If you love Turkish cuisine you would of come across many different types of börek and fillings. This is one of my favourite types of börek, Sigara Böreği. It is a filo pastry or in Turkish it is known as Yufka, which is rolled like a cigarette, filled with cheese and parsley. These beauties can be enjoyed hot or old and usually as a Meze or as a snack. I make these in advance and put them in my freezer so whenever I feel I want some I can take them out and cook them fresh.
You may come across different recipes for Sigara Börek but I always keep it simple and they are so moreish you just want to keep eating them.
Traditionally this type of börek is made with a soft white cheese like feta but you can use grated halloumi (Turkish Cypriots like to mix feta and halloumi together) either option tastes amazing. Yufka is a little bit thicker than your usual filo pastry so if you can't find Yufka in your local Turkish shop or Middle Eastern food shops you can use filo pastry, you may need a couple of sheets at a time to stop it from splitting.
INGREDIENTS
1 packet of Yufka, triangular are best, if not cut them
200 ml of Olive Oil or Sunflower Oil
200g Turkish White Cheese or Feta
1/4 Fresh Parsley, about the size of a handful, finely chopped
Milk or Egg Wash
METHOD
In a small mixing bowl, break up the cheese and add the chopped parsley and with a fork mash/mix the two together until all the cheese is soft
Using a chopping board, lay out a yufka sheet
Using a tablespoon spoon a small amount of mixture and place onto the wide end of the pastry (not too close to the ends)
Fold in the bottom corners in and roll the pastry into a cigar (try not to roll too loose) use a little water to wet down the point at the end of the roll
Place onto a plate and repeat until you run out of mixture
TIP: When using filo pastry/ yufka remember to cover the left overs well and put it in the fridge to keep it fresh and use within a couple of days
Before frying, brush the pastries with the milk or egg wash
In a large frying pan heat the olive oil on a medium heat for a few minutes and slowly add the pastries
Make sure you turn them frequently to get an even golden colour, and serve hot.
Other filling suggestion are spinach and feta, minced lamb or beef with tomato pureè, onions and fresh or dried herbs or even cooked sausages, like a turkish style sausage roll.
I hope you like this recipe, let me know what you think.
Enjoy!
Love & Light
2 comments
It has been two weeks since we have been back from North Cyprus and I still have the holiday blues. We had such an amazing and memorable time with family and friends and not only did I watch my little sister get married I also got to show my babies where their family are from. I will be honest I didn't pay much attention to taking photos for my blog because it was a family holiday and I wanted to be laid back and enjoy every moment instead of stressing about what to take photos of or write about for my blog. Now if you know me you know I TAKE TOO MANY PHOTOS so looking back through my holiday snaps I have enough of them to make a few blog posts haha!
Lahmacun is a round shaped flatbread-style pizza with spicy lamb or beef mince which is a traditional meal enjoyed in Turkey, North Cyprus and Turkish communities around the world, served with fresh lemon and salad which is rolled up and enjoyed.
A little while ago I wrote a post on my recipe for Zeytinli / Olive Bread which is a favourite of mine, so I thought I would add a recipe for Hellimli / Halloumi Bread; because who doesn't like halloumi and bread?!
Last night the whole family went out for dinner in celebration of my Mum's birthday. We surprised her and took her to a restaurant she had never been to before, one that we had all been to and enjoyed before.
The Meze Turkish Grill in Bexleyheath is our closest Turkish restaurant (yes, even though we are Turkish we still like to go out for turkish food!) Hubby and I first ate here with friends in the Summer of 2015 when I was pregnant with our second and we had such a lovely time.
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