Turkish Borek Without an Oven
Turkish borek prepared without an oven and usually cooked on the stovetop or in a frying pan.
A Turkish borek made without an oven, likely cooked on the stovetop or in a pan.
Like a savory stuffed pastry or layered pie.
Borek usually uses thin dough and a savory filling, then is cooked until crisp.
Ingredients
- 250 grams Kashkaval cheese
- 250 grams Halloumi cheese
- 150 grams Butter
- 15 pieces Pastry sheets
- Turkish yufka bread
- Cooked lasagna pasta sheets
- half a cup Chopped mushrooms
- half a cup Black olives
- Luncheon meat slices
- just a splash / for moistening Water
Instructions
- Grease the cooking tray well with butter before arranging the pastry.
- Place the pastry sheets in the cooking tray only immediately before using them so they do not dry out.
- Arrange about 10 layers of pastry sheets in the cooking tray, brushing butter between each layer.
- Lay each pastry sheet in the cooking tray in the opposite direction from the previous layer, trying not to wrinkle or tear it.
- After making the first 10 layers, make preliminary square cuts in the layers in the cooking tray before adding the filling, without cutting all the way through with the knife.
- Moisten some pastry sheets with water only, then add them to the cooking tray over the first layers.
- Place and spread the Kashkaval cheese in the cooking tray over the pastry layers.
- Add the black olives, mushrooms, and mortadella or luncheon meat slices to the cooking tray over the cheese. The chef notes that Turks use cheese only, while she added these ingredients for variety.
- Distribute the filling in the cooking tray, avoiding making it too thick around the edges so it does not spill out of the pastry during cooking.
- Add more water-moistened pastry-sheet layers over the filling in the cooking tray, continuing to brush butter between the layers.
- Add 5 final pastry layers to the cooking tray, with butter between each layer.
- Trim the rounded excess pastry from the edges in the cooking tray, then press the edges down firmly as much as possible.
- Place the cooking tray over the large gas burner on low heat.
- Move the cooking tray around on the gas burner about every 30 seconds until the first side browns evenly all over.
- Cook the first side in the cooking tray on the gas burner for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Prepare a second tray greased with butter to flip the borek onto after the first side has browned.
- Carefully flip the borek from the first cooking tray onto the second tray, then cook the second side again on the gas burner.
- Cook the second side in the cooking tray on the gas burner for about 10 minutes, until it reaches the desired color.