45. Albanian Byrek with Turli Perimesh

Name: 45. Albanian Byrek with Turli Perimesh
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 10 sheets store-bought filo pastry; 40g melted butter; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 bunch spinach, finely chopped; 4 spring onions, finely sliced; 600g fresh ricotta; 2 eggs, beaten; Zest of 1 lemon; 2 tbsp olive oil; 300g mushrooms, sliced; One onion, sliced; 1 capsicum, sliced; 2 zucchini, sliced; 2 pattypan squash, sliced; 400g can whole peeled tomatoes; Parsley, chopped

6 steps

Prep:30minCook:50min

Make sure not to get the “smooth” ricotta commercially available in tubs - it’s far too wet for this dish. You’re looking for ricotta that still retains the shape of its mould - this is sometimes found vacuum packed, sometimes in the deli section of Australian supermarkets.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 09:03:06 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Good

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories557.5 kcal (28%)

Total Fat33.4 g (48%)

Carbs45.8 g (18%)

Sugars7.4 g (8%)

Protein22.5 g (45%)

Sodium492.9 mg (25%)

Fiber6.2 g (22%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

5 servings

Byrek

10 sheetsfilo pastry

store-bought

40gbutter

melted

1 Tbspolive oil

1 bunchspinach

finely chopped

4spring onions

finely sliced

600gfresh ricotta

2eggs

beaten

1zest of lemon

Turli Perimesh

2 Tbspolive oil

300gmushrooms

400gcan whole peeled tomatoes

parsley

chopped

Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

OvenPreheat

Step 2

Sauté spinach and spring onions in a pan with the tablespoon of olive oil until wilted, aiming to keep it as dry as possible. Drain the product in a sieve or colander if necessary.

Pan

Step 3

When cooler, combined the spinach mixture with the ricotta and lemon zest, and season with salt and pepper until it’s savoury but not salty. Mix in the eggs and set aside.

Step 4

In a 30cm pie dish (or thereabouts), layer 6 filo sheets to cover the edges of the dish, with significant overlap over the edge - about 10 cm or so. Don’t stress if your filo sheets tear as you’re using them - the number of sheets I’ve nominated is a guide. If you need extra filo pastry to fill gaps and repair tears, that’s absolutely fine! 10 sheets is just my estimate, and what I like to do because it gives a pie with a generous filling-to-pastry ratio, which I just like better. Fill the centre hole with a further two sheets of pastry and brush with the melted butter (don’t worry about the pastry over the sides of the dish). Fill the pie dish with your spinach and ricotta mixture, and cover with the overlapping edges of pastry. Add a further two filo sheets on top to seal the Byrek, and crinkle any offcuts to make a nice rustic finish to the top of the pie. Brush/drizzle with the remaining butter. Bake at 180 degrees for 35-40 minutes until golden.

OvenHeat

Step 5

Prepare the vegetables for the Turli as uniformly as possible (i.e. keep the width of slices relatively uniform), and sauté in a large pan with olive oil. Season as the vegetables sauté, and get some colour on them at high heat. When they’re starting to sweat and soften, add the tomatoes and break them up with a fork, turning the heat down. Cook until vegetables are cooked to your liking, and season with salt and pepper.

Saute Pan

Step 6

Garnish the Turli Perimesh with parsley, and allow the Byrek to cook for 10 minutes after removing from the oven before serving.