Badadezli (Patatesli), Ispanaklı, Peynirli Gül Böreği” (Potato, Spinach & Cheese Rose-Shaped Filo Pies)
Who loves börek? I mean, who doesn’t love borek?! These “Badadezli (Patatesli), Ispanaklı, Peynirli Gül Böreği” (Potato, Spinach & Cheese Rose-Shaped Filo Pies) ones are fab, bringing together the flavours and fillings in my various börek recipes into one for these beauties. Based on my kol böreği (filling) and gül böreği (method) recipes from Meliz’s Kitchen, you can find the full recipe for these crunchy, buttery, utterly delicious, vegetarian parcels of joy below - watch the recipe reel here.
INGREDIENTS:
For the filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, very finely chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp tatlı biber salçası
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp dried mint
2 tsp pul biber
600g Maris Piper potatoes cut into 3cm chunks, boiled, drained and mashed
400g spinach, cooked, drained and excess water squeezed out, roughly chopped
30g fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
100g beyaz peynir / feta
150g Turkish kaşar peyniri / gouda, finely grated
Sea salt + coarse black pepper to taste
For the börek:
2 large eggs
100g natural yogurt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp olive oil
12 large sheets of filo pastry
150g unsalted butter, melted, any solids removed and discarded
METHOD:
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over a low-medium heat and cook the onions with 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes for 10-12 mins, stirring occasionally until softened and slightly caramelised. Add the garlic, paprika, pul biber and dried mint, and stir for 30 seconds or so until the spices are aromatic. Remove from the heat, allow to cool a little then add to the bowl of mashed potatoes along with the cooked spinach, parsley and cheeses. Stir well, season with sea salt and coarse black pepper to taste (you can make this in advance and refrigerate overnight).
For the börek, crack 1 egg into a small bowl and separate the other egg, adding the white into the small bowl and keeping the yolk separate in another one. Whisk the egg, the mix in the yogurt, baking powder and oil.
Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
Lay 1 sheet of filo on a clean surface with a longer side facing you, and brush about a sixth of the egg and yogurt sauce all over it. Lay another sheet of filo on top, brush with the melted butter, along the edges too, then spread 1/6 portion of the filling mix along the bottom edge nearest you. Roll the pastry up and away from you, enclosing the filling into a log shape. Curl the log around itself into a spiral, roughly 10cm in diameter using the warmth of your hands will help prevent it from splitting. Transfer to the lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining filo and filling until you have six “gül böreği”.
Brush the rest of the melted butter over the börek, and gently brush with the reserved egg yolk all over each one. Sprinkle over the seeds and bake on the bottom shelf for 35-40 mins (or 50 mins-1 hr from frozen), or until golden brown all over. Serve warm with a green salad.
To freeze (before brushing with butter and egg), cover with parchment before. Cook from frozen (see longer cooking time above). Brush with melted butter, egg yolk and seeds before baking. Will keep frozen for three months.
