Keto boureki with no flour, no carbs, no guilt!

Keto boureki (from Turkish börek, Greek μπουρέκι) has finally been properly ketonised! Not only Keto, this gourmet creation is also Carnivore friendly. If you exclude the onion and spices, all ingredients are just eggs, butter and top-quality meat. Naturally, if you are not Greek, Turkish or from any of the Balkan countries, you maybe don’t even know what is boureki. Well, the word comes from Turkish but many historians say that this type of pie was invented in ancient times. From Egypt to Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece to Rome… But how can this be Keto? original version is just a phyllo dough based pie, usually filled with meat, cheese or vegetables.

Ketonised Phyllo dough but not for Keto Boureki

We Ketonised Phyllo dough some 3 years ago and it was a big moment in Keto Mediterranean history. Then we made Keto Tyropita with a bit advanced version of the dough and it was even better. However, the Ketonian world has been divided over the successfulness of these two recipes. Some sent us photos that looked like a pastry chef has created their masterpiece. Others sent us messages with disappointment and sadness for not succeeding and not being able to roll it out! I blame the psyllium and Keto flours used! Not everyone on this planet has the ability to find top-quality blond psyllium, blanched nut flour or finely powdered coconut flour. So they go for the next best thing. This usually ends up badly!

Why it’s better to make flourless Keto creations?

Regardless of your current phase, weight management, healing progress or any other parameter in your Ketogenic Mediterranean life, you still need to reduce the usage of flour! Here I talk about Keto flours! The reason lays in the fact that they are coming from nuts, seeds and will not help you in your quest to eat less carbs, less omega-6 fatty acids and more beneficial animal-based protein.

The more of Keto friendly flour you use, the less success you have!

So, why don’t we try the flourless Keto boureki? Is this even possible? Surprisingly, it turned out better than we expected! Using flourless crepes for different Keto creations was one of the breaking points in Ketonising Mediterranean culinary stars. But one recipe in particular showed more versatility than others. Yes, we are talking about our Keto Tagliatelle! They have quite a pliable texture and this gives inspiration to anyone who loves creative Keto cooking. Well, not only cooking, baking will shine here too! After trying out the basic Keto Tagliatelle recipe, hundreds of ideas were born. Interestingly, Keto Boureki came to mind first!

What is Boureki or Burek in the first place?

Boureki, or as we call it in the Balkans “burek”, is widely known as an authentic creation of Turkish cuisine. However, many gastro-historians claim that boureki is much older! There is some evidence that it was first invented in the ancient Mediterranean empires. Therefore we can conclude that Ancient Greeks had it centuries before the Turkish expansion!

So, what precisely is it? Boureki is a pastry made of phyllo dough, earlier tossed, filled and shaped. In some areas, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, locals will tell you that the only real burek is filled with ground meat. So, Keto Boureki will be the same! But the exclusion of actual phyllo dough or even Keto phyllo dough will make it even healthier. The flavour, you might wonder, is it eggy? Well, we tested it on a Non-Ketonian, someone who has grown up with this tradition and is thinking to lower the carbohydrate consumption due to various health issue. Here’s what he said:

This is equally tasty, the texture is near, but not the same! I like it and could have it as a replacement!

Non-Ketonian verdict to Keto Boureki

The pro arguments

Keto Boureki (Burek)

0 from 0 votes

Recipe by Roberta Kapsalis Course: Carnivore, Main Dishes, Mediterranean

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Calories

354

kcal

Ingredients

• Wraps (to play phyllo dough)

• 8 medium egg whites

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 tsp mahlepi powder

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• Filling

• 600g (21 oz) ground lamb or veal

• 1 tbsp butter (preferably sheep butter)

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 small yellow onion or half a medium one (finely chopped)

• 1 tsp freshly ground red, black and white pepper

• 6 yolks

• 2/3 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp red paprika powder (optional)

Directions

• In a saucepan, melt the butter and add olive oil. Add finely chopped onion and stir. Add salt and wait till it gets translucent. Add the meat and keep stirring. If you use lamb or veal you don’t need more than 2 minutes, but if you use beef you’ll need at least 5 minutes. Add a couple of tablespoons of water.
• Now add 6 yolks, pepper and paprika powder. Mix energetically and remove from heat.
• Whisk 8 egg whites with 2 yolks as if you were preparing an omelette. Add spices and make sure the mixture is homogenous but without too many bubbles.
• Cook 2 large crepes out of this mixture. Ideally, you will use an electric crepe maker but if you don’t have it, make sure your pan is wide enough. You can grease the pan with some coconut oil or butter to prevent crepes from sticking. It’s important to make them as thin as possible. Set them aside to cool down a bit.
• Fill the crepes with the meat mixture and fold the sides. Now roll them so that the filling cannot fall out. Place them in a ceramic baking pan greased with a little bit of butter. Add some extra butter on top.
• Bake for 10 minutes in the air fryer or 15 minutes in the oven at 200ºC (400ºF)
• Serve warm or shortly reheat if they cool down.

Notes

• You can serve Keto boureki with some Tzatziki sauce, greek yoghurt, sour cream or goat cream cheese.
• To reduce carbs, and make this even more carnivore friendly, replace the onion with onion powder, or simply skip it.

Did you make this recipe?

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