124. Middle Eastern inspired 'Borek' - beef and potato pastry

This recipe is a Middle Eastern spiced beef and potato version of a popular pastry that has as many names as ports of call. We will be referring to this gorgeous savory pastry as borek. 

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Enjoyed at any time of day, borek is popular in the cuisines of the Mediterranean, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Western Asia. More specifically, borek is a family of pastries or pies readily found in the Balkans, Turkey, Armenia, the Levantine region, Northern Africa and Central Asia. The pastry is made with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach, and/or potatoes.  Due to its diverse background, it has many names and is served during many traditional and religious celebrations. Some other common names for this pastry are borek, bourekas, pita pocket, tiropita, banista, etc.

This is a very simple recipe of spiced up ground beef and boiled potatoes all enveloped in store bought puff pastry. I chose to encase the filling in a galette or crostata style puff pastry shell, I like the rustic look of a freeform pastry these days. Any pastry casing (puff pastry, short pastry or phyllo would be great too.) Some people encase filling in a in hand held semi circle pastry pocket, triangle shaped pastry, circular rolled shape, etc. The shape of your pastry crust is up to and completely subjective. I have included a few stock photos of different shapes of borek style pastries. 

Ingredients

2 lbs of ground beef 

2 Tbsps of olive oil for frying the ground beef 

1 onion, diced 

2 potatoes, peeled, chopped and boiled 

1 tsp of salt 

1/2 tsp of black pepper 

1 tsp of cumin 

1 tsp of paprika 

1/2 tsp of turmeric 

Small handful of finely chopped parsley 

2-3 garlic cloves - minced 

1 Tbsp of date syrup 

2 puff pastry sheets - store bought 

1 egg yolk for brushing the raw pastry dough before baking 

1 tsp chives - finely chopped for garnish 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. 

2. In a preheated to medium high, nonstick pan, add the olive oil, onion, sauté until softened then stir in the garlic. Sauté another minute. 

3. Add the spices, salt, pepper, turmeric, paprika and cumin. Sauté for another 2 minutes. 

4. Add the ground beef, fry it until the beef is fully cooked (20-25 minutes). 

5. Add the boiled potatoes to the beef mixture and mash them into the mixture gently using a potato masher - a few potato chunks are fine. 

6. Finally, add the parsley and date syrup. 

7. Mix it all together to a smooth mixture. 

8. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes prior to assembling the galette. 

Assembly of the borek galette 

1. Lay open the puff pastry flat on a piece of parchment paper. It is easier to place the parchment paper directly onto the baking sheet to assemble. 

2. Place 1/2 the cooled beef mixture into the centre of the pastry. Fold over the edges of the pastry encasing the beef mixture. No need to be exact, you want a rustic look. 

3. Brush the exposed raw pastry with the egg yolk - use a brush or your hands. 

4. Repeat steps 1-3 above, for the second sheet of puff pastry and rest of the borek filling. 

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until a deep golden brown. 

6. Allow the borek to cool for 5-10 minutes prior to serving. 

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Serve and enjoy!