Turkish Borek Recipe (Vegan Spinach Rolls) (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between borek and spanakopita? ›

Turkish borek and Greek spanakopita come from the same family of pastry. However, the two often differ in preparation and texture, with Greek spanakopita often having a flakier, puffier crust. Is it burek or borek? Both spellings of this pastry are technically correct, depending on the country.

Börek or burek is a family of pastries or pies found in the Balkans, Middle East and Central Asia. The pastry is made of a thin flaky dough such as filo with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes.

Börek is a traditional Turkish pastry that is made by layering sheets of yufka dough and wrapping the sheets around a cheese and spinach, egg, or meat-based filling.

They're available all across the country in various shapes, sizes and flavours, and with many regional variations. Eaten at breakfast, lunch or any time throughout the day as a snack, there really isn't a bad time to eat börek.

The Turkish dish, burek (pronounced booh-REK) consists of crispy filled filo dough pockets. Unrisen filo dough is rolled out until paper-thin, and the dough is then filled and shaped into half-moons, spirals, cigars or flowers.

But the equivalent for whole Greece would be tiropita (cheese pie, or peynir böreği). Greeks make it either with feta cheese (close to beyaz peynir) or kaşar (kaseri). Its not “wet” as the Turkish börek. And its a bit more salty and with heavier and crunchier crust.

Noun. burek (plural bureks) A type of baked or fried filled pastry of the former Ottoman Empire.

The burek – and its alternative spelling borek – is a Turkish, Middle Eastern and East European pastry often eaten as a snack from a small food stall or street vendor. In one of its forms, phyllo-like dough is rolled into a long tube which is then overlapped and coiled beside or around itself.

Borek, a type of savory pastry that originated during the Ottoman era, is a highly customizable and versatile dish that is commonly enjoyed both at meals and for snacks.

How many calories in a borek with spinach? ›

Borek dough is just about twice as thick with a #9 thickness. Next, where baklava uses butter between the layers, borek uses a combination of eggs and milk. Brushing an egg & milk mixture on each sheet of borek dough will soften the dough and create a more substantial foundation for the savory fillings.

Two main things differentiate a borek from a boureka: Size: Borek are significantly larger, often 9-12 inches in size. Sometimes they will be cut into pieces, sliced lengthwise for sauces to be added. Dough: Borek typically use yufka; bourekas an oily short dough, similar to empanadas.

Borek also known as Burek can be described as a meal that should be consumed in moderation because it is a hefty source of calories from fats as well as carbs.

Seriously, whether you're eating it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or when you're trying to sober up after you've had one too many, burek will jump-start your body and give you all the energy you need. Bonus points for tasting delicious!

Like spanakopia, tiropita is also a savory Greek pie that's wrapped in a phyllo crust, but its filling is different than spanakopita. Instead of spinach, herbs, and feta, tiropita is filled with a mixture of cheese and eggs.

The main differences between puff pastry and phyllo dough are their fat content and preparation. Puff pastry is a laminated dough that gets its signature airy puff from layers of butter, while phyllo dough is comparatively low-fat. Phyllo dough is mostly flour and water and can dry out easily.

Turkey. Ispanaklı Selanik Böreği and /or Ispanaklı Boşnak Böreği, is a Turkish savory spinach pie, or börek. The börek gets its name from either Selanik (Thessaloniki) or Bosnia as it is widely common in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The centrepiece of the whole meal, however, was börek – a savoury pastry made from yufka (a delicate, filo-like dough) and filled with feta cheese, parsley, chicken, minced meat and, occasionally, a few vegetables, such as potato, spinach, leek or courgette.