Ispanakli Borek (Spinach & Cheese Borek)
Golden, flaky tray borek layered with yufka pastry, sauteed spinach and salty Turkish white cheese. A Sunday breakfast classic you can easily make in a UK kitchen.
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Ingredients
4 sheets flat-type yufka pastry (approx 500g), thawed
500g fresh spinach, washed and roughly chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil for the filling
250g Turkish white cheese, crumbled
2 medium eggs (1 for the layers, 1 for the top)
200ml milk
100ml sunflower oil for the egg wash
1 tsp nigella seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste (go easy, the cheese is salty)
Instructions
- 1
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and soften the chopped onion for 5 minutes. Add the spinach in batches and cook until wilted and the moisture has evaporated. Season with black pepper and a little salt, then leave to cool.
- 2
Stir the crumbled white cheese into the cooled spinach mixture.
- 3
Whisk 1 egg with the milk and sunflower oil to make the layering wash. Preheat the oven to 180C fan (200C conventional) and oil a roughly 25x35cm baking tray.
- 4
Lay the first yufka sheet in the tray, letting the edges hang over the sides. Brush generously with the wash, then scatter over a third of the filling. Repeat with two more sheets and the remaining filling.
- 5
Fold the overhanging edges inwards, top with the final yufka sheet tucked in neatly, and press down gently.
- 6
Beat the remaining egg and brush it over the top. Sprinkle with nigella and sesame seeds, then score the borek into squares with a sharp knife.
- 7
Bake for 35-40 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Rest for 10 minutes before cutting along the score lines and serving warm.
Ispanakli borek is one of the great staples of a Turkish breakfast table: thin sheets of yufka pastry layered with a filling of wilted spinach, onion and crumbled white cheese, brushed with an egg and oil mixture, then baked until crisp and deeply golden. Every Turkish household has its own version, and the tray rarely survives past mid-morning.
The key to success in the UK is using proper flat-type yufka rather than ultra-thin filo. Yufka sheets are sturdier, so they soak up the egg wash without tearing and bake into distinct, tender layers. Frozen Turkish yufka from Turkish Online Market works perfectly; just thaw it in the fridge overnight before you start.
Serve the borek warm, cut into generous squares, with glasses of freshly brewed Turkish black tea, a bowl of black olives and cold ayran. It also keeps well: reheat leftover squares in a hot oven for five minutes and they crisp right back up.
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