Baked Borek (with two different fillings)

Borek is always a staple order for my friends and I when we visit any sort of mezze restaurant. As I have mentioned before, any sort of stuffed bread or pastry makes me so happy and I have always loved these little moreish parcels since I was a child. Strangely, this is the first time I have attempted to make my own and it was so simple that I wondered why I had never tried to make them before. I have chosen to make two fillings here: since most of my family are vegetarians I have opted for the traditional feta and herb stuffing as well as a spicy Quorn version. Actually, as a meat lover I was pleasantly suprised by the tastiness of the Quorn mince, it has a very good ability to soak up flavours plus it is much lower in fat, however if you do want to make a meat version lamb/beef is a very good substitute.

For the Borek:

You will need:

1 packet (about 100g) of filo pastry sheets

4 tbsp olive oil

1 beaten egg/some milk for glazing

sesame seeds (optional)

For the Cheese Filling:

You will need:

100g feta cheese

100g riccota cheese

50g grated mild cheddar/mozzarella

1 egg lightly beaten

1 spring onion, finely chopped

bunch of mint, finely chopped

bunch of parsley, finely chopped

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

black pepper to taste

For the Quorn (or meat) filling:

You will need:

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp butter

1 egg, ligthly beaten

1tsp ground ginger

1tsp paprika

1tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground cinammon

1 onion, finely chopped

fresh parsely, finely chopped

friesh corriander, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

150g quorn mince

1 tsp ricotta (tip: you only really need to add this if you are using quorn mince as it is low in fat  and therefore a little dry, adding ricotta will therefore help to add moisture. If you don’t have any ricotta just add a bit more butter or olive oil.)

First make the cheese filling by mixing all the cheese filling ingredients together in a bowl. Put in the fridge to set for about 10 mins. To make the Quorn/meat filling, fry the onions in the oil till soft then add the garlic. Next add in the Quorn mince and spices and fry for a further 1 minute. Finally add the fresh herbs and take of the heat. Stir in the egg and leave aside. Next cut the filo into rectangular strips about 6 inches by 8 inches, or into 24 equal rectangles. Put a heaped teaspoon on one corner of the rectangle and fold it over to make a traingle shape. Keep folding the pastry over itself then seal the ends with oil. Place the boreks on a greased baking tray and glaze with milk or a beaten egg, sprinkle with seasme seeds for decoration. Cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for around 30mins or until they are golden brown. Serve warm. This recipe makes about 12 of each filling.

Nutritional Information:

For one cheese borek:

Calories: 88 kcal

Fat: 4.8g

Protein: 9.1 g

Carbohydrates: 5.0g

For one Quorn borek:

Calories: 60 kcal

Fat: 5.0g

Protein: 3.0 g

Carbohydrates: 3.6 g

Feta and Olive Buns

I have an obsession with any kind of savoury bread that has a filling inside. Our local Turkish bakery has some really lovely soft buns filled with feta that I have always wanted to make but for some reason they never quite turned out well. However after some cutting and pasting of different recipes I finally came up with these very addictive soft buns with a hidden feta and olive surprise.

For the dough:

You will need:

300g of plain flour

5 g dry active yeast

a pinch of salt

1 tbsp sugar

125ml milk (luke warm)

50g melted light olive spread (or you can use butter if you like them richer)

1 egg

1 tbsp of sesame seeds (optional)

1 beaten egg for glazing

For the filling

You will need:

150 g feta cheese

15 green olives (chopped)

1 tsp of dried/ fresh oregano

1 tbsp of white wine or white Martini

To make the dough mix together all the dry ingredients then add the the milk, melted olive spread and 1 egg. Knead well into a soft dough. This dough will be very sticky so it is best to use a bread maker/mixer to knead the dough if you have one. However if you are doing it by hand do so on a lightly floured surface. It should take around 25mins to knead this dough by hand it will be ready when it no longer sticks to the work surface. It will be tempting to add more flour but please try to refrain from this other wise the bread will not be as soft. Once you have finished kneading, leave the dough to rise for about an hour in an oiled bowl covered with a damp cloth or cling film. Once the dough has doubled in size tip it out onto a floured surface and punch it a few times. Next cut the dough into 8 equal sized balls and leave them to rise for a further 20 mins on a floured surface covered with a dish cloth. Make sure the balls are well floured on all sides when you do this otherwise they will stick to the cloth. In the mean time mix up the ingredients for the filling and leave to one side. Once the balls have risen fill them with 1/8th of the filling. Place them on a baking tray with some grease proof paper on it and brush them with some beaten egg. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top then cook in a pre-heated oven for 15 mins at 190 degrees. When they are done leave to cool on a rack completely before serving.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 167 Kcal

Fat:6.5g

Carbohydrates: 16.5 g

Protein: 7.8 g