Spinach and Feta Börek is a typical Turkish dish made of phyllo dough filled in many different ways. The shape of the börek also changes depending on the filling. Usually, the spinach and feta börek is spiral-shaped, while the one with potatoes and feta is like a covered pizza, but there are also Sigara Börek, which are cigarette-shaped filled only with cheese (find the recipe HERE). I used ready-made phyllo dough, so the recipe is quite quick. But now let’s see together how to prepare it in the following recipe.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 6-8
- Cooking methods: Electric oven, Steam cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 roll phyllo dough
- 2.2 lbs spinach
- 10.5 oz feta cheese
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
- to taste black sesame seeds (I used regular)
- to taste garlic powder (optional)
Tools
- parchment paper
- 1 12-inch round baking pan
Steps
Start preparing your Börek by cooking the spinach. If they are fresh, after washing them, put them in a pan with a drizzle of oil and let them wilt. If they are frozen, you won’t need oil, just put them directly in the pan and let them thaw and cook. Once the spinach is cooked, let it cool well and squeeze it to remove all the water it contains. Make sure to do this step well. At this point, put the spinach in a bowl and crumble feta cheese into the bowl, then season well with salt, pepper, and garlic powder if you like, and mix or knead everything well to obtain a well-seasoned and balanced spinach and feta cheese mix.
Now move on to assembling your Börek: the traditional shape is spiral, as you can see from the photos. I also made a step-by-step photo guide to show you that it’s really easy to make. Let’s start from the assumption that the classic phyllo dough found on the market is divided into many rectangular sheets, so put 3 tablespoons of the spinach and feta mix about 0.8 inches from the base of the rectangle, cover the spinach with the phyllo dough from the base and close the sides inward. Then roll it up until you have formed a roll. Once all the rolls are formed, start creating your Börek. The first roll will be wrapped on itself, continue adding the other rolls one next to the other until all the ingredients are used. At this point, brush with yogurt and sprinkle with black sesame seeds if you have them, otherwise, regular is fine, and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 30-40 minutes until your Börek is a nice golden color.
At this point, your Börek will be ready to be cut into slices and enjoyed. Bon appétit.
If you like TURKISH RECIPES take a look HERE.
Saby recommends…
As mentioned, you can stuff the börek in many ways and with many other vegetables. If you want, you can also add diced bacon to the spinach. It won’t be the traditional recipe, but the result is very good.
