Burek was an instance in my life of traveling where I was really excited to try a particular food once I got to the country I was going to, which in this case was Croatia. I arrived there in 2004, tried the Burek (in Split) and liked it. I found it to be really heavy and greasy, but that was part of the charm and I ate a great deal of them. Upon successive trips to Croatia, I always hunt these guys down for a quick meal in the morning, since later in the day, they get a bit soggy with the grease if they sit for awhile.
Now having been to Sarajevo and Belgrade, I can safely say that I have had the real Burek. The one in Croatia is an impostor and presenting itself under false pretenses. They are really what the Serbs call a ‘gibanica’. In reality, in Sarajevo, the Burek is just a meat pastry, served in this rolled-up filo dough around the meat filling. It has been cooked under a sač, which is basically a pile of coals that sit on a tray above a large, round pan, where the Burek has been coiled up. Once cooked, you often will buy them by weight and they are a chunk of heaven.
In case you are rolling your eyes and thinking, “Yeah, great. More Balkan meat…”, I need to assure you that there are more kinds than just the meat, but those are the real Burek. For reference there are:
Sirnica w/ cheese
Zeljanica w/ spinach and cheese
Tikvenjača w/ pumpkin
Krompiruša w/ potatoes
Jabukovača w/ apples and sweet
Višnjevača w/ sour cherries and sweet
While all collectively called ‘pita’ (yes, confusing to those in America, since pita is something different for us), I haven’t tried all of these, but the Sirnica and the Zeljanica are both quite good as well. Admittedly, I keep coming back to the meat one. It must be the Croat in me, although ironically, the Croatian ones simply aren’t as good and they also just call them all Burek with some kind of a ‘s’ and then the filling at the end like ‘s krompirom’ which means, ‘with potatoes’. Cheeky, yes. When in Bosnia Herzegovina or Serbia, hit the Burek and hit it hard.
5 Comments until now
I should not be reading these posts when hungry!
And after having recently turned vegetarian, I have definitely convinced myself that when I go back there to visit, eating burek and cevapcici will be perfectly OK…
Ah, the loveliness of Sarajevski burek and cevapčići. I found them to be the two most desirable and satisfying foodstuffs that I have ever enjoyed.
Oh yes you should be reading when hungry. It’s much better than reading while a bunch of idiots on mopeds are flying down the street behind you like they are now while I am in Trogir. God I miss those bureks…
I am Bosnian first and then Bosniak. (that’s a recipe). I’ve been in my beloved Bosnia my intire life…fall out of ex YU, war and all other craps… You wrote awsome stuff about Sarajevo and Bosnia. thank you for your courage to be so objective. (we are so misunderstood) I am very proud right now cause I can feel that you are honest….
mmm I can’t wait my lunch break to have…burek!!! zdravo
Hey Darijan, glad to hear you like what I wrote so much. I love Bosnia and I say that as a a full-blooded, Northern Croat. The food is great there and it’s one of the few places where every damned conversation does not turn in to a talk about the war. I envy your eating of burek for lunch. There is nothing like it or cevapčići in the US.
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