Spinach Pie (Byrek me Spinaq) – Albanian Cuisine
Albanian vegetable pies, Byrek Shqip‘tar me perime, are an Albanian recipe. for cooking pies. Albanian pies are generally made of thin pastry leaves.
which can be rolled out at home or bought as FILO dough at a supermarket. Most of the pies prepared by Albanian cooks are not sweet; instead, pie Fillings are almost always salty. Thus, a piece of such a pie may well serves the main dish of a meal.
Key Points
Ingredients:
- 1 cup oil, preferably olive oil
- 1 1/2 packets (or about 30) pastry leaves (Filo dough)
- 1 1/2 pounds spinach, chopped
- 1 cup diced feta cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 2 eggs
- Salt, half teaspoon
( NOTE: A medium-sized, round baking pan is recommended because it’s more authentic, but any medium-sized baking pan will do)
Directions:
Brush the baking pan with some of the oil and start laying the pastry. 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 an inch over.
the edges of the pan.
Sprinkle the spinach with salt, then mix well by hand. Add the feta cheese, oil, and onions, eggs, and salt, and spread this mixture over the already laid pastry.
leaves. Finish by covering the spinach with the rest of the pastry leaves.repeating the first-half procedure and then rolling the hanging edges of the
Lay the bottom leaves over the pie (think of a pizza crust), and sprinkle the top with oil.and bake moderately at 3501 °F for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve hot, accompanied with buttermilk or beaten yogurt, thinned down in cold water or with chilled stewed prunes. Sometimes a green salad adds the meal!
Serves 4-6.
