Sigara Böreği
(see-GAR-ah BUHR-ay-ee)
Çay Saati (Afternoon Gatherings & Golden Hour Carbs)
The sound of hot oil hissing on the back burner and the sharp scent of melting feta mean one thing in a Turkish household: it's four in the afternoon, a tulip glass of black tea is brewing, and someone is eating well. Pull a sheet of supermarket phyllo dough, crumble the cheese across the bottom edge, and roll the pastry tight. The secret to that perfect crunch isn't complicated, but it is absolute: control the moisture. A wet cheese filling means an exploded pastry. By blending salty feta with dry cottage cheese and binding it with an egg and a pinch of flour, the filling stays perfectly intact in the fryer. Roll a massive batch on a Sunday, throw them in the freezer, and fry them straight from the ice whenever the craving hits. Eat them straight off the paper towel while the pastry still shatters.
Before you start
Thaw the phyllo dough properly.
Move the frozen phyllo from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before. Rushing this process at room temperature will result in gummy, unusable dough.
Ingredients
- phyllo dough16 oz
- feta cheese6 oz
- dry curd cottage cheese4 oz
- fresh flat-leaf parsley1/2 cup
- large egg1 large
- all-purpose flour1 tbsp
- Aleppo pepper1/2 tsp
- neutral frying oil1 cup
- water2 tbsp
Method
- 01
Combine the filling ingredients to form a stable paste.
Mash the feta, cottage cheese, parsley, egg, flour, and Aleppo pepper together with a fork until they form a cohesive, crumbly mixture. The flour and egg are your insurance policies against the cheese melting and blowing out the sides of the pastry in the hot oil.
- 02
Portion the phyllo dough into triangles.
Unroll the thawed dough onto a clean surface. Cut the stack in half vertically, then horizontally into squares, and finally diagonally into triangles. Phyllo dries out and shatters in minutes, so immediately cover the cut stack with a slightly damp kitchen towel while you work.
- 03
Roll the pastries with a gentle but firm tension.
Lay a dough triangle flat, pointing away from you. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling along the wide bottom edge, fold the left and right sides over like a burrito, and roll upward into a cylinder. If you roll it too tight, the expanding steam will tear the dough; too loose, and it will absorb a heavy, greasy amount of frying oil.
- 04
Seal the pointed edges of the dough with water.
When about an inch of the pointed tip remains, dip a finger into your bowl of water, moisten the tip, and press it gently against the roll to secure it like an envelope. Repeat until you run out of filling.
- 05
Fry the rolls in hot oil until shatteringly crisp.
Heat the neutral oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, carefully lower the rolls in seam-side down. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, turning frequently with tongs until they reach a deep, even golden blonde color on all sides. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
Notes
Fry straight from the freezer on busy weeknights.
You can assemble these entirely in advance. Place the uncooked rolls on a baking sheet, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. When the craving hits or guests arrive unexpectedly, fry them directly from frozen—no thawing required.
From Cook Turkish in America.