Potato Borek - Patatesli Börek

Potato Borek is a delicious Turkish pastry made with a cheesy potato filling wrapped in thin, crisp yufka sheets. The rolls bake until golden and crunchy on the outside and stay soft in the middle.

In Turkey we eat patatesli börek for breakfast or an afternoon snack with a glass of Turkish Tea - Çay. It's just as good cold the next day, so it goes into lunchboxes and picnic bags.

You need a pack of yufka, potatoes, two cheeses, a few things from the fridge and 20 minutes of work.

Jump to:

• Why This Recipe Works?
• What is Borek - Burek?
• Ingredients You'll Need
• How to Make Potato Borek?
• Recipe Tips From the Chef
• Variations
• What to Serve with Potato Borek?
• Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
• Recipe FAQs
• Related Recipes
• Potato Borek - Patatesli Börek

The rolls go into the freezer for an hour before slicing, which is what makes them easy to cut neatly. You can make a batch ahead and bake them from frozen, so there's always something in the house for guests.

If you've never used yufka before, the step photos and the video show every stage, and there's nothing hard in it. It's one of the most popular böreks in Turkey, and a tray of 22 pieces never lasts long.

If you'd rather watch than read, the short video below shows you how to use the yufka, roll it and cut it.

Why This Recipe Works?

• The yufka bakes crunchy, and the potato filling stays soft and cheesy inside.

• There's no sauce to brush between the sheets, and the yufka soaks up the filling as it bakes.

• The potatoes are boiled and grated, so the filling is one bowl of mixing and no frying.

• Leftover slices reheat crisp in the oven or a dry pan, and the filling stays soft.

What is Borek - Burek?

Börek (spelled borek or burek in English) is a savory pastry from Turkey and the Balkans. It's made with thin sheets of dough, usually yufka or filo, and filled with cheese, meat, vegetables or potato.

The name comes from the Turkish verb bürmek, which means to twist or roll. The first written record is from 12th century Anatolia. In Ottoman times the Topkapı palace had a kitchen that made nothing but börek.

Börek comes in many shapes, and each shape has its own name. Rolled sheets make my Spinach Borek - Ispanaklı Börek, and folded parcels make Kiymali Borek. Egyptian Goulash is layered in a tray and baked until crisp. Paçanga Böreği, Sigara Boregi and Chebureki are fried instead of baked.

Ingredients You'll Need

Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.

• Yufka - Big round sheets, sold in Turkish or Middle Eastern shops and online. If you only have filo, use two sheets for each yufka and brush a little melted butter between them. Keep the sheets under a damp towel as you work, or they dry out and crack.

• Potatoes - Floury ones such as Maris Piper or King Edward grate into a light, fluffy mix. Waxy salad potatoes go gluey, so avoid them.

• Butter - Melted into the filling, it keeps the inside soft and helps the yufka crisp up. Use a good unsalted butter, or ghee.

• Cheese - I use kasar, the Turkish yellow cheese, with feta for salt and tang. Mozzarella, cheddar, halloumi or Gruyère all work in place of the kasar.

• Milk - Semi-skimmed or whole milk. Plain yogurt works in its place and gives a slightly tangier filling.

• Parsley - I use flat-leaf parsley for this borek. You can substitute it with dill, basil, or fresh mint.

How to Make Potato Borek?

Prepare the Potato Filling

Fill a medium saucepan with cold water and then add the potatoes. Put the pan on medium heat and bring it to a boil. Gently simmer the potatoes on low heat for 30 minutes or until soft in the middle.

Cool the potatoes down under running cold water and then peel them. Grate the potatoes and set them aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and then add the milk along with the melted butter. 

Add the mixture into the bowl with the grated potatoes, add chopped parsley, feta cheese, kasar cheese (or mozzarella cheese or cheddar cheese), salt, freshly ground pepper, and chili (if using) to the bowl.

Give it a good stir. The mix will look loose, almost like porridge, and that's how it should be. The milk, egg and butter go into the filling instead of a sauce between the sheets.

