All through quite a few visits to Türkiye, our Birmingham, Alabama–based mostly check kitchen colleague Renu Dhar was by no means removed from borek, a class of Mediterranean pastries formed from a skinny dough that’s crammed after which baked, fried, boiled, or steamed. Each morning, the aroma of recent, savory, crammed pastry wafted down the wandering outdated city streets of Istanbul. “I fell in love with consuming every kind of borek in Istanbul from cigar formed to spirals, from fried to baked,” Renu says. She provides that the dish is a “celebration of flavors, textures, and aromas,” their crisp edges give approach to tender layers, after which melting cheese, or spiced meat, or the earthy chew of herbs, all wrapped in sheets of delicate pastry.
Impressed by her favourite Turkish borek, particularly the vegetable ones, Renu has developed her personal recipe. Her coiled model is filled with a carrot, mushroom, and feta cheese filling. “This can be a stroll down reminiscence lane with a couple of modifications and under no circumstances a standard recipe,” she notes. Making these savory carrot borek is a reasonably easy course of: Prepare dinner and assemble the filling; unfold it atop layered sheets of the dough; roll into cylinders to create one giant spiral, then brush with an egg combination earlier than baking till golden and crisp. Learn on to be taught extra about borek and for the important thing strategies you may must make this recipe.
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All About Borek
Boreks—or borags, beregs, boregs, boeregs (they’re all pronounced the identical)—are buttery, crisp, multilayered pastry hand pies stuffed with cheese, greens, greens, meat, or some mixture thereof. They are often triangle-shaped, rolled and coiled, and even baked in a pan after which lower into squares. They’re beloved in Türkiye however are equally prized all through the nations that have been as soon as part of the Ottoman Empire, together with Armenia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia.
The dough sometimes utilized in most types of Turkish borek is yufka—skinny, large sheets of pastry which can be usually bought at yufkacı, retailers primarily devoted to the pastry that may be present in practically each Turkish neighborhood. The sheets are sometimes rolled out into skinny sheets. Consider them as a extra rustic pastry dough that sits halfway between a pasta and phyllo in thickness and heft. To copy this conventional dough, Renu turned to phyllo, which is often thinner and shorter than yufka however comparable in taste and simpler to seek out within the US.
Creating the Tangy Carrot Filling
For the borek filling, Renu pairs candy carrots with earthy sun-dried tomatoes and savory, woodsy mushrooms for a hearty, strong filling. The greens are first sautéed till tender (however not browned) earlier than tangy feta cheese, recent herbs like dill, parsley, and/or mint, chopped inexperienced olives, walnuts, a touch of pink pepper flakes, and an egg are folded in. The egg binds all of the components collectively right into a cohesive combination. To keep away from a gloppy, melty mess, be certain the cooked greens are cooled right down to room temperature earlier than folding the remaining components in.
The carrots not solely deliver sweetness to the filling, when shredded in addition they deliver a welcome little bit of crunch to this borek. Renu recommends utilizing freshly shredded carrots relatively than preshredded store-bought carrots, because the latter can usually be dried out and lack recent taste. You’ll be able to shred the carrots on the big holes of a field grater or through the use of the shredding disk attachment of a meals processor.
Suggestions for Dealing with the Phyllo Dough
Assembling borek is comparatively straightforward, however working with delicate flaky phyllo dough with out tearing it may be a little bit of a problem, so Renu has a couple of suggestions and tips for working with the pastry to gaurantee your borek holds collectively and stays crisp.
1. Hold it frozen so long as potential. Because the phyllo turns brittle and dried out if left at fridge temperature for greater than a day or two, maintain it frozen for so long as potential. While you need to use it, plan forward, as you may need to switch it to the fridge for at the least eight hours or depart it at room temperature for about 4 hours to thaw. If you happen to thaw the pastry within the fridge, pull it out and let it sit coated at room temperature for at the least half-hour earlier than working with it to forestall breakage while you’re assembling the borek. Since most phyllo is bought in one-pound packages, you’ll be able to take what you want (plus a couple of further sheets in case one or two tear past restore), gently re-roll the rest, wrap the roll in plastic, place it in a zipper-lock bag, and refreeze for as much as two weeks.
2. Hold it coated whereas working. When layering the phyllo and filling and coiling every borek, maintain the stack of unused sheets coated with a chunk of parchment or wax paper weighed down by a dry kitchen towel (don’t use a humid towel, regardless of what some recipes advocate as this can trigger the pastry to get soggy).
3. Don’t sweat the small tears. Lastly, needless to say minor tears or cracks gained’t be noticeable as soon as the borek is rolled up, curled, and assembled, particularly in the event that they find yourself on the within, so don’t fear an excessive amount of as you’re employed with it. If you happen to do find yourself with a couple of minor tears alongside the way in which, attempt to gently regulate the pastry so an unbroken piece is layered on prime.
