This is the king of all boreks in Turkey. "Su" means water in Turkish and the name implies that the fresh pasta leaves used in making the borek are boiled in water. The distinction is necessary because there are many Turkish boreks made using dry fillo leaves, some of which are included in this site. The construction of this borek is very similar to the Italian lasagna made with fresh pasta but it is drier since the borek does not have any sauce between the layers. The main difference is in the filling used (feta cheese and parsley). Probably because it requires much experience and time, it is gradually leaving the home kitchens in Turkey. Nevertheless, su boregi continues to enjoy the highest popularity thanks to the bakeries specializing in making this borek.

If you are experienced in making fresh pasta using the manual pasta machines (shown below) or using the pasta attachment now available for Kitchen Aid Mixers, you should try this recipe

Filling:

Crumble the feta cheese using a fork, mix in the chopped parsley, set aside.

Dough:

Beat the eggs, salt and olive oil (optional) in a food processor for about 15 seconds. Add the flour and run the food processor until the flour is completely mixed with the egg mixture. When the mixture begings to form tiny balls of less than 1/4 inch diameter add a few drops of water and continue running the food processor - this may not be necessary if you use extra large eggs. Empty the contents onto a flat surface and knead the dough into a ball. Continue kneading the dough for a few minutes intil it reaches a uniform consistency. The dough should not stick to your hands. You can add a little more flour to bring the dough to the right consistency. Cut the dogh into 8-10 pieces and use the pasta machine to turn them into leaves using the highest setting of the machine. Let the leaves dry on a rack for 1/2 hr.

Assembly:

Boil water in a large pot.

Melt the (clarified) butter and the olive oil in a small pan, set aside.

Brush the baking tray with the oil/butter mixture evenly. Place a thin fillo dough leaf on the pan. Brush it lightly with the oil/butter mixture. Follow the same procedure to stack four leaves.

Place the first freash pasta leaf in the boiling water and cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until its surface area nearly doubles and its color becomes a bright, uniform yellow.

Take the pasta leaf from the boling water and place it on a flat backed colander to drain and cool for a few seconds. Use a paper towel to absorb the excess water. Spread the pasta leaf on the tray. Be sure to give some wrinkles to the leaf when you spread it on the tray. Continue boiling the leaves one by one and stacking them on top of each other. Brush between the layers with the oil/butter mixture.

When you finish half of the fresh pasta leaves, spread the cheese filling. You can distribute the cheese between individual layers if you have the time.

Continue with the rest of the layers using the same process described above. Finish the top with four layers of cooked fillo leaves. Brush the top liberally with the butter/oil mixture.

Brush the top with the oil/butter mixture.

Cooking:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Cook for 30-35 minutes on the middle rack or until the top is golden brown.

Last update: March 10, 2010