Byrek me Koshtë (Albanian Cheese Pie) 🥧

Modo de preparo

1. 1

   Mix the crumbled cheese with one egg and pepper; if using spinach, fold it through. Whisk yoghurt, oil and the remaining eggs into a pourable wash.

2. 2

   Butter a round or square baking tray. Layer two sheets of pastry crossed at right angles, letting edges hang over the rim, brushing each generously with the wash so the layers baste as they bake.

3. 3

   Spread the filling over the central third of the pastry, then continue stacking brushed sheets around and over it, pleating and scrunching as you go — the pleats are what make the inside flaky rather than flat.

4. 4

   Fold the overhanging sheets up and over the top, brush the final face with the last wash, and score into triangles before it enters the oven.

5. 5

   Bake at 190 C for 35-40 minutes, until deeply gold and audible crackle greets the knife. Rest ten minutes, cut along the scores, and serve warm with yogurt on the side — or cold from paper, standing, like Tirana does.