I have often eaten these spinach and feta cheese filled pastries at middle eastern cafes but I was never brave enough to try them on my own. Until I started this project and realised, how relatively simple Börek are to make.
It does involve a few different steps, but Börek with spinach and feta cheese are possible to do quite well and it doesn’t take too long. It does help that I was using store bought filo pastry. As I have mentioned before, go ahead and make your own if you have the know-how, my skills are not there yet, so I rely on the store bought variety.
Spinach and feta cheese filling
In this Börek I decided to mix fresh spinach, feta cheese and lemon. To avoid the filling getting too wet and seep through the filo dough, it is important to fry the spinach first. Let it drain in a colander, to remove as much of the water as possible. Spinach contains a lot of water, and if you put it in fresh, once it starts to cook inside the pastry, you will end up with a soggy pastry.
Other recipes are using some kind of yogurt mixture to spread on the filo pastry. I however, choose mascarpone because I like the smooth texture which compliments the lemon better than a yogurt mix.
Filo pastry
When working with filo pastry it is important to never leave it uncovered for too long. It will easily dry out which makes it difficult to roll up. In my small kitchen there was a constant running from the living room to pick up the next paper thin filo. You might notice in the photographs that there are places where I had to mend the filo pastry. This happens when the filo dough has been exposed to air for too long and starts to dry. The problem with the broken pieces is not only aesthetic, but also the filling might come out when it bakes.
To avoid filo pastry from drying out, leave the sheets under a kitchen towel and only take out one sheet at the time.
Variations
There are various recipes with all kinds of filling, so I think most things work in a Börek. I have only tried with spinach and feta cheese, or with plain cheese, but I am intrigued to learn other ingredients to fill Börek, and even to experiment with different shapes.
The round rose shape I created here, I believe is the most common and easiest to make. I am open for all suggestions and help to make this recipe even better.
Lemon and mascarpone börek with spinach and feta cheese
Ingredients
- 6 sheets filo pastry
- 250 g fresh spinach
- 200 g feta cheese
- 250 g mascarpone
- 100 g Greek yogurt
- 1 lemon zest
- 50 ml olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- a pinch of pepper
- 1 +1 egg
- 2 tsp sesame seeds white and black
Instructions
- Set the oven to 180 degrees C Fan (350 degrees F).
- Fry spinach until wilted. Leave to cool in a colander to get out the excesses water.
- Mix mascarpone, Greek yogurt, lemon zest, olive oil, egg and salt. Whisk until smooth.
- Open filo pastry, take out one sheet and put on your work surface. Cover the other sheets to make sure they don’t try out.
- Spread your mascarpone mixture on the filo sheet, about 1 1/2 tbsp per sheet. Use the back of your spoon to smooth out the mixture to make it even.
- Divide your spinach in to 6 equal piles, and spread out one pile along the longer edge of your filo pastry.
- Divide your feta cheese block in 6 equal piles as well and crumble one pile of feta cheese on top of the spinach.
- Roll up the sheet away from you until it makes a long roll. Then twirl the long roll from right to left into a rose shape.
- Place on a cookie sheet.
- Now repeat the filling process with five more filo sheet.
- Whisk an egg, brush the Börek roses with the egg and sprinkle with white and black sesame seeds.
- Bake your Börek in the middle of the oven for abut 25 minutes or until golden.
- Let rest before serving, warm or cold.
Notes
If you want to try some other of my baking experiments, I have Asian style mince buns that are delicious.
For other spinach recipes, one of my favourite leafy vegetables, try my easy One pot creamy pasta with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes.
