HAGGIS BYREK
Serves 8, Ready in 45 Minutes
Slice of haggis byrek
I have no idea how this recipe arrived into my brain but I’m so glad it did!
I’ll often find myself creating dishes that are a blend of the two cultures in our house but the fusion of Albanian and Scottish is never usually on this level. And while I know haggis isn’t for everyone, this recipe might just change your mind. If not, then no worries, you could definitely try veggie haggis with this instead. It would work just as well!
For anyone who is new to byrek, it’s the Albanian version of Turkish börek or Greek spanakopita. In Albania the most popular flavours are spinach and cheese, cheese on its own or meat. At certain times of the year and especially for celebrations, it’s also traditional to make it with leeks, pumpkin or even walnuts.
Seeing as the 25th of January is Burns Night in Scotland, I’ve created my own Scottish byrek to mark the occasion! Cue the bagpipes! (And the çifteli I guess)
Freshly baked haggis byrek
INGREDIENTS
170g butter, melted
2x Packs of filo pastry sheets (around 250g per pack)
1x haggis (454g)
2x eggs, beaten
METHOD
Heat the oven to 200 degrees (180 degrees fan).
Remove the haggis from its case, break it apart and fry in a hot, lightly oiled pan until almost cooked. Set aside to cool slightly.
Lay out a full sheet of the filo pastry horizontally so that the longest edges of the sheet are at the top and bottom and the smaller edges are at the sides.
With your silicone pastry brush, sprinkle the melted butter across the entire sheet. Be careful to not overdo it with the butter as you don’t want the sheet to tear from getting too soaked.
Using a spoon, about an inch away from the bottom edge of the pastry sheet, add a line of the haggis in a line across the width of the sheet, leaving a few centimetres at each edge clear.
Starting from the edge closest to you, gently roll the pastry away from you into a sausage shape containing the spinach filling. Be careful not to rip the pastry.
Wind the sausage shape into a wheel in your chosen baking tray.
Continue creating these sausage shapes and adding them around the wheel you make first to use up all of the sheets of pastry. Use little brushes of the butter to join pieces together where needed.
Before putting the byrek in the oven, brush a little beaten egg oven the whole byrek. Don’t worry about using the whole egg as it will likely be too much. Just use as much as you need to get a thin, even coating over the whole byrek.
Bake in the oven for 35- 40 minutes until the top is golden brown all over.
Serve hot. When you’re serving swirled byrek like this, it’s traditional to cut it into slices like you would a cake.
Slice of haggis byrek