Boureki (A Recipe from Crete)
"In Greece this would be served as a main (vegetarian) course. You don't have to eat meat every day."
photo by Jonathan Melendez
- Ready In:
- 1hr 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Serves:
-
8
ingredients
- 3 lbs large zucchini, washed, sliced into thin rounds
- 2 lbs large potatoes, peeled, cut into thin rounds
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3⁄4 cup olive oil
- 4 -5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lb ricotta cheese, crumbled (or anthotiro, if you can get it)
- 1⁄2 lb mizithra cheese, grated (you can sub Parmesan)
- 2 tablespoons of fresh mint, minced (1 tblsp. dried)
- salt and pepper
- 1⁄2 cup flour
- 1⁄4 cup water
directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (170C).
- Put the zucchini, potato and onion into a deep bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 cup flour, salt and pepper to taste (careful! the cheese will have lots of salt don't use too much), all the grated cheese, mint, garlic, olive oil, and toss to coat all slices.
- Pour this mixture into a greased (olive oil) 13 X 9" pyrex baking dish (this doesn't have to be pretty- it won't show much when baked and sliced- taste is everything!).
- Press down with palms of hands to compact somewhat. Carefully pour 1/4 cup water over top.
- Bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. (if boureki appears to be too dry during baking, you can add up to 1/4 cup more water - but careful, the zucchini and potatoes will also release liquid during baking).
- Allow to cool 15 minutes before cutting into.
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Reviews
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I've never made this before, but it will definitely be making again. It was flavorful, filling and the perfect side dish. -
Like the lady says - it ain't pretty but it tastes good! I used Parmesan cheese, low fat Ricotta & dried mint. By leaving the dish for 20 minutes, it was too cool but this may be a result of scaling the recipe in half. Thanx Evelyn! -
This recipe is not too difficult to make, with my food processor attachment. I must admit, I favor the boureki recipe posted by Queen Dragon Mom a little over this one. I've had boureki in Crete, so I am always looking to replicate that experience. I think I liked it a little better using eggplant and all feta instead of ricotta. I did use the called for blend of ricotta and mizithra, which I was able to find here. I cut down on the oil per other reviews and like other reviews, this worked out fine. I also increased the garlic, per other reviews. Thanks! -
I made this recipe twice in the past two weeks - minor changes each time. We really loved it - and it was so easy. The only time consuming part was the preparing of the vegetables. Other than that the pan is in the oven and needs no attention. I did need to cook it longer than stated - had it cooking for 2 hours, and then left it in the oven until it cooled. We like it at room temperature, but it can be eaten cold from the fridge, or heated. A great way to consume zucchini.
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This recipe is AMAZING! It is the perfect way to use up all that extra garden produce. I have made this with the zucchini as posted, and also with yellow squash instead. Both ways are equally good. I do cut down the amount of olive oil - I used maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup and it was fine. Also left out salt altogether as myzithra is a very salty cheese - but load on the fresh ground pepper and garlic! Thank you, evelyn - I have tried many of your recipes, and not a bad one yet.
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Tweaks
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This recipe is AMAZING! It is the perfect way to use up all that extra garden produce. I have made this with the zucchini as posted, and also with yellow squash instead. Both ways are equally good. I do cut down the amount of olive oil - I used maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup and it was fine. Also left out salt altogether as myzithra is a very salty cheese - but load on the fresh ground pepper and garlic! Thank you, evelyn - I have tried many of your recipes, and not a bad one yet.
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This was an EXCELLENT Cretian Boureki recipe from Ev! It is really HEARTY and a meal in itself! I preferred to use COTTAGE CHEESE instead of RICOTTA CHEESE (USA) as I thought it would taste better. Also, PIC I posted does this recipe NO justice! Also, I must note...make sure you slice veggies paper thin, otherwise, potato, may not cook thoroughly. I found this dish needed about 90 min in oven at 350, and I had to add about 1/4 cup water throughout, as I saw it started to dry up when it was cooking. Thanks Ev for another winner!
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OK, here goes. I live in Athens, Greece. I moved out here many, many years ago from Ottawa, Canada - so I am blessed in having two wonderful heritages!
I suffer from compulsive obsessive behaviour with regard to food and my psychiatrist thought it would be a good idea to find a 'society' where many have the same problem and try to find a cure.
So far, I've copied a couple of thousand recipes from this site and my psychiatrist has thrown the towel in and refuses to answer the phone when I call.
What did I do wrong?
Got 3 kids that keep me on the go - 10 and under at this point (2008) - I may not get round to updating this for a few years, so you'll have to do your own maths.
I teach English full-time and Greek Cookery part-time. I would like to make the cooking part of it full-time and the English Grammar part of it part-time.
That's all for now.
