Borek - Filo Dough Pastry - with
Spinach and Feta Cheese
Pastry Leaves (Yufka):
- Filo leaves - available in online Turkish grocery stores (e.g. tulumba)
Sauce:
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons yogurt
- 3 eggs
Filling:
- 1 lb frozen spinach
- 1/2 lb feta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Topping:
- sesame seeds
- black caraway seeds
The leaves used in this recipe are very different than the filo leaves used in making baklava. The main difference is that they are thicker. Unfortunately, these leaves are not commonly available in grocery stores, however, they can be ordered from online Turkish stores such as www.tulumba.com.
Separate the white
of one of the eggs for the filling, set it aside.
Beat the two eggs
and the yolk of the third egg.
Add the olive oil and
the yogurt to the egg mixture. Set it aside.
Thaw the frozen
spinach in a pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Do not add any water.
Let it cool on the side as you prepare the rest of the filling.
Mash the feta cheese.
Grate the parmesan
and mozzarella cheeses.
Add the three cheeses,
the black pepper, olive oil and the egg to the spinach, mix well.
Grease a 12"
baking pan with butter evenly.
Center the first
sheet of the yufka on the pan. You will find out that the diameter of
the yufka is much larger than that of the pan. Let the extra yufka hang
over the sides.
Brush a thin layer
of the sauce on the yufka that remains inside pan, spread half of the
filling evenly.
Cover the filling
with yufka pieces and brush again with the sauce and spread rest of
the filling.
Use the yufka pieces
again to cover the filling and then fold the edges of the yufka on top
of the borek.
Brush again with
the sauce. Sprinkle sesame and caraway seeds for extra flavor.
Preheat the oven
to 350 F. Cook for 35 minutes on middle rack.