Lately, I’ve been so overwhelmed with work that I’ve cut the amount of time I spend in the kitchen in half.  I’m setting a new record for myself, in and out of the kitchen with in a hour.  It can be done, if coordinated carefully.  Couple of weeks ago I had made an easy sheet pan borek, actually made 2 sheet pans knowing I had busy weeks coming up.  As promised this is the recipe for my easy borek with Fillo Dough. 

Quick Note: Fillo Dough comes in 3 different varieties. #4, #7 & #10
#4 – the thinnest of all 3 - the best for baklava & syrupy delights
#7 – the mid sized of all 3 - the best for boreks & sweets 
#10 – the thickest of all 3 – the best for boreks
(I am sure you can use all 3 of them in every dish, but be sure to use #4 quickly because it dries very very fast)

Cheese & Parsley Borek

 Ingredients:

• 1 box of #4 or # 7 Fillo dough
• 1.5 cups of milk
• 1.5 cups of feta cheese (crumble well)
• 1.5 cups of ricotta cheese (any kind you like) ~ I like my boreks cheese
• 1 cups of diced parsley
• salt for taste
• 2 egg yolk
• 1/3 cup of yogurt
• sesame & black sesame seeds

Preparation:

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.  In a deep bowl, mix the cheeses with the parsley add salt and set a side.  Oil the bottom of your baking pan, I use PAM original, the pan does not have to a square can be round, but make sure to arrange all of the fillo evenly in the pan. Open the box of fillo and role out on a flat surface.  Make sure you know the count of fillo dough because you will divide it into 3 usages.  This time I had #4 fillo on hand and I had a lot of fillo sheets.

Place a fillo sheet on the bottom of the pan, with a baking brush, brush the top of the fillo with the milk, coating every corner of the fillo with milk.  Place the second sheet, brush it with milk again, continue to do this until you have 9-11 sheets piled that have been brushed with milk.  With a spoon, spread out the the half of filling on top of the fillo sheets.  Cover the filling with another 9-11 fillos, making sure each layer is brushed with milk.  Place the other half of the filling on top of the second layer of fillo sheets.  Finally place the remaining fillos brushing each one with milk on top of the last filling layer. 

In a small bowl, mix the 2 egg yolk with the 1/3 cup of yogurt and brush evenly on top of the fillo dough. This gives it a nice color and texture.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake 50-60 minutes at 400 degrees or until the borek has obtained a nice golden color.

Once cooked set a side and let it cool, cut into nice sizes and server with tea or ayran ~ yogurt drink. Available at Turkish grocery stores.

Note:I did not use any form of butter or oil; yes you can use butter & oil, but I find that if you use milk, the borek is much softer and lighter. If make extra borek, freeze it and defrost & heat it up before you serve to your guest.

Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 stalks of celery - washed & cut
• 1 medium sized red onion – diced
• 3 cans of tuna in water (lighter then oil)
• 3/4 cups of mayonnaise
• salt, black pepper & paprika for taste
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• half of a lemon’s juice
• hand full of chopped parsley

Preparation:

In a deep mixing bowl, add in the chopped celery, red onion, drained tuna & mayonnaise as well as the, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, paprika & chopped parsley.  Mix all the ingredients & sevre as you wish . (In between two toasted breads or with some fresh greens & tomatoes.)

 Enjoy!

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