Cheese Börek Food

CHEESE BUREK RECIPE (BöREK)

Steps:

• Stir crumbled feta cheese and shredded mozzarella into a medium-sized bowl. Add parsley, dill, chives, and Serrano pepper. Mix to combine.
• Add chopped black olives and a beaten egg to bind everything together.
• Place egg roll wrapper on a flat working surface. Add approximately 1-1/2 tablespoons of filling towards the bottom of the wrapper and mold it into a log.
• Dab the corners of the wrapper with water (or a beaten egg) then fold the sides over the filling. Roll the bottom portion of the wrapper over the filling.
• Continue rolling tightly upwards until the Burek is completely sealed.
• Place seal-down on a platter and continue until all the filling is used up.

EASY CHEESE BOREK (ARMENIAN CHEESE TURNOVERS)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

SPINACH AND FETA CHEESE BöREK - TURKISH BOREK RECIPE

Steps:

• Cook the filling: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan at medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add the spinach, salt, and pepper. Cook it, tossing it every few minutes using kitchen tongs, until the spinach loses most of its volume, around 5 minutes. Give it a stir and turn the heat off. Let it cool for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Make the yogurt milk mixture: Whisk olive oil, milk, egg, yogurt, salt, and black pepper in a bowl until combined.
• To assemble: Line a baking sheet (mine is 12X17) with parchment paper. In a single layer, place sheets of phyllo dough onto the parchment paper. Use as many sheets as you need to make sure that the pan's whole surface is covered. It is okay if some filo is overhanging on the sides.
• Place another layer of phyllo on top of the first, again making sure that the bottom of the pan is covered. Pour 3-4 tablespoons of the milk mixture on the top layer of dough and brush it over the filo sheets, making sure that it is evenly spread.
• Stack another two layers of phyllo dough on top of the first two. Again, brush the milk mixture over the top phyllo sheet. Then, cover the top sheet with one more layer of phyllo dough-not two. Do not brush the top sheet with the milk mixture again.
• Spread the now-cooled spinach and crumbled feta cheese evenly over the top layer of phyllo sheets.
• Place another two layers of phyllo sheets over the filling, covering it completely. Brush another 3-4 teaspoons of the milk mixture over the topmost sheet. Then, place two final layers of phyllo dough on top of the washed layer, and brush the top with the milk mixture. You should have 9 layers of dough in total.
• If there are sheets overhanging on the side, fold them in towards the pastry's center and make sure that they are brushed with the milk mixture. At this point, the borek should look nicely moist and tightly packed.
• Using a sharp knife, pre-slice borek into 12 equal pieces (please refer to the video for a visual).
• Mix egg yolks in a bowl.
• Brush each slice with egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds and nigella seeds if using.
• Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until it turns golden brown.
• Let it cool for a few minutes, slice, and serve while it is still warm.

FETA CHEESE BUREK (PHYLLO DOUGH)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet lightly.
• Mix feta cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, and eggs together in a bowl. Whisk milk and oil together in a small bowl.
• Brush milk-oil mixture over 3 sheets of phyllo dough and stack together. Place some of the cheese mixture in a straight line on one end of the dough. Roll up tightly to form a spiral shape. Transfer spiral to the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining milk-oil mixture, phyllo dough, and cheese mixture.
• Bake burek in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 40 minutes.

CHEESE BöREK

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish with 1 teaspoon of the melted butter. Lay a yufka sheet into the baking dish, tucking it into the corners with the edges hanging over the sides. (Don't worry if it's not perfect-yufka is very forgiving.) Whisk eggs and egg yolks in a mixing bowl; then whisk in milk, yogurt, salt, and remaining melted butter. Pour ¼ cup of this custard over the prepared yufka. Repeat with a second layer of yufka and custard. Note: Yufka will dry out if it's not used right away. Cover with a clean towel if you're going to finish the dish later.
• Break up the mozzarella into bite-size pieces. Reserve ½ cup custard. Distribute ⅓ of the mozzarella over the bottom of the yufka. Fold edges of one of the yufka sheets into the middle, creating a new layer. Add half of the custard and mozzarella, then lay on another sheet of yufka dough. Add the remaining custard and mozzarella, then fold over the edges of the current yufka, followed by the edges of the very first one. Press down with your hand to soak the yufka. Whisk flour into reserved custard and pour over the börek. Using a small knife, score the pastry into squares, like a tic-tac-toe board. Sprinkle with nigella seeds and let rest, 15-20 minutes.
• Place börek in the oven and increase heat to 350 degrees F. Bake until börek is set, golden brown, and puffed on top, 50 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.
• When cool, cut into 3" x 3" squares. Place a box grater over a bowl and grate the cut sides of a tomato on the largest holes. Discard the skin. Add pepper, olive oil, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir and set aside. Heat a skillet over low heat. Place the börek slices, cheese side down, into the heated skillet and lightly brown the cheese, 1 minute. Flip and brown the other side, 1 more minute. Serve with tomato purée on the side.