I've been in Albania about a week now and my dear friend, Nertila, has a wood-fire stove to keep her home warm in the winter and to cook and bake with. She taught us to make traditional byrek last night in her oven.
So first start with your wood-fire oven. Light it up and make sure it's nice and hot. If your wood is wet, put it in your oven to dry it out if it's been raining all day long. While that is heating up you can begin to prepare your byrek.
Once you have your oven, you will also need:
Peta dough (no relation to the organization) You might call this filo dough.
3 cups of minced or finely chopped pork or lamb
4 cups of spinach
4 small tomatoes
one large onion
salt to taste
bouillon cube
1/4 cup sunflower oil (or whatever kind you like)
Sautee your meat with onion till fully cooked. Add your spinach and tomatoes. Sautee until it is cooked down.
Now prepare the peta.
Take each layer apart and put on a cooking sheet it fits on. After every other layer, spread oil and salt on top.
After approximately 8 layers, spread your layer of meat and spinach.
Add a couple more layers while adding oil and salt to every other layer.
Cut your byrek into squares.
Nertila said she was experimenting with her byrek and wanted to add a broth to the top because she thought her peta was too dray. So don't be afraid to experiment with your peta. Be creative!
Now the oven is hot and ready and the byrek is ready to be baked. Make sure to be careful around your oven. It's so hot!
It should take about 30 minutes. Rotate your byrek to bake it evenly if necessary. When it's done, it should be golden brown and slightly crisp, but not too dry.
Now it's time to eat! Bravo!
Try making a cheese byrek too! If you can find it, get a milkshake to go with it or a salty yogurt. And when I say milkshake, I do not mean ice cream. I mean the Albanian milkshake which tastes like salty sour cream milk. Delish!
Mirupafshim!
ps- We made another one again with rosemary and feta cheese. Oh my goodness! It's so good!
