Cookbook:Börek (Turkish Filled Pastries)
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Börek is a general term in Turkish cuisine that applies to a family of pastries with about fifty different members. They have in common the fact that they are all pastry layers of some type enclosing a filling. There are two basic methods; one consists of rolling out very thin sheets of dough, called yufka in Turkish and phyllo in Greek. The other main type of börek, called nemse börek in Turkish, uses a dough very similar to pâte feuilletée, in which the dough is layered with butter, folded, and rolled out several times.[1]
The following recipe describes the procedure required to prepare triangle-shaped börek from commercially produced phyllo. Links to recipes for fillings are listed at the end of the recipe.
Ingredients
editFillings
edit- Peynirli börek (white cheese filling)
- Kıymalı börek (minced meat filling)
- Tavuklu börek (chicken filling)
- Ispanaklı börek (spinach filling)
Assembly
editProcedure
edit- Remove the phyllo sheets from the container. Unfold carefully so as not to break them. Lay them flat and cover with a clean, damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out—this is important.
- Working quickly, cut the phyllo into lengthwise thirds (step 1 in the diagram). Lay one of these out and cover the other two with the damp tea towel.
- Brush the strip of phyllo with the melted butter. Place a heaped teaspoonful of filling on one end of the strip (step 2 in the diagram).
- Fold the right lower corner upward over the filling to form a triangle (step 3 in the diagram).
- Now fold the right upper corner over to the left (step 4 in the diagram).
- Continue folding in this manner until you reach the end of the strip.
- Trim of any excess dough and seal the edges by rubbing a damp finger over the dough and pressing the edge of the triangle where the strip ends.
- Fry in oil at 340°F until golden brown or bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.[4]
Notes
edit- ↑ Algar, Ayla Esen (1985) The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking ISBN 0-710-30334-3
- ↑ Available from Turkish, Greek, Armenian and Middle-Eastern grocers, among others, as well as some supermarkets.
- ↑ e.g. peanut, hazelnut, walnut, almond, grapeseed. Avoid anything with a greasy taste such as corn oil.
- ↑ Prewrapped, uncooked börek freezes well. To cook, bake at 325ºF for 30 minutes. Do not deep-fry frozen foods. Splattering oil can cause burns and fires. You may sautée them in a covered pan 2 or 3 at a time. Hold the cover in front of your face as you place each börek in the pan.