Day 2 – Cheese Borek
From simple snack to something more substantial for dinner, boreks, that wonderful street food from Turkey and surrounds, are the perfect way to fill pastry with all sorts of tasty additions. Cheese and spinach are the usual fare, but you can also include lamb and spinach, diced and spiced vegetables, or in this case, a mixture of cheeses.
Which cheese do you use? Most traditional recipes begin with ricotta or cottage cheese but I had neither when I began this recipe. Instead I used up the nubbins of several varieties that seemed to be leftover from other recipes through the week and I oven-baked the pastries rather than frying them. Sensational.
Makes 16 small borek
INGREDIENTS
100g haloumi; 100g cheddar; 100g mozzarella; 100g ricotta or cottage cheese; 3 tbsp finely chopped parsley; sprinkling of cumin; salt and pepper;1 tsp paprika; 12 sheets filo; 125g butter; 1 egg, lightly beaten; 2 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
METHOD
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a small baking tray with baking paper.
Place all cheeses in a bowl, with parsley, cumin, paprika and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Unwrap the filo pastry and lay flat, then remove three sheets of pastry to work with. Cover remaining pastry with a clean damp tea towel.
Lay one sheet of filo on a benchtop, brush with a little butter. Top with a second sheet of pastry and brush again, then a third sheet of pastry to make a long rectangle. cut the pastry into four even pieces across the width of the rectangle.
Place one tablespoon of mixture across the short end facing you, then fold over the long ends of the pastry over the mixture. Roll up the pastry to make a cigar-shaped borek. Place on prepared tray.
Continue with remaining pastry and cheese mixture. Place the borek close to each other to make a snug fit as you would with spanokopita.
Brush borek with lightly beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Bake for 25 minutes until pastry is golden and crispy on top. Gently pull apart the pastries from each other to serve.
COST
$9.00 for 16 small borek.
I love boreks, so simple but so tasty!
Must try the recipe!
They look lovely. What oven temp do you recommend?