[2] It is composed of layers of thinly-rolled leavened wheat flour dough, or possibly phyllo pastry, filled with various combinations of sirene (a white cheese), feta cheese, eggs, sorrel, browned meat, leeks, spring onions and/or rice.

Bulgarian zelnik could be made also with various wild and cultivated leafy greens like collard, lettuce, orache, rumex, Chenopodium album, spearmint and many others.

Zelnik is similar to börek, a dish popular in Turkey, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Zelnik is typically made with leek and sirene and consists of very thinly rolled layers of phyllo dough.

Zelnik is usually prepared as one long, thin piece of pastry and wound up into a spiral shape.