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5.0 from 3 votes

Cheese Börek with Spinach

Crisp, paper-thin pastry and a tangy, salty and earth filling make for a taste and texture marvel from this amazing and much loved Turkish Cheese Börek Pie with spinach. Packed full of authentic Turkish flavours.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
55 mins
Servings: 6
Calories: 614 kcal
Course: Side Dish , Main Course , Snacks
Cuisine: Turkish

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion finely diced
  • 300 g Piknik Peynir or feta
  • 200 g Erzican Tulum Peyniri or feta
  • 240 g spinach cooked and squeezed of excess moisture
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 Sheets of Yufka Pastry
  • 50 g butter melted
  • 1 tbsp plain yoghurt
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1/4 tsp salt.
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp nigella seeds

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF
  2. Heat olive oil and fry onion until translucent. Add the spinach and wilt. Cool, tip onto a clean tea towel, then squeeze out excess water. Set aside to cool.
  3. Mix the cooled spinach with the cheeses and pepper. Set aside.
  4. Melt the butter then whisk in the yoghurt and milk. Season lightly with salt.
  5. Spread out one sheet of yufka pastry and splash all over with the yoghurt mixture and brush to coat the sheet.
  6. Using the cheese mix, make a long thin sausage (about 2” wide) along the bottom edge of the pastry and then roll upwards to make a long sausage.
  7. Coil the sausage from the centre of a round baking tray (a pizza tray).
  8. Make another sausage from a sheet of yufka and cheese. Begin coiling again from where you left off to create a larger circle. Continue to add more pastry sausages to the pie until the cheese mix runs out. Tuck the final end under the coil a little.
  9. Brush generously with the beaten egg then sprinkle the börek with sesame and nigella seeds and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
  10. Rest for 10 minutes before serving. You can also serve at room temperature.

Notes

  • Leftover börek will stay fresh in the fridge for 5-6 days, covered in foil or plastic wrap. You can eat it cold, but it will lose the crunchiness. A quick reheat in the oven will bring the börek back to life.
  • Alternative fillings are varied. The key as with any pie is to keep an eye on the moisture content. The wetter the ingredients, the more you run the risk of a soggy börek. I make börek with a varied array of ingredients. Try:
  • There are so many options and there's no wrong combination. Have fun and experiment, just remember to keep the filling fairly dry.
  • Reheat börek slices for 5-10 minutes in a 200ºC/400ºF oven.
  • Freeze uncooked (without the egg wash or seeds added). When ready, brush with the egg wash and seeds and cook in a 200ºC/400ºF oven for 45-50 minutes.
  • Freeze cooked - Reheat in a 200ºC/400ºF oven lightly covered with foil.
  • Cooked lentils with olives and cheese and herbs
  • Ground lamb or beef or chopped chicken cooked with cumin, cinnamon, pine nuts and spinach or cavolo nero cabbage
  • Flaked salmon with feta/peynir dill and pine nuts or chopped walnuts.

Nutrition Information

Calories 614kcal (31%) Carbohydrates 57g (19%) Protein 21g (42%) Fat 34g (52%) Saturated Fat 17g (85%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g Monounsaturated Fat 11g Trans Fat 0.3g Cholesterol 106mg (35%) Sodium 1597mg (67%) Potassium 395mg (11%) Fiber 3g (12%) Sugar 1g (2%) Vitamin A 4340IU (87%) Vitamin C 13mg (14%) Calcium 485mg (49%) Iron 5mg (28%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 614

% Daily Value*

Calories 614kcal 31%
Carbohydrates 57g 19%
Protein 21g 42%
Fat 34g 52%
Saturated Fat 17g 85%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 11g 55%
Trans Fat 0.3g 15%
Cholesterol 106mg 35%
Sodium 1597mg 67%
Potassium 395mg 8%
Fiber 3g 12%
Sugar 1g 2%
Vitamin A 4340IU 87%
Vitamin C 13mg 14%
Calcium 485mg 49%
Iron 5mg 28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.