Boreks Turkish Appetizers Recipes

Steps:

• Prepare the meat filling: Place a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the butter. When oil and butter are hot, add onions and cook briskly, stirring, until onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add lamb to onions and break into rough pieces with a wooden spoon, mashing occasionally, until lamb is crumbly and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Season mixture generously with salt and pepper, then add cinnamon, cumin, cayenne and sumac. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes more, stirring. Raise heat as necessary to let mixture brown well. Stir in pomegranate molasses, raisins and pine nuts. Taste and adjust seasoning, then set aside to cool.
• Prepare the cheese filling: Put feta and yogurt in a bowl and whisk together. Season with salt and pepper, whisk in beaten egg, then stir in parsley, fresh mint and dried mint.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Assemble boreks one at a time: Lay one sheet of phyllo on a clean work surface. Brush very lightly with olive oil. Carefully place another phyllo sheet directly on top and brush with oil. Fold this doubled sheet in half, to form a rectangle 9 by 14 inches. Position it so the 9-inch end is facing you.
• Spoon 3 tablespoons cheese filling over surface of rectangle, smearing with the back of a spoon to cover, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1/4 cup lamb mixture in a 2-inch ribbon along the edge closest to you.
• Fold over long sides of pastry an inch or so to help contain filling. Lift edge and loosely roll up pastry away from you, as if rolling up a carpet. Brush pastry lightly with oil as you proceed. The result should look like a flat cigar, about 3 inches wide and about 8 inches long. Continue to assemble remaining boreks.
• Transfer pastries to a parchment-lined baking sheet, placing them 1 inch apart. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame, nigella or poppy seeds. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until nicely browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, blend the feta and mozzarella cheese with the beaten eggs. Add the chopped herbs, season with pepper and nutmeg and stir well to mix.
• Cut the sheets of pastry into four rectangular strips approximately 3 inches wide. Cover all but one or two strips with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out.
• Brush on strip of pastry at a time with a little melted butter. Place 1 teaspoon filling at the bottom edge. Fold one corner over the filling to make a triangle shape. Continue folding the pastry over itself until you get to the end of the strip. Keep making triangles until all the mixture is used up.
• Place the boreks on a greased baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Crumble the feta cheese, then mix feta with the chives (or dill), parsley, and pepper.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Skim off any foam that accumulates.
• Cut the phyllo pastry sheets into 3-inch strips. Take one strip and cover the rest with a clean, damp cloth.
• Brush the first phyllo strip with melted butter, and place a teaspoon of feta/herb mixture on the bottom right corner of the phyllo sheet, about 1/4-inch from the edge.
• Pick up the bottom right corner of the phyllo sheet and fold it up and over the feta/herb mixture so the corner reaches the top edge of the phyllo sheet and forms a triangle. Keep folding the pastry over itself, being careful that the filling remains intact, until you reach the end of the phyllo sheet and have a triangle shaped pastry.
• Repeat steps #5 and #6, using remaining phyllo sheets and feta/herb mixture.
• Lay pastries on a baking sheet, and brush with remaining melted butter. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.