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Here comes a delicious appetizer that is surely one of the favorites for Turkish mezze platters. Phyllo dough sheets with cheese filling are rolled like a cigar, thus the name sigara (cigarette) börek. Original recipe calls for “feta cheese and herbs” filling. However, if feta cheese is too pungent for your taste, you can use other cheeses like parmesan, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, practically any cheese you like or a mixture of cheeses. I use ½ feta, ½ a grated mixed cheese called Quattro Formaggio (Trader Joe’s). Other fillings like potato/herb and even ground beef are also popular. These rolls are typically fried, but you can bake them in the oven or in an air fryer as well. They are easy to prepare ahead and they freeze well. When you are ready to use the rolls, you don’t have to thaw them.
A big “thank you” to my friend Belgin for the recipe. If you get a chance to attend a cooking class where she teaches this appetizer, don’t miss it. She is a fun teacher with the best smile ever. Enjoy!
Ingredients: yields a batch of 18 pieces
- 1 box of phyllo dough (you’ll use 9 sheets for one batch)
- 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 cup grated cheese (parmesan, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, or similar cheeses)
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Turkish pul biber (Aleppo pepper) or finely ground red chili pepper
- ½ cup avocado oil or grapeseed oil for frying
- Small bowl with some water to seal the ends of the rolls
Directions:
The filling:
Place crumbled feta cheese and the grated cheese in a medium size bowl. Add in parsley, dill and the peppers, mix, set aside.
Preparing the cheese rolls:
- Take phyllo dough out of the box, place the sheets on a flat surface and cover with a damp towel to avoid drying of the phyllo sheets. For a batch of 18 cheese rolls, you’ll use 9 sheets of phyllo dough.
- Take 9 sheets of phyllo, cut in half horizontally. Original size of a sheet of phyllo dough is about 12” x 16”. When you cut 9 sheets in half, you’ll have 18 sheets 8” x 12”.
- Work with one sheet of phyllo at a time. Lay a half sheet on a flat surface. Place 2 table spoons of cheese filling along the narrow bottom edge closest to you. Leave about ½ inch on both sides. Fold the right and the left sides over the filling so it doesn’t ooze out when cooking. Roll the sheet away from you into a roll.
- Brush water on the edge of the roll to seal it.
- Repeat until all sheets are rolled. You’ll have 18 rolls. Set aside.
- Place avocado or grapeseed oil in a frying pan. Heat on medium. Fry the cheese rolls on medium heat. When golden brown, turn them over to fry the other side. Remove from pan when all sides are golden brown.
- Place cooked böreks onto a plate topped with paper towels to soak up any extra oil.
- Serve warm and crispy!!
Notes:
- Prepare ahead: You can make ahead 2 or more batches. If you are not going to cook them in 2-3 days, you can freeze them by placing the rolls in zipper bags on a single layer. No need to thaw when you are ready to cook.
- Filling alternatives:
a. Potato/herb: Replace 1 cup of grated cheese in the ingredients above with 2 medium potatoes, boiled and grated. Add the herbs, salt and pepper to your taste, mix.
b. Ground beef filling: Cook 1 chopped onion with ½ lb ground beef in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to your taste. - Baking: You can bake the cheese rolls instead of frying them. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the rolls on an oven safe pan lined with parchment paper. Brush them with olive oil on both sides. Bake them for 10-15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Turn the rolls over halfway through baking.
AFIYET OLSUN!
BON APPETIT!
Crispy Cheese Rolls
