Turkish Borek Recipe (Sigara Borek)

Borek is a Turkish savory crunchy pastry filled with different fillings such as cheese or potatoes. They are perfect as a midday snack or for breakfast and you can make them in advance and freeze them for later. Learn how to make this sigara borek recipe by watching our step-by-step video and tutorial.

Since we lived in Istanbul for years, Turkish recipes became part of our routine. Today I'm showing you one of the Turkish classics called borek which some might call crispy phyllo rolls. You can serve it as an appetizer and mezze alongside Turkish lentil meatballs, white bean salad and Kisir (Turkish bulgur salad). 

Borek is one of the most popular dishes in Turkish cuisine and it was a staple in Ottoman cuisine as well. Borek can be made with different fillings such as spiced lamb, spinach, potato or cheese. You can find borek shops called Börekci in every corner in Istanbul. Turks have borek for breakfast, midday snack or as part of a mezze platter. If visiting Turkish resorts on the Mediterranean, you might find boreks with the name crunchy cheese rolls in their English menu. 

Ingredients

The recipe we are working with today is called sigara boregi which literally translates to Cigar Borek. This type of borek is very common among Turkish households and everyone loves it. 

To make Turkish borek you need two items: Yufka dough and a filling. Here we have three fillings for our borek recipe: Potato, spinach and cheese. The fillings are somehow similar to the ones used in Gozleme (Turkish stuffed flatbread). 

To make spinach borek, you need onion, spinach and some kind of white cheese such as feta. As for potato borek, it's common to use a combination of potatoes, Aleppo pepper (pul biber) and salt. And for the simple cheese borek, one uses a combination of white cheese (such as feta), parsley and some black pepper. As you can see, the filling for borek is usually very simple and that's why it's a great option for breakfast or a midday snack.

Pro Tip: The traditional cheese used in borek is called lor peyniri. It's a high protein, low-fat and low-salt cheese that is soft and easy to mix with other ingredients. If you have a Turkish store near where you leave and you can get your hands on some lor cheese, that would be perfect. However, you can also use Turkish white cheese called beyaz peyniri or simply feta cheese.

Make the fillings

For spinach filling, saute onion in some olive oil until golden, add in chopped spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and cooked. Mix spinach with cheese, salt and pepper. 

To make potato filling, boil the potatoes until cooked and fork tender. Mash them in a bowl and add salt, black pepper and Aleppo pepper. 

Classic cheese filling is the easiest filling since there is no cooking involved. Simply mix the cheese with chopped parsley, salt and black pepper. 

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a non stick pan over medium heat. Once hot, place the boreks in the oil and fry on all sides until crispy and golden. Don't over crowd the pan. Place the boreks on a kitchen paper towel to absorb the excess oil. 

Serve this classic Turkish pastry with tea as breakfast alongside cilbir or menemen or a midday snack. You can also serve borek as a main meal with a light side dish such as gavurdagi, sauteed spinach or cacik. 

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Step-by-Step Recipe

Turkish Borek Recipe (Sigara Borek)

Shadi HasanzadeNemati

Borek is a Turkish savory crunchy pastry filled with different fillings such as cheese or potatoes. Learn how to make Turkish borek recipe by watching our step-by-step video and tutorial. They are perfect as a midday snack or for breakfast and you can make them in advance and freeze them for later. 

5 from 16 votes

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Prep Time 40 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 1 hr

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Turkish

Servings 4 servings

Calories 347 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 package Yufka Dough See note #1

Spinach filling

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 small onion diced
• ▢ 4 cups spinach
• ▢ ½ cup white cheese See note #2
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper

Potato filling

• ▢ 1 Russet potato
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper

Cheese filling

• ▢ ½ cup White cheese
• ▢ 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper

To assemble and fry

• ▢ ¼ cup vegetable oil

Instructions

 

• First, know that yufka, like phyllo dough, is delicate and might break. That's completely okay.
• To make the spinach filling: Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute onion until golden, add spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted. Once the spinach is cool enough to handle, mix it with cheese, salt and pepper.
• To make potato filling: Wash and peel the potato. Cut it into large chunks and boil until fork tender. Mash the potato completely and add Aleppo pepper, salt and black pepper.
• To make the cheese filling: Mix cheese with parsley, salt and pepper.
• Place a triangle shaped yufka dough on a clean surface, with the wide side facing you. Wet your finger with water and moisten the edges. This will help the edges to stick while rolling.
• Add one to two tablespoon of filling one inch away from the wide edge and form it into a thin log.
• Fold the outer corners over the filling and roll the borek. Dip your index finger in water and wet the edges again and roll tightly. Set aside and continue with the remaining yufka and filling. 
• Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a non stick pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, place the boreks in the oil and fry on all sides until crispy and golden. Don't over crowd the pan. Place the boreks on a kitchen paper towel to absorb the excess oil. 
• Continue with the remaining boreks and add more oil if needed.

Video

Notes

1. You can find triangle yufka dough in Turkish shops. If you cannot find it, phyllo dough can work as well. Place a sheet of phyllo dough on a clean surface and cover the remaining dough with a damp towel. Cut the phyllo dough into 4 stripes and fill and roll them as instructed. 
2. You can use Turkish white cheese (Beyaz Peyniri) or feta. 
3. These measurements are to make about 24-30 boreks using all the fillings. You can store the leftover fillings in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. 
4. Double or triple one of the fillings if you would like to make only one of them instead of all three. 
5. Borek makes the perfect appetizer for parties and gatherings. You can prepare them in advance and just fry them right before the party. 

Nutrition

Serving: 4servingsCalories: 347kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 11gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 1531mgPotassium: 414mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 3060IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 2mg

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