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Making "Cigarette Borek" from EmBoy on Vimeo. General name of this food is "Borek" (also depending on the nationality & language, it's called burek, byrek, boereg, pirog and some other variants on the name) is a type of baked or fried filled pastry, from Turkey, made of a thin flaky dough known as "yufka" (or phyllo dough). It can be filled with cheese, often feta cheese with some parsley leaves, kasar cheese, ground beef or vegetables.
A borek may be prepared in a large pan and cut in to portions after baking, or as individual pastries. The top of borek is often sprinkled with sesame seeds
Borek is popular in the countries composing the former Ottoman Empire such as former countries of Yugoslavia, where it enjoys a tremendous pop-culture base, in addition to the rest of the Balkans.
The pastry also enjoys considerable popularity in Magreb, namely Algeria and Tunisia, although it is known by different names there.
The Northern Slavic cuisines, historically living in close contact with the Turkish people of Asia and Europe, also feature derivatives of the Borek.
Borek is also popular in Israel, with the Turkish & Greek variants, that were brought there by the Balkan Jewish communities of the Ottoman Empire.
The best dough for borek "Yufka" is available in any Turkish delis of New York City. Also, Cigarette Borek" is one of the most popular appetizers in Turkish Restaurants. So, I would say that it's most likely available in any Turkish Restaurant in the world.
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Signing UpStep 1Ingredients
1) 3 egg yolks, 3 tablespoon of olive oil (extra virgin is better), half glass of water. Mix all together in a small bowl.
2) Chilie Powder & Salt.
3) Canola oil or "corn oil" or "vegetable oil". (either one is fine)
4) Half pound of ground beef.
5) Half of peeled onion. (regular size)
6) Half pack of phyllo dough. Usually 28 layers come in the half of pack. (there are many brands are available in the NYC supermarkets. All of them are super thin and hard to wrap with. I definitely recommend Turkish "Yufka Dough"
2) Chilie Powder & Salt.
3) Canola oil or "corn oil" or "vegetable oil". (either one is fine)
4) Half pound of ground beef.
5) Half of peeled onion. (regular size)
6) Half pack of phyllo dough. Usually 28 layers come in the half of pack. (there are many brands are available in the NYC supermarkets. All of them are super thin and hard to wrap with. I definitely recommend Turkish "Yufka Dough"
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We have 'pizza' burek in Serbia. Pizza filling in a burek dough. :)
-Mashed feta cheese with fresh parsley leaves. (this is my favorite)
-Mashrooms (cubed and cooked with onion and cubed tomatoes).
-Mashed potaotes with cooked onions and very thin sliced cooked green peppers.
I guess you have to see whether they are nice and crisp. If in doubt, try one :)
Kudos for the instructible. We have so much we can share, but so few people doing it.
(If you edited in a small introduction, it would be helpful. Perhaps a little on their background, including how and with what they are traditionally served.)
L
Before I made these I had to Google Borek to find out more, a little info about these in the intro would be great.
I suppose they hit the spot in other contexts as well... right now for instance. Yum.
I actually NEED to try these. Now!!!
-PKT