Spinach borek | Sailing to Albania

Albania is a small country within the Mediterranean sea with neighbouring countries like Greece and Italy. Geographically the country presents a wide diversity ranging from snowy mountainous regions to the hot sunny coastal plains. Albanian  cuisine  represents the Mediterranean cuisine which is not governed by a single culture or ethnicity but controlled by the climate and geographical conditions of the regions surrounding the Mediterranean sea. Three neighbouring countries Greece, Roman and Turkey had conquered and ruled  Albania over centuries and hence each of these countries cultures and cooking techniques have powerful influence over the Albanian cuisine. The Albanian cuisine is one of the most famous mediterranean cuisine due the the richness in vegetation ,spices and varieties of meat.

Wild asparagus table potluck at the floating restaurant AB Celestial

On the first month of new year 2020 , the #wildasperagustable ,a community for bloggers ,chefs, homechefs, restauranteurs and passionate foodies had organised a potluck ,theme centred Albanian cuisine on the deck of AB celestial a beautiful floating restaurant in Mumbai behind the Bandra Worli sea link. Sea never ceases to amaze you with her beauty and this restaurant floating amidst the sea gives you a feeling of swaying high and low along the waves. We arranged our dishes on the top deck amidst the sky with tinges of red from the sun setting down the horizon and enjoyed taking breathtaking gorgeous shots with the backdrop of sea. The  members had cooked delicious food with perfection after extensive research.

Spinach Borek

Börek according to Wikipedia is a family of baked filled pastries made of paper thin filo dough.They are of Turkish origin and are popular in Balkans. I prepared the filo dough at home from scratch and it was amazing crispy and flaky.

Ingredients

Dough

• 4 cups refined flour
• 2 eggs
• 50 gm frozen butter
•  A pinch of salt

Filling

• A bunch of spinach leaves
• 200 gm of cottage cheese
• 250 gm of processed cheese
• 1 tbsp of carom seeds
• 1 cup of chopped onions
• 4 to 5 garlics finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of Red chili flakes
• Warm water as required
• 1/2 cup of melted butter

Preparation

Dough

• Mix the flour with the frozen butter till it is crumbly
• Add eggs and mix the flour and salt
• Add water and knead the flour with your hand till a soft firm dough is formed.
• divide the flour into small rounds around 12 balls.
• roll into thin sheets
• Brush melted butter on  each sheet and stack 6 sheets one over the other.
•  Make two shacked sheets one for the bottom layer and another for the top layer of the pie.
• Freeze each layer for at least 2 hours

Filling

• Chop spinach leaves finely
• Roast the carom seeds
• In a pan add olive oil and saute spinach leaves
• Add onions ,garlic,salt and black pepper
• Saute till all the water gets dried.
• Let it cool
• Add grated cottage cheese and mix.

Assembling

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees
• Line mold with the bottom layer
• Fill with the spinach filling.
• Top with grated cheese
• Cover with the top layer
• Brush with egg wash
• Bake for 30 to 45 minutes at 180 degrees.
• Till the top layer is brown

Print

Spinach Borek

Börek according to Wikipedia is a family of baked filled pastries made of paper thin filo dough.They are of Turkish origin and are popular in Balkans. I prepared the filo dough at home from scratch and it was amazing crispy and flaky.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Balkan, Middle Eastern, Turkish

Prep Time 3 hours

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 4 hours

Author indrani

Ingredients

Ingredients

Dough

• 4 cups refined flour
• 2 eggs
• 50 gm frozen butter
• A pinch of salt

Filling

• A bunch of spinach leaves
• 200 gm of cottage cheese
• 250 gm of processed cheese
• 1 tbsp of carom seeds
• 1 cup of chopped onions
• 4 to 5 garlics finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of Red chili flakes
• Warm water as required
• 1/2 cup of melted butter

Instructions

Preparation

Dough

1. Mix the flour with the frozen butter till it is crumbly
2. Add eggs and mix the flour and salt
3. Add water and knead the flour with your hand till a soft firm dough is formed.
4. divide the flour into small rounds around 12 balls.
5. roll into thin sheets
6. Brush melted butter on each sheet and stack 6 sheets one over the other.
7. Make two shacked sheets one for the bottom layer and another for the top layer of the pie.
8. Freeze each layer for at least 2 hours

Filling

1. Chop spinach leaves finely
2. Roast the carom seeds
3. In a pan add olive oil and saute spinach leaves
4. Add onions ,garlic,salt and black pepper
5. Saute till all the water gets dried.
6. Let it cool
7. Add grated cottage cheese and mix.

Assembling

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. Line mold with the bottom layer
3. Fill with the spinach filling.
4. Top with grated cheese
5. Cover with the top layer
6. Brush with egg wash
7. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes at 180 degrees.
8. Till the top layer is brown