Spinach Borek - Ispanakli Borek

Turkish savory pies made with spinach and yufka.

5 from 18 votes

Spinach Borek - Ispanakli Borek

Spinach Borek (Ispanakli Borek) is a Turkish pastry made with thin yufka sheets, spinach and onions, shaped into individual roses and baked until crisp on the outside and soft inside.

Prep Time1 20

Cook Time40

Total Time2

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Turkish

Diet: Halal, Vegetarian

Servings: portions

Calories: 284kcal

Author: Ayla Clulee

Ingredients

For the Spinach Filling

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onion (finely diced)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
½ finely chopped red chili (optional) or ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
½ tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
1 ⅔ lbs spinach (washed, dried and chopped) (750 grams)

For the Sauce

1 whole egg
2 egg whites (the yolks to use for egg wash)
⅓ cup full fat milk (whole milk)
⅓ cup vegetable oil

For Rose Shaped Borek

3 sheets fresh yufka
¼ cup melted butter
2 egg yolks
sesame seeds or nigella seeds (to sprinkle on top)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cook the Spinach Filling

Heat a large pan or wok on medium heat.
Add olive oil and gently saute the onions and garlic until translucent.
Stir in the tomato paste, chili, salt, pepper, and paprika, and saute for another minute.
Add the spinach and cook for a few minutes on high heat until the water from the spinach totally evaporates.
Remove from the heat and let it cool down completely before it goes on the yufka. If it still looks wet, scatter a teaspoon of flour through it.

Prepare the Sauce

Put 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites in a bowl and whisk lightly, keeping the 2 yolks back for the egg wash.
Pour in the milk and vegetable oil and whisk to combine. Set aside to use when required.

Assemble the Borek

Preheat the oven to 180° C - 360° F (fan oven).
Line a rectangular baking tray 35cm x 25cm (14" x 10") or a round tray 28cm (11") dia with a baking sheet.
Lay a piece of yufka on a work surface and scatter 2-3 tablespoon of the sauce on it, spread the sauce evenly using a pastry brush.
Divide the filling into 3 and scatter ⅓ of it on yufka evenly. Then cut the yufka in quarters. You will have 4 large triangles.
Take one of the triangles and roll it starting from the large side into a long sausage shape. Roll it neither tight nor loose, and do not overfill it.
Swirl the long sausage into a rose shape, and tuck the loose end piece underneath the rose.
Repeat the same for the rest of the yufka pieces, you should have 12 roses out of 3 yufka sheets.
Sit them close together on a baking tray and brush with melted butter and then egg yolk.
Sprinkle on sesame seeds or nigella seeds.
Place the tray in the oven and cook the boreks for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Do not cover them once they come out of the oven or the tops go soft. Cool them on a wire rack so the bases stay crisp.

If You Want to Make It as a Tray Bake (Optional)

Use the same filling and the same sauce. You need 5 sheets of yufka for this version rather than 3, and a rectangular tray around 35cm x 25cm (14" x 10").
Lay 2 sheets on the base of the tray, letting them overhang the sides, and brush them with sauce. Two on the bottom rather than one keeps the base from going soggy under the filling.
Add another sheet, scrunching it a little as you lay it down, and brush again. Spread all of the filling over it.
Finish with the last 2 sheets, brushing sauce between them, then fold the overhanging edges back over the top.
Brush the top with egg yolk and scatter over sesame and nigella seeds.
Cut it into squares now, before it goes in the oven. Yufka shatters once it is baked and you will never get clean pieces.
Bake at 180° C - 360° F on the middle shelf for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden. Too high and the top colors before the base has cooked, too low and the bottom catches.

Notes

Make sure the oven is up to 180° C - 360° F (fan) before the borek goes in.
Take the pan off the heat just before the spinach releases its water. If the filling still looks wet once cooled, drain it, and stir a spoonful of breadcrumbs through it if that is not enough.
The filling has to be cold before it touches the yufka.
Keep the yufka you are not working with under a slightly damp tea towel. Damp, not wet, or the sheets go doughy.
Roll the sausage neither tight nor loose, and do not overfill it. Both are what make a rose burst open in the oven.
Tuck the loose end underneath the rose before it goes on the tray.
Sit the roses close together on the tray rather than spaced apart.
You can shape and sauce them, cover the tray and leave it in the fridge overnight, then bake straight from cold and add 5 minutes.
Do not cover them out of the oven or the tops go soft. Cool them on a wire rack so the bases stay crisp.
Freeze before or after baking for up to 3 months. No need to defrost. Reheat for 5 minutes at 200° C - 400° F.

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