Savory spinach pie
![]() Piece of layered variety of savory spinach pie | |
Alternative names | zeljanica, spanakopita, ispanaklı Selanik böreği, ispanaklı Boşnak böreği |
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Type | Börek(savoury pie) |
Place of origin | Turkey,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Serbia,Croatia,Montenegro,Albania,Kosovo,Greece |
Region or state | Balkans(more broadlySoutheastern Europe) |
Serving temperature | Hot |
Main ingredients | Phyllo,spinach(orleeks,chard,orsorrel),white cheese(mladi sir,orbeyaz peynir,orfeta,orricotta),eggs,sometimesonionsorscallions |
Savory spinach pieis a pastry eaten throughout theBalkans.The filling is made of choppedspinach(sometimeschard) and usually feta or white cheese, andegg.
Etymology and history
[edit]Turkey
[edit]Ispanaklı Selanik Böreğiand /orIspanaklı Boşnak Böreği,[1]is aTurkishsavoryspinachpie,orbörek.[2][3]Thebörekgets its name from eitherSelanik(Thessaloniki) or Bosnia as it is widely common inBosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
[edit]Zeljanicain Bosnia and Herzegovina is a savory pie filled with spinach, or sometimechard(in Serbo-Croatianblitva); the wordburek(Turkishbörek) is a pie filled withminced meat.[4][5][6]
TasteAtlas,an encyclopedia of traditional dishes, in their presentation of the 100 best pastries in the world ranked Bosnian and Herzegovinian traditional pastry dishes, puttingzeljanicaaboveburek,sirnicaandkrompiruša.[7]
Greece
[edit]Spanakopita(/ˌspænəˈkɒpɪtə,ˌspɑː-,-ˈkoʊ-/;Greek:σπανακόπιτα,fromσπανάκιspanáki'spinach', and πίταpíta'pie') is aGreeksavory spinachpie.[8]It often also contains cheese, typicallyfeta,and may then be calledspanakotiropita(Greek:σπανακοτυρόπιτα"spinach-cheese pie" ), especially innorthern Greece.[citation needed]Insouthern Greece,the term spanakopita is also common for the versions with cheese. A version withoutcheeseandeggsis eaten duringreligious faststhroughout Greece. Spanakopita appears in many traditional Greek cookery books and appears in numerous restaurants and hotel menus throughoutGreeceand internationally.
Ingredients and variations
[edit]The traditional filling comprises choppedspinach,feta cheese,onionsorscallions,egg,andseasoning.[9]Other white, preferably salted cheeses such askefalotirimay also be mixed with the feta cheese, and some may be used as a substitute for feta cheese. Herbs such asdill,mintandparsleymay be used as flavouring.[10]The filling is wrapped or layered inphyllo(filo) pastry withbutterorolive oil,either in a large pan from which individual servings are cut, or rolled into individual triangular servings.[8]While the filo-dough recipe is most common, some recipes use a village-style pastryhoriatiko,which has a thicker crust.[10]It can also be made withpuff pastry.The pastry is golden in colour when baked, the colour often enhanced by butter andegg yolk.It can be served straight from the oven or at room temperature.[citation needed]
There is a "fasting"(νηστίσιμη;"nistisimi" ), orvegan,version of spanakopita, eaten duringLentand other religious fasts. This version has spinach, onions or green onions, other green herbs like dill, parsley, orceleryas filling and usesolive oiland a littlewheat flourbut noeggsordairyproducts. The mixture isoven-baked until crisp. Non-traditional vegan versions are available that typically usetofuinstead of cheese.[11]
In rural Greece, smaller amounts of spinach are used, with the missing amount replaced withleeks,chardandsorrel.[citation needed]
Related pastries
[edit]Börek[12][13]orburekis a family of pastries or pies found in theBalkans,Middle EastandCentral Asia.The pastry is made of a thin flakydoughsuch asfilowith a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes. Boreks are mainly associated with theMiddle East,Armenia,and also with the formerOttoman Empire,including theBalkansand theSouth Caucasus,Eastern EuropeanandCentral Europeancountries,Northern AfricaandCentral Asia.
See also
[edit]- Tiropita,a traditional Greek pie made with cheese
- Burek
- Rustico (pastry)
- Gibanica
- Bougatsa
- List of Turkish dishes
- List of Greek dishes
- List of pies, tarts and flans
- List of snack foods
References
[edit]- ^withbeyond.com."Buğdaydan Gelen Lezzetler Börekler".Skylife(in Turkish). Archived fromthe originalon 2021-06-26.Retrieved2021-06-26.
- ^"Selanik böreği nasıl yapılır, özelliği nedir? İşte ıspanaklı Selanik böreği tarifi".www.hurriyet.com.tr(in Turkish).Retrieved2021-05-02.
- ^"Ulu Önder Atatürk'ün sevdiği yemekler ve tarifleri".www.hurriyet.com.tr(in Turkish).Retrieved2021-05-02.
- ^Elvır Hodzıc; Stipe Majic (16 Oct 2022)."Simpatična regionalna rasprava u pat poziciji: Bio šareni, sjeckani ili buredžik, u Bosni je burek samo s mesom".www.aa.com.tr.Retrieved29 January2024.
- ^"KAKO JE POPULARNO JELO PODIJELILO REGIJU: Čuj" burek sa sirom "".Izdvojeno.ba(in Bosnian). 18 October 2022.Retrieved29 January2024.
- ^"Mit je razbijen - burek nije isključivo s mesom!".Punkufer.hr.30 Oct 2014.Retrieved29 January2024.
- ^"Zeljanica prestigla burek: Taste Atlas odabrao 100 najboljih peciva svijeta".Fokus.ba(in Bosnian). 24 February 2023.Retrieved29 January2024.
- ^abWright, Clifford (2003).The Little Foods of the Mediterranean: 500 Fabulous Recipes for Antipasti, Tapas, Hors D'Oeuvre, Meze, and More.Harvard Common Press. pp. 268–269.ISBN978-1558322271.
- ^Zane, Eva (1992).Greek Cooking for the Gods.Santa Rosa, California: The Cole Group.ISBN978-1-56426-501-2.
- ^abCloake, Felicity(22 August 2018)."How to make the perfect spanakopita".The Guardian.Retrieved18 September2020.
- ^Galer-Unti, Caitlin (7 May 2016)."Vegan Spanakopita (Greek Spinach & Feta Pie".Vegan World.Retrieved18 September2020.
- ^"Home: Oxford English Dictionary".www.oed.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-09-25.Retrieved2021-09-25.
- ^"BOREK | Definition of BOREK by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com also meaning of BOREK".Lexico Dictionaries | English.Archived fromthe originalon September 16, 2021.Retrieved2021-09-25.