Vrući Burek – A burek a day keeps the doctor away!

I lied. A burek a day will probably get your blood vessels clogged in a matter of months and you’ll gain 20 pounds in no time. But (a crucial but) they’re irresistibly tasty so you can treat yourself with a fat burek once in a while, especially if you’ve been walking the whole day and you need to replenish your calories.

Bureks are usually sold in bakeries along with all the other dough products and they’re ok. But the burek discussed here is sold in a specialised burek booth on a green market called Kvatriæ and, as is most often the case, when somebody specialises in something, it’s usually top quality stuff.

When you lean on a small booth window, you can see the burek master stretching the dough to the incredible see-through thinness, then carefully spreading it onto the table and filling with one of the five possible fillings – minced meat, cheese, apples, spinach or potatoes. Then he puts it in the oven and 15-20 minutes later, fresh hot burek is ready just for you to either relish in a nearby cafe or to be cut and eaten at a small table for 2 in front of the booth.

Often strangers join the table and an interesting conversation is at hand (I once shared the table with the best Croatian sports journalist – one of the most interesting people I’ve met so far!)