When I read approximately half of Stieg Larsson's third novel of the Millennium trilogy The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, I found an unusual passage. I was surprised and kind of amused at the same time.
She braked at the Klaraberg viaduct and considered the options. Instead of turning down towards Södermalm she kept going straight to Kungsholmen.
»I don‘t know what the restaurants are like in Söder, but I know an excellent Bosnian place at Fridhemsplan. Their burek is fantastic.«
»Sounds good« Blomkvist said.
Why was I amused? Well, burek is not a regular option for a fast food snack in Hollywood movies. I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat burek in an English speaking movie (dear readers, please correct me if I'm wrong).
According to Wikipedia burek is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of thin flaky dough known as yufka (or phyllo). It can be filled with cheese, often feta, sirene or kaşar; minced meat, or vegetables. It was invented in Central Asia by nomadic Turks; it became a popular element of Ottoman cuisine.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina a burek is a meat-filled pastry. Thin dough layers are stuffed and then rolled and cut into spirals (resembling an American cinnamon bun). The same spiral filled with cottage cheese is called sirnica, with spinach and cheese zeljanica, with potatoes krompiruša, and all of them are generically referred to as pita. Eggs are used as a binding agent when making sirnica and zeljanica.
Stieg Larsson mentioned burek again, right after Blomkvist's lunch:
Figuerola had been right. The burek was fantastic.
I couldn’t agree more. Burek is indeed fantastic :)
Dear Erik,
I must admit that I haven’t read all the posts on your blog, but nevertheless, I am very very happy that you’ve included this one.
Mentioning a product like this one in literature (or movies etc…) clearly shows that some products are mentioned to emphasize a certain lifestyle which is connected with such products and they are not necessary sponsored by certain manufacturers.
I am really having a hard time imagining that local burek provider has invested his money in such form of commercial. Let’s be honest – burek DOES NOT NEED ANY marketing. Like any other legend.
A.