This lovely twist on a classic Turkish recipe is easy enough to make on a weeknight. A judicious use of olive oil spray improves the macros of this recipe while maintaining a flavorful and flakey borek.
Feel free to use up to a tablespoon of dry spices in your borek beef mixture or none at all. A fellow foodie friend gave me a container of Penzeys Tsarist Memories that proved delicious in this recipe.
While rolling and assembling the borek, cover and recover the sheets of phyllo dough with a kitchen towel to prevent drying and cracking. The olive oil sprayed onto the baking sheet will be absorbed by each rolled phyllo sheet. Spray more olive oil on the baking sheet between every other phyllo sheet to prevent sticking. Roll the phyllo sheets in the same direction as folded in the package. Rolling against the natural fold will cause cracking and breaking.
For an eye-catching appearance, sprinkle a combination of white and black sesame seeds over the surface of the borek.
Serve with a cool green salad or Turkish Piyaz.
Borek with Beef
Tools:
Large round baking, large rectangular baking sheet, pastry brush
Ingredients:
- 1 lb 85% ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T Tsardust Memories from Penzeys Spice or other mix of dry spices
- 1/2 t kosher salt
- 1/2 t black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 10 sheets phyllo dough
- 16 sprays olive oil
- 1 large egg
- 2 T skim milk
- 1 T sesame seeds
Directions:
- Place frozen phyllo sheets in refrigerator at least 8 hours before cooking. Place on counter immediately before next step.
- Spray large skillet with olive oil. Add beef and onion on medium heat with salt and pepper. Stir and mince frequently until beef browns. Leave no large chunks of ground beef. Add garlic and stir until fragrant for 1-2 minutes. Stir in spice mix. Remove skillet from heat to cool and stir in parsley.
- Place rack at mid-level of oven and preheat to 400F.
- Mix egg and milk in small bowl and set aside.
- Spray a large round pizza baking sheet with olive oil.
- Unfold phyllo sheets onto counter top.
- Spray a large rectangular baking sheet with olive oil and gently place first sheet of phyllo onto baking sheet and spray with olive oil. Scoop about 3 tablespoons of beef mixture into a thin line on one end of the sheet. Roll the edge of the phyllo sheet over the line of beef and continue to tightly roll toward the other end. Twist the rolled phyllo sheet tightly into a spiral to form the center of the borek and place at center of round baking sheet.
- Continue to roll phyllo sheets as described in previous step. Starting at the previous rolls endpoint, place next roll around the edges of the borek in a tight spiral pattern until fully assembled.
- Using a pastry brush, brush egg and milk wash on the surface and edges of the phyllo on the baking sheet. Sprinkle sesame seeds evenly over the surface.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow borek to rest on a cutting board for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition: 269 Calories | 18.7 g Protein | 12.4 g Fat | 24.8 g Carbohydrates
Place at the Table 