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Foodbuzz
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Feta Cheese & Mint Börek
April 29th, 2007 | Category: Baked Goods, Breakfast, Turkish Cuisine, Vegetarian
Börek is a traditional Turkish layered dough dish, generally filled with cheese, ground meat or vegetables. The most popular fillings are feta cheese, spinach, potatoes and ground meat flavored with different spices.
Dolly wrote about it in great depth before, and I have been contemplating on blogging about it ever since. If you’d like to get information on the history and different types of börek, be sure to check out her post as she did an amazing job compiling all that information. After all, she is the research queen.
The dough part (called yufka in Turkish) is quite labor-intensive to be prepared at home. In fact, I don’t think many Turkish households attempt to prepare it themselves anymore. They are sold in 3-5 sheet packs in supermarkets here. The yufka shops Dolly mentioned are dissappearing quickly.
Yufka is essential for you to prepare this dish. Never ever substitute it for thin phyllo; it will not be the same. There is a high chance that you can locate it at your local Middle Eastern delis, but if not you can buy it from Amazon - click here. Or you can buy it here.
The traditional yufka sold in Turkey measures about 40-50 cm in diameter. If that is not the case with your batch, just don’t forget to lay them a little wrinkled. Do not stretch.
Aside from yufka, you would need the following:
Ingredients
- 3 yufkas
- 2 cups of feta cheese
- 1 1/2 cup of fresh mint, chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of whole milk
- 6 tbsp butter
Method
Preheat your oven to 350F.
First, crack the egg in a bowl, add the milk and whisk to combine well. This is your egg wash to prevent the layers from drying out. In a food processor, combine feta cheese and mint leaves and pulse to combine. Transfer it in a bowl and set aside.
I used a fluted tart pan for this. You can also use rectangular oven pan as well. Butter the pan and lay your first yufka in the pan. The first layer should be twice the size of the pan as we will be wrapping everything once the filling and other layers are finished. Brush the layer generously with the egg wash. Tear the second layer of yufka in half and spread it on top of the bottom layer. Brush generously with the egg wash again.
Now, spread half of the filling on top of this layer. Cut 2 tbsp of butter into small cubes and scatter on the layer. Lay the second half of the second layer of yufka on top of the filling and brush with the egg wash again. Then goes in the remaning filling. Cut 2 tbsp of butter into small cubes and scatter on this layer as well. Tear the last piece of yufka in half and spread over the second layer of filling. Brush with the egg wash.
Now we will start folding it. As you start to fold make sure to brush the top and bottom part of the final layer as you go. This will help the top layer to glue tightly together. Once it is folded completely, brush the top with the egg wash again.
At this point, you can sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Cut 2 tbsp of butter into small cubes and scatter on top again.
Put your borek in the center rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. The top will get a golden color and will dry out, but the inner layers will be soft and creamy. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.
Drooling Over
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I love feta. I would definitely love trying this dish as feta pairs up with my beloved spinach. I wasnt aware of Yukfa. Only philo. I will read dolly’s post to learn a bit more about this dish. I was wondering if the yukfa doesn’t dry out a bit whilst exposed. Philo wastes no time in becoming really dry!! As usual your photos are spectacular.
I love the way the dough is folded, Cenk - it looks beautiful and delicious!
Not only are the photos gorgeous but I love the way they show how to make this recipe step by step. And of course, the recipe itself looks oh so tempting with that combo of feta and mint.
wow this looks delicious. thanks for the step-by-step photographs - Lord knows i’ll need it. and i’m a visual learner… this look amazing! i can’t wait to try it! i’m soo into tarts right now.
Valentina - Since you apply the soaking mixture (egg and milk) to each layer, inside does not dry out.
Thanks to everyone for their nice comments. Since this is not something you see every day, I thought step-by-step pics would help. Enjoy!
thanks for the step by step demo of the recipe…its really helpful.Now i’ll definately try this.
Cenk, your blog is wonderful and I love just looking at your pictures. The borek looks delicious too. Using mint is an interesting variation, since I’m used to the parsley version. I might try it in a smaller batch though, just in case.
Can you please advise me where I can order YUFKA
in the US. I am from Turkey and would like to make
borek. Don’t care for PHILO dough.
Thank you,
Alis Walters
Alis - Check out the two links in the post. You can buy it from Amazon or bestturkishfood.com.
[...] recipe by Cafe Fernando - Feta cheese and Mint Borek (they have great [...]
Cenk, your blog is fantastic. Perfect way to put wonderful Turkish food in the spotlight.
Did you manage to find yufka at any of the San Francisco stores?
Thanks you Maya! Janet’s article has some information on where to find yufka, both online and in California. Check it out here (near the end).