g)
natural tofu (100 g)
leek (medium)
phyllo dough (3 sheets)
turmeric
salt
olive oil
*optional: a handful of roasted, ground hazelnuts
Method
First, wash the eatable, onion-like part of the leek. Then cut it into small pieces and water-fry them (put in a pan and fry - once it starts to stick, add some water…) in a LARGE pan - because here come almost all other ingredients.
Meanwhile, wash the mushrooms and slice them into thin slices. I slice larger champignons in half, and then I cut them transversely.
Once the leek becomes more glassy and soft, add mushrooms to a pan, mix with the leek and cook on medium o high heat until the water evaporates. You can add some salt during this step.
During the waiting time, you can slice the washed head of cabbage. My technique here is to remove leaf by leaf (by cutting them off the stem), and once you get 5 leaves, lay one on top of the other and roll them together. Then hold this roll together and transversely slice them thinly. By doing so, you should get a very thin and quite long strip of cabbage.
Once the mushrooms lose their excess water, add the cabbage and cover the pan with a lid. Still leave on high heat. Stir every few minutes, add salt to your taste and let the mixture cook for about 10 minutes - the cabbage doesn’t need to be totally soft after that time - the oven will do this job.
Next, you can prepare tofu “eggs” - take a piece of tofu and break it into smaller pieces with a hand/spatula on a new, small pan (for pancakes). Add 3 dashes of ground turmeric, a pinch of salt, stir well and leave it to fry (1 - 2 minutes). If it sticks to the bottom, add a few spoons of water. Then set aside.
When the cabbage is soft enough, remove the mixture from the pan into a large bowl. Add tofu egg and ground hazelnuts (if you wish) and mix well. If there is any liquid left - remove it; otherwise, you will have a lake on a baking tray.
Taste the mixture - if you think any spice is missing - solve the problem. Otherwise, you can begin to stuff the dough.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
Spread a dough sheet at a time, sprinkle it with olive oil, and spread it evenly with 1/3 of the mixture. Then roll it and place it on a baking tray. Don’t forget to squeeze together the ends of each burek. I oiled it also on the outside so that it bakes nicer.
When you are done - bake bureks at 180 °C for approximately 30 minutes or until they develop a heavenly smell and become a little bit brown.
And then all you need to do is enjoy!
*I served burek with a sauce made of goat horn pepper and green lentils. Don’t forget that the possibilities are endless!