Ending the Borek
As soon as the spiral’s full, you may brush it with the remaining egg and milk combination, taking particular care to coat the highest and backside in addition to the seams the place the cylinders meet within the coil. It’s then sprinkled with seeds—Renu loves utilizing fragrant the whole lot bagel seasoning, however plain sesame seeds are additionally an ideal choice—and slid on the baking sheet into the oven. Thirty minutes later, the börek is deeply golden brown and crispy-edged, and that acquainted aroma is within the air. All that’s left is to chop your self a slice and revel in it with a cup of çay, Turkish tea.
The recipe was developed by Renu Dhar; the headnote was written by Leah Colins.
This Beloved Savory Mediterranean Pastry Is a Spiraled Delight
Prepare dinner Mode
(Hold display screen awake)
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1/2 cup drained julienne-cut sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped, plus 1/4 cup (60 ml) oil from jar, divided
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1 pound (453 g) medium carrots, shredded utilizing the biggest holes of a field grater (about 4 cups shredded; see notes)
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1/2 cup chopped portobello mushroom cap (from 1 giant mushroom)
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3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for desk salt use half as a lot by quantity
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8 ounces (226 g) feta cheese, crumbled (about 2 cups crumbed)
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1/2 cup chopped combined recent tender herbs, comparable to mint, parsley, and/or dill
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1/2 cup chopped pitted inexperienced olives
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1/4 cup chopped walnuts
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2 medium scallions, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
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1/2 teaspoon crushed pink pepper flakes
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1/4 teaspoon freshly floor black pepper
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2 giant eggs, divided
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2 tablespoons (30 ml) entire milk
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30 frozen phyllo pastry sheets, thawed, from 1 (1-pound) package deal, comparable to Athens model
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1 teaspoon the whole lot bagel seasoning or sesame seeds
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Regulate oven rack to lower-middle place and preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Put aside.
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In a big skillet, warmth 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato oil over medium till shimmering. Add sun-dried tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and salt, and prepare dinner, stirring usually, till carrots and mushrooms are softened, liquid evaporates, and combination seems dry, 4 to five minutes. Take away from warmth and let cool for 10 minutes.
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Stir feta cheese, combined herbs, olives, walnuts, scallions, crushed pink pepper, black pepper, and 1 egg into the cooled carrot combination in skillet.
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In a small bowl, whisk collectively milk, remaining 1 egg, and remaining 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato oil.
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Working in batches of 6 phyllo sheets for 1 spiral (maintain remaining sheets coated), place 1 phyllo sheet on a piece floor with lengthy finish of sheet operating parallel to fringe of counter. Utilizing a pastry brush, evenly brush egg combination alongside 1 brief fringe of sheet. Put a second phyllo sheet overlapping the brief edge by 1 inch with lengthy finish of sheet operating parallel to fringe of counter. Press to seal each sheets collectively to type a sheet about 26 inches lengthy. Flippantly brush prime with egg combination (some dry spots are OK). Place 2 extra phyllo sheets on prime, overlapping the brief edge by 1 inch. (Don’t brush the overlapping heart or it is going to get too soggy.) Repeat brushing the highest evenly with egg combination. Place 2 extra phyllo sheets and repeat overlapping in heart and evenly brushing the highest.
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Unfold about 1 cup cooked carrot combination alongside backside (lengthy edge) of phyllo, leaving a 1-inch border from backside edge. Fold backside fringe of phyllo over filling and proceed rolling phyllo away from you right into a log (don’t roll tightly).
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Beginning at 1 finish of the log, coil the tip round itself, making a spiral form. Proceed to wrap the log round, coiling tightly. Switch to heart of ready baking sheet. Cowl with a clear kitchen towel.
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Repeat steps 5 and 6 with remaining 24 phyllo sheets and remaining 4 cups filling to create a complete of 4 extra logs. Connect 1 log to the tip of the primary spiral on baking sheet, and wrap the log round to proceed spiral. Repeat three extra instances to create 1 giant spiral on baking sheet.
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Flippantly brush pastry with egg combination (don’t let egg combination pool), taking care to coat seams the place pastry logs hook up with make spiral. Sprinkle with the whole lot bagel seasoning or sesame seeds.
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Bake till effectively browned, 25 to half-hour. Let cool 10 minutes earlier than transferring to a reducing board. Minimize into wedges and serve scorching.
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Particular Gear
Giant skillet, pastry brush, clear kitchen towel
Notes
We strongly encourage you to freshly grate your personal carrots relatively than utilizing store-bought pre-shredded carrots. You’ll be able to shred them utilizing the big wholes of a field grater or with the shredding disc attachment of a meals processor.
Make-Forward and Storage
The filling may be made as much as 24 hours prematurely and refrigerated. Stir effectively earlier than utilizing.
This raw borek freezes splendidly. Simply place it in an hermetic container or wrap totally with plastic wrap and freeze for as much as 3 weeks. Bake immediately from frozen, growing the entire bake time by 5 to 10 minutes. Leftover baked borek may be reheated on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet in a 400˚F (200˚C) oven for quarter-hour.