Build The Borek

Preheat the oven to 180° C (356° F). Lay a sheet of yufka on the work surface and keep the other two under a damp towel.

Spread a third of the potato mix over it with the back of a spoon, gently so you don't tear the sheet. Lay the second yufka on top and spread another third of the mix over that.

Cut the round edges off so you have a rough rectangle, and lay the offcuts over the filling. Do the same with the third sheet and the last of the potato mix.

Roll it up from one long side into a firm log.

Cut the log in half and wrap each piece in cling film. Put them in the freezer for about an hour, until they're firm but not frozen solid. This makes them much easier to slice.

Bake the Patatesli Borek

Slice the logs about two fingers thick, around 3 cm (1¼ inches), with a sharp knife. Peel off the cling film and lay the slices cut side up on a lined baking tray.

Brush the tops with egg yolk, or with 1 tablespoon of yogurt mixed with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle on sesame or nigella seeds.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden and crisp. Let them sit for 10 minutes before serving, as the filling firms up as it cools.

Recipe Tips From the Chef

• Let the potato mix cool down before it goes on the yufka. Warm filling softens the sheet, and it tears when you roll it.

• Don't overload the sheets. A thin, even layer rolls into a firm log, and too much filling splits it when you slice.

• When rolling the yufka sheets into a log, make it as tight as possible and be gentle as you roll it.

• Using a cling film is very helpful for shaping it into a log. If you don't have cling film, use a clean kitchen towel or baking paper.

• If a sheet has dried out and cracks at the edges, wet your hands and pat it lightly. It will roll again without tearing.

• Cut the log in two, gently transfer it to a tray, and then let it freeze for about an hour (or until it is easy to handle) before slicing.

• If the logs have frozen solid, leave them on the counter until a knife goes through with a bit of pressure. Don't let them thaw fully, or the slices lose their shape.

• Use the fan setting if you like a crisper börek, and the ordinary setting for a softer one. Either way, lift one slice and check the bottom has browned before you take the tray out.

Variations

This is the simple version we make at home. A few things change from house to house in Turkey.

• Onion and spices - Fry a chopped onion in a little butter until soft, and stir it into the potato. Add a teaspoon of pul biber or sweet paprika. Some add a pinch of cumin, a spoon of dried mint or a tablespoon of tomato paste as well.

• Cheese only - Leave out the potato and use the filling from my Cheese Borek, or go half and half.

• Spinach or mince - A handful of wilted spinach folded into the potato works well. For a meat version, add a cup of cooked seasoned mince.

• Other shapes - Roll thin strips into cigars and the same filling makes sigara böreği. Coil a long roll into a spiral on the tray and you have gül böreği.

What to Serve with Potato Borek?

It wants something fresh next to it. Later in the day it comes with a cold glass of Ayran instead of tea.

For lunch I put it with Çoban Salatası or a bowl of Cacik. On a cold day a bowl of Turkish Red Lentil Soup - Kirmizi Mercimek Corbasi makes it a proper meal.

It's part of a Traditional Turkish Breakfast - Kahvalti Recipes table, next to the olives, cheese and eggs.

Storage and Make Ahead Instructions

Leftovers keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. To bring the crunch back, reheat them uncovered in the oven at 175° C (350° F) for 10 minutes. A dry frying pan over medium-low heat does the same job. The microwave works, but the pastry goes soft.

To get ahead, roll and slice the logs the night before. Keep the slices covered in the fridge and bake them in the morning.

You can freeze them baked or unbaked for up to 3 months. Freeze unbaked slices on a tray until solid, then bag them, and bake straight from frozen with about 10 extra minutes.

Baked ones go into the oven from frozen for 10 to 15 minutes, uncovered, so they crisp up rather than steam.

Recipe FAQs

Related Recipes

For more delicious borek recipes why not try:

Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

I hope you enjoy making this Potato Borek - Patatesli Börek (or Burek) as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