Albania / Main
Byrek me spinaq
A pie of thin pastry layered with spinach and brined cheese, each layer soaked in oil.
Ingredients
- Filo pastry500 g
- Spinach1 kg
- Brined white cheese400 g
- Spring onions6
- Olive oil180 ml
- Dill30 g
- Salt and pepperto taste
Quantities are auto-calculated from the original recipe as a guide. Items without numbers (e.g. “to taste”) are not changed.
Method 7 steps
Scald the spinach with boiling water, drain it and wring it out dry by hand.
Chop the spinach and mix it with the crumbled cheese, spring onion, dill and pepper. Salt cautiously; the cheese is salty.
Oil a tin and lay in three sheets of filo, brushing each one.
Spread a third of the filling, cover with two oiled sheets and repeat twice more.
Finish with three sheets on top, tuck the edges in and brush generously with oil.
Score it into squares down to the base with a sharp knife; cutting it after baking will not work.
Bake at 190 °C for forty-five minutes, to a deep golden crisp crust.
