Kol Boregi (Rolled Borek with Cheese)
Long ropes of yufka filled with herby white cheese, coiled into a tray and baked golden. Kol boregi looks like bakery work but is surprisingly simple at home.
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Ingredients
4 sheets flat-type yufka pastry (approx 500g)
300g Turkish white feta cheese, crumbled
100g kashkaval cheese, coarsely grated
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 medium eggs (1 for the wash, 1 for the top)
150ml milk
100ml sunflower oil
50g unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp nigella seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- 1
Mix the crumbled white cheese, grated kashkaval, parsley and black pepper in a bowl for the filling. Preheat the oven to 180C fan and butter a round 26-28cm tray or springform tin.
- 2
Whisk 1 egg with the milk, sunflower oil and melted butter to make the wash.
- 3
Lay one yufka sheet on the counter and brush it all over with the wash so it softens and becomes pliable.
- 4
Spread a quarter of the cheese filling in a line along the wide edge, then roll the yufka up loosely into a long rope, tucking as you go.
- 5
Coil the rope into the centre of the tray. Repeat with the remaining sheets, continuing the spiral outwards until the tray is full.
- 6
Brush the top with the remaining beaten egg, pour over any leftover wash, and sprinkle with nigella seeds.
- 7
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the spiral is deep golden. Rest for 15 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve warm.
Kol boregi, literally "arm borek", is the elegant cousin of the everyday tray borek. Sheets of yufka are filled with a cheese and parsley mixture, rolled into long ropes about the thickness of an arm, then coiled snugly into a round tray. Once baked, you get beautiful golden spirals with crisp tops and soft, cheesy centres.
Turkish bakeries in London sell it by the slice, but making it at home costs a fraction of the price and fills the kitchen with an unbeatable smell. The trick is to dampen the yufka with a milk, egg and oil wash before rolling so the pastry stays pliable and does not crack, and to roll loosely enough that the filling has room to steam.
You will find every ingredient at Turkish Online Market, from flat yufka sheets to proper Turkish white cheese and kashkaval. Serve warm slices with black tea for breakfast, or with a cold glass of ayran as an afternoon pick-me-up.
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