Balkan Lamb and Leek Pie

Name: Balkan Lamb and Leek Pie
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/4 pound ground lamb; 3 medium leeks, white and light green part only, cleaned, cut lengthwise and then crosswise in 1/4-inch half-moons. (You should have about 4 cups.); 8 tablespoon butter, divided (3/5); 1 tablespoon coarse black pepper; 2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 package phyllo dough (thawed overnight in the fridge if purchased frozen)

Instructions

Call it pita, banitsa, or zelnik, the people of the Balkans love their filled phyllo pies. Cheese, leeks, spinach, cabbage, pumpkin, apple, or meat fill these. My mom used to make one filled with ground beef, onion, and a lot of black pepper (I mean *a lot* of black pepper!). I decided to use ground lamb and leek and coil the little rolls into a round baking dish. This makes a small 10-inch pie but you can certainly double the ingredients to fill a 14- or 15-inch deep-dish pizza pan.

Updated at: Wed, 17 Dec 2025 04:06:47 GMT