Turkish Sigara Borek

My husband grew up eating a lot of Turkish food, and cheese filled Sigara Borek was one of his favorites. I finally found the perfect type of cheese to pair with simple herbs. The creamy, low salt feta in this recipe pairs perfectly with the crunchy Turkish dough making these finger foods irresistible. If you can't find this exact cheese, just replace it with your favorite blend of cheeses - there is no such thing as bad cheese!

The pastry leaves are also key in this recipe. My go to are the Turkish pastry leaves cut into large triangles. The Merve brand never disappoints. I typically find these in the fridge section of my Halal or Turkish grocery store. If you don't have access to those, you can also use any other type of thin pasty dough that is ideal for frying - such as egg roll dough. Unfortunately puff pastry and phyllo dough won't work for this particular type of borek.

These take no time at all and can conveniently be pan fried or air fried. Enjoy them alone or dip them in your favorite breakfast bean or lentil stew for a heartier meal.

Ingredients:

Turkish Pastry Leaves (24 count)

Greenland Creamy Feta (1 box)

1 bunch of fresh parsley

1 jalapeno pepper

Vegetable oil for pan frying

Instructions:

1. In a food processor, pulse the parsley and jalapeno until the herbs are finely minced. If you do not want your Sigar Boreks to be spicy, make sure to remove the jalapeno seeds before putting the pepper in the food processor.

2. Transfer the creamy feta into a wide bowl and use two forks to crumble the feta. Add your desired amount of minced parsley and jalapeno and mix thoroughly.

3. Lay out one pastry sheet with the wide end facing you and add about a tablespoon of the cheese filling. Make sure to spread it evenly along the bottom as seen in the pictures below.

4. Fold the bottom over and pinch onto the cheese filling before folding in the two sides towards the middle. Roll the Sigar Borek tightly and set aside.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all your pastry leaves are filled and rolled.

6. To fry, use a pan filled about 1.5 inches high with vegetable oil and gently place each Sigar Borek with the end of the loose pastry leaf facing down. You may need to use metal tongs to hold it down for a few seconds to ensure it doesn't unfold as it fries.

7. Once the bottom is golden brown, flip to brown the other side. Do not overcrowd the pan while frying.

8. Set the Sigar Borek aside on a paper towel lined sheet or cooling rack to absorb or drain any excess oil.

9. Serve immediately.