Turkish Style Lamb Boreks Recipes

Steps:

• Prepare the meat filling: Place a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the butter. When oil and butter are hot, add onions and cook briskly, stirring, until onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add lamb to onions and break into rough pieces with a wooden spoon, mashing occasionally, until lamb is crumbly and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Season mixture generously with salt and pepper, then add cinnamon, cumin, cayenne and sumac. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes more, stirring. Raise heat as necessary to let mixture brown well. Stir in pomegranate molasses, raisins and pine nuts. Taste and adjust seasoning, then set aside to cool.
• Prepare the cheese filling: Put feta and yogurt in a bowl and whisk together. Season with salt and pepper, whisk in beaten egg, then stir in parsley, fresh mint and dried mint.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Assemble boreks one at a time: Lay one sheet of phyllo on a clean work surface. Brush very lightly with olive oil. Carefully place another phyllo sheet directly on top and brush with oil. Fold this doubled sheet in half, to form a rectangle 9 by 14 inches. Position it so the 9-inch end is facing you.
• Spoon 3 tablespoons cheese filling over surface of rectangle, smearing with the back of a spoon to cover, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1/4 cup lamb mixture in a 2-inch ribbon along the edge closest to you.
• Fold over long sides of pastry an inch or so to help contain filling. Lift edge and loosely roll up pastry away from you, as if rolling up a carpet. Brush pastry lightly with oil as you proceed. The result should look like a flat cigar, about 3 inches wide and about 8 inches long. Continue to assemble remaining boreks.
• Transfer pastries to a parchment-lined baking sheet, placing them 1 inch apart. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame, nigella or poppy seeds. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until nicely browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, blend the feta and mozzarella cheese with the beaten eggs. Add the chopped herbs, season with pepper and nutmeg and stir well to mix.
• Cut the sheets of pastry into four rectangular strips approximately 3 inches wide. Cover all but one or two strips with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out.
• Brush on strip of pastry at a time with a little melted butter. Place 1 teaspoon filling at the bottom edge. Fold one corner over the filling to make a triangle shape. Continue folding the pastry over itself until you get to the end of the strip. Keep making triangles until all the mixture is used up.
• Place the boreks on a greased baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Steps:

• Brown meat in pan at medium-hi heat.
• Drain and transfer browned meat to a medium bowl to cool.
• When the meat has cooled crumble cheese and add to the meat.
• Add the parsley, garlic thyme and pepper and mix well.
• Let this sit for 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl beat the egg with water to make an egg wash.
• Working quickly now, so the phyllo does not dry out.
• Take 1 sheet phyllo dough brush or spray with olive oil, place another sheet on top and brush or spray again.
• Cut the two sheets into six rectangles.
• Take a good tablespoon of meat mix and place it about an 1 ½" to 2 inches up from one of the corners of the rectangle.
• Lift the corner of the pastry and fold over the meat mixture, then lift and fold the corner on the right and then left to make and envelope about 3- 4 inches wide, then roll up to top.
• Repeat for the next five pieces.
• Brush with egg wash.
• Heat some of the olive oil in a heavy pan a fry the meat rolls, turning to brown on all sides, lightly flatten them with spatula while frying.
• Repeat the dough and rolling with the rest of the dough sheets.
• These are also very nice cold.
• I sometimes use a Tzatziki sauce for dip or mint sauce if using lamb.

Steps:

• In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil over moderate heat. Add the peppers, pul biber and onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the beef and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 15 minutes. Transfer the vegetables and meat to a bowl and let cool slightly.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly oil a 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk and 1/2 cup of the canola oil. Lay a sheet of yufka on a work surface and brush with the egg mixture; repeat until you have a stack of 2 sheets. Transfer the stack to the baking dish and spread one-third of the beef mixture on top. Repeat the layering twice more with the brushed yufka sheets and beef filling, then end with a stack of brushed yufka.
• Trim the overhanging yufka slightly and tuck it under itself. Brush any remaining egg mixture on top of the borek, top with the nigella sativa seeds and bake until deeply golden on top and sizzling, about 45 minutes. Let the borek rest for 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut lamb shoulder into 2 or 3 pieces, and place in a shallow 12-by-14-inch roasting pan or similar. Season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with red pepper, if desired.
• Rub meat with olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. Tuck thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, garlic cloves and onion halves here and there. Place in oven, uncovered, and roast for 30 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned.
• Turn meat browned-side down and add 2 cups of water to the pan. Cover tightly with foil or lid. Reduce heat to 325 degrees. Cook, covered, until meat is absolutely fork tender and beginning to fall apart, about 3 1/2 hours total. Uncover during last 30 minutes of cooking if you want to brown the meat a bit more.
• Remove meat to a cutting board. Pour pan juices into a skillet (discard herbs and garlic). Skim and discard excess fat from surface. Bring to a boil and simmer until about a cup remains.
• Chop or shred meat into 1-inch chunks or rough slices. Transfer to a warm platter and pour juices over. (Alternatively, leave meat in pan with reduced juices until ready to serve.) Garnish with persimmon and pomegranate (if using), parsley, mint and lemon wedges. Serve yogurt on the side.

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt, and lamb. Break up lamb into small crumbles. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid evaporates, about 8 minutes. Toss in garlic, currants, pine nuts, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, and allspice. Cook and stir for 1 minute.
• Pour tomato sauce into the lamb mixture. Add water, stir, and reduce heat to medium. Cook until lamb mixture dries up and you can stir it without seeing liquid on the bottom of the pan, 20 to 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool completely before using.
• In the meantime, combine egg, yogurt, water, and butter in a bowl. Whisk together thoroughly.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a round baking pan or sheet pan.
• Place 2 sheets of phyllo on your work surface. Keep remaining sheets covered with a damp towel. Sprinkle some egg wash lightly on top and spread using a pastry brush. Layer on 2 more sheets, one at a time, brushing some more egg wash over each.
• Line 1/3 of the lamb filling along one wide edge of the phyllo. Roll pastry up starting from the filling side and place it against the edge of the pan. Brush more egg wash on top.
• Shape and fill 2 more rolls with remaining phyllo, most of the egg wash, and filling. Wrap rolls along and inside the first one, filling the pan, and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and crisp, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.
• Combine yogurt, mint, lemon juice, and garlic for the yogurt sauce. Mix in enough water to achieve desired consistency for dipping. Season with salt and cayenne. Cut borek into wedges and serve with yogurt sauce.

Steps:

• To make the marinade:
• Mix together the garlic, olive oil, tomato paste, spices, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.
• To prepare the kebabs:
• Add the meat to the marinade and toss. Let marinate for at least 2 hours.
• Prepare a charcoal fire in an outdoor grill, switch on the gas if you have an outdoor gas grill, or preheat the broiler to high.
• Thread the meat onto 7 long skewers and the tomatoes onto an eighth one. Grill over high heat or broil 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until the meat and tomatoes are done to your liking. Slip the meat and tomatoes off the skewers onto flatbread and serve immediately.