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Cheese Borek - Turkish Delight
By poisoneyes | January 27, 2008
Ingredients:
2 lb Turkish yufka/pastry leaves (6 big round pieces)
1 egg yolk
Liquid Mixture:
¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
4 cups milk
1 eggs
13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan
You can choose one of the following fillings:
Cheese Filling:
1 cup crumbled feta
½ bunch of parsley, chopped
2 cups mozzarella or any other kind of cheese
Black pepper (if desired)
Eggplant Filling:
3 medium eggplants
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, diced (or 1/3 cup crushed tomato)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt
Black pepper
For Cheese Filling:
Combine all the ingredients and put aside
For Eggplant Filling:
Chop the eggplants into small squares. Put vegetable oil and diced onion in a pan. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the eggplants. 5 minutes later add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes. Put aside.
Now we are ready to start. In a bowl, mix the egg, olive/vegetable oil, and milk with a whisk. This liquid mix will go between every layer of the pastry, and will complement your choice of filling.
Grease the baking pan. Place ½ of one sheet of the pastry in the bottom. Spread 3-5 tablespoons of the liquid mix on top. Take the other part of the pastry sheet and stack in the dish. Again spread 2-3 tablespoons of the liquid mix on top. Continue layering until you are done with1/3 of the pastry (2 sheets). Then, spread all of your main filling evenly over the pastry in the dish after you spread the liquid mix. Resume layering the pastry and the liquid mix until you are done with 2 more pastry sheets and repeat the same steps with filling and liquid mix. When you are done with all pastry sheets, brush the top layer with the mixture and cut the borek into medium squares and pour the remaining mix on top. You can bake the borek right away or leave the casserole dish in the fridge for 2-3 hours or a night; this way it will be more crispy and tasty. As the last step, get the yolk of an egg and brush it on top. If you left it in the fridge, take it out and let it sit for at least an hour before putting it in the oven. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Bake until golden brown, for approximately 20 to 40 minutes.
