The Börek is a Turkish savory pie recipe made with phyllo dough and a filling of meat or spinach and cheese, specifically feta.
The term Börek means “to roll up,” which is precisely the shape it takes in presentation.
It is prepared with layers of phyllo dough stacked on top of each other, brushed with melted butter, filled in the center, closed, and rolled up like a swirl.
You can prepare the phyllo dough at home, it is very simple to make, but if you want to save time, you can buy it.
The idea of preparing Börek intrigued me after seeing it eaten several times in the soap “Bitter Land,” which is of Turkish origin, and so I researched and prepared it.
I must admit it’s really good, and everyone at home enjoyed it!
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Turkish
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup of lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- to taste of cornstarch
- 14 oz of mixed ground meat
- 1 small white onion
- 1 glass of white wine
- to taste of salt
- to taste of white pepper
- to taste of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 egg (for brushing)
Tools
- Pasta Machine
Steps
We need to start by preparing the phyllo dough. If you have a kitchen robot, you can use it to knead, otherwise, you can knead by hand.
I poured the flour into the bowl, adding the oil, salt, and water, and let it knead for 5 minutes at moderate speed.
You will get a solid and elastic dough.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Let’s prepare the filling.
Chop the onion and place it in a pan, add the oil and let it brown gently.
Incorporate the ground meat and let it brown for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking by pouring in a glass of white wine.
Let it cook until the wine has completely evaporated, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
After the resting time, take the dough and divide it into small portions.
With the pasta machine, roll out very thin sheets, dusting with cornstarch.
If the sheets are very long, divide them in half.
After preparing all the sheets, start brushing them with melted butter, placing another one on top, and creating groups of three stacked sheets.
Continue with the filling, placing the cooked meat in the center of the stacked sheets, closing the side parts.
Line a baking pan with parchment paper, and with the filled rolls, start creating a swirl starting from the center.
Continue until all the filled rolls are used.
Brush with the beaten egg.
Bake at 356°F for 35-40 minutes.
The Börek is rich and delicious, perfect for a cozy family dinner, but also great to serve as an appetizer.
