Borek is a dish, which was popular during the days of the Ottoman Empire although it is originally thought to have come from either Arabia or people from Central Asia who migrated to Anatolia. It is a type of pie, made from thin layers of yufka or phyllo pastry, which is filled with a variety of fillings including potatoes, spinach, minced meat and feta cheese. It is often made in a large serving dish and then cut into slices once cooked although some chefs prefer to make individual portions. The most common borek is Su boregi, which translates as "water borek." It is made of layers of boiled dough, which is mixed with a type of feta cheese and fresh parsley. Some borek derive their name from their shape like for example Sigara boregi or “cigar borek," which resembles a cigar shape. This particular borek is stuffed with cheese, parsley, potato, and sometimes minced meat or sausage. Some borek is made using some unusual ingredients like nettle, but not all are made from savoury ingredients; Kurt boregi, or "Kurdish börek" is made without any filling but is served dusted with icing sugar.
Ingredients (for 16 borek)
100 g butter
200 ml milk
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
20 g yeast
2 eggs
2 egg whites
2 egg yolks to brush the tops of the pastries
1000 ml all purpose flour
Fillings
Feta cheese (for 8 borek)
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of oil
200 g feta cheese
1 egg
100 ml freshly chopped parsley
50 ml freshly chopped dill
50 ml palin yoghurt
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper
Ground beef (for 8 borek)
300 g ground beef
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon oil
100 ml freshly chopped parsley
1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
1-2 teaspoon of chili paste
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground paprika
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
Pinch of black pepper
Instructions for the Dough
Melt the butter in a pan.
Add the milk, sugar and salt.
Crumble the yeast into the mix.
Add the eggs and egg whites and stir in.
Gradually add the flour
Knead the dough for approximately five minutes or until it is smooth and elastic and starts to pull away from the edges of the bowl.
Cover the dough and let it rise for 30-60 minutes.
Instructions for the Cheese Filling
Finely chop the onion and garlic.
Heat the oil in a pan and gently cook the onion and garlic until soft then leave to cool.
Crumble the feta cheese in a bowl and add the other ingredients then mix to a paste.
Instructions for the Meat Filling
Finely chop the onion and the garlic.
Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onion, garlic and ground beef until brown.
Add all of the other ingredients minus the egg.
Taste a small teaspoon of the mixture – it should be strong and salty.
Leave the mix to cool then add the egg.
Instructions for Cooking
Preheat the oven to 225° C.
Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
Grease a baking board and place the dough onto it.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces and then cut each piece into a further 8 pieces.
Roll out each piece into an oval shape about ½ cm thick.
Put a little filling onto one side of each oval.
Turn a few centimetres of the dough on top of the filling on each side and pinch the ends together tightly to form a boat-shaped pasty.
Put the borek onto the baking sheet and brush the sides with egg yolk
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
