It’s been two years since my daughter Julia and I were in Istanbul on one of the most epic trips we’ve ever done. We both fell in love with the country - the people, history, architecture, culture, and of course the food!! We knew we had to cook with the locals so we searched and found a company called Cookistan (@cookistanbul). We booked a class and had one of the best experiences with our hostess Aysin and friends.
The class was held at Aysin’s home in northern Istanbul, so the experience started with us making our way there. We met in front of the Ramada Inn Hotel in the Şişli district. While we waited for other participants, we observed the Simit seller across the street while Aysin explained how Turks eat these bagels on the go every day, either with pekmez and tahini (grape molasses and sesame seed paste, the Turkish version of peanut butter and jam) or cheese and olive tapenade.
When our classmates arrived, we set out to explore the neighbourhood, as Aysin casually picked up ingredients needed for our class. As we walked and Aysin explained what was around us (one of the few Catholic churches and cemeteries in Istanbul, for example), we visited the local baker making bread in a tandoor-like oven; the artichoke vendor peeling artichokes so the customer could buy the cleaned hearts ready to cook; the pastry shop, where Aysin picked up the most delicious pastries; and the local grocer - I have never seen such variety of dairy products! So much yogurt, clotted cream and cheese; olives, nuts, dried fruit, tahini, cured meats, tomato and pepper pastes, spices, baklava and the most amazing and FRESH yufka dough that we used to make the most delicious meat filled pastries called Börek. It was a delightful tour around a neighbourhood that retains the small village feel, with mom and pop shops that provide everything needed to cook at home. It was nice to see that in a city as huge as Istanbul!
But back to the subject of this post. Börek is abundant in Istanbul, you can find shops dedicated to making them exclusively. Filled with meat, cheese or vegetables, they come in a variety of shapes. They can be small coils (or roses, as they call them there), large coils, rolls, or layered like lasagna. They are a popular street food and are totally delicious! Though today I’m writing about the Turkish pastry, börek is actually a family of pastries made with phyllo or yufka, enjoyed in many countries from Central Asia, the Levant, the Balkans (we also made some in Bosnia!) and some Eastern European countries (Spanakopita anyone?).
Back to my story... when we got to Aysin’s place, we started the class by having tea and pastry (my favourite was the sweet tahini roll), and getting to know each other. Taking the class with us were two other ladies, journalists from the USA, so the conversation was very interesting!!. After a leisurely chat, we got to the work tables and started cooking. We made a delicious menu of Circassian Chicken (Turkish chicken and walnut salad), assorted dolmas (stuffed sundried eggplant, fresh zucchini and grape leaves), stuffed olive oil braised artichoke hearts, bulgur salad on lettuce leaves, the amazing meat-filled börek, and for a sweet ending, sugar syrup braised pumpkin with tahini and walnuts.
Why am I writing about this two years later you may ask? Well, let me tell you! During these two years I have been visiting every Middle-Eastern grocery store in Ottawa looking for Turkish yufka pastry (even though Ottawa is the capital city of Canada, it is still a relatively small city). Two weeks ago, I heard about a brand new (Turkish!) grocery store in Kanata, so I just had to go visit. As Julia and I walked the aisles, lo and behold, sitting right there in the freezer staring back at me was the much sought-after yufka! I almost did a little dance on the spot I was so excited! We found many other products like the sun-dried eggplants and peppers used for stuffing and the hard-to-find red pepper paste. Oh, and they make fresh simit every day! If you’re in Ottawa and you are interested in cooking Turkish food, please go visit the Istanbul Food Market on Katimavik Road. And FYI, they make a mean Turkish coffee that you can sip as you shop!
In honour of that epic search for yufka and to remember that fabulous experience we had with Aysin and Cookistan, here is the recipe for the Börek we made in class, published with Aysin’s permission. I have added a bit of spice (listed in Italics) that is my only deviation from the original recipe. Otherwise, it is just like the ones we made with Aysin. If you cannot find yulfka dough where you are, you can use phyllo (just a tip: yufka dough is round, whereas phyllo is rectangular, so the cutting of the dough will be a bit different. Also, you only use one layer of yufka to make these pastries, whereas with phyllo you would need at least two layers).
I hope you try this recipe - it is super easy to make and really delicious! Best of all, if you want, you can make double and freeze the rest for quick lunches or dinners.
Börek
Turkish Meat Stuffed Pastries - Cookistan
500g ground beef
1 large Spanish onion, grated and drained for 30 minutes (3/4 cup)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp Aleppo pepper, optional
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 sheets yufka dough, thawed
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp water
Topping:
250g plain yogurt
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes or paprika
1 tsp crushed dried mint
Preheat oven to 390°F.
In large bowl, combine ground beef, grated onion, Aleppo pepper, salt, pepper and cumin.
Knead thoroughly with gloved hands until mixture is homogeneous.
Unfold yufka dough on counter and cut into 4 triangles. Mix olive oil with milk and brush dough.
Divide meat mixture into 8 portions. Spread meat at the widest edge of the dough, in the shape of a thin cylinder. Start rolling up dough from the widest edge towards the tip, keeping the roll very loose.
When you have a cylinder, then start rolling the pastry into a coil, making sure the coil is not too tight, or they may tear as they bake.
Make an egg wash by whisking egg with water. Place pastries on parchment lined baking trays and brush tops and end tips to make dough stick to coil.
Place on parchment lined baking trays and bake for 33-40 minutes, until pastries are golden brown.
To make topping, in medium bowl combine yogurt with 1 clove minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve.
In small frying pan, melt butter and cook until foamy but not browned. Add Aleppo chili flakes or paprika.
Serve Börek warm, topped with yogurt and spiced butter and a sprinkle of dried mint.
Makes 8.