Burekas With Spinach or Eggplant Filling
- Total Time
- About 2 hours, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2½cups all-purpose flour/320 grams, plus more for rolling the dough
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼pound/115 grams cold unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into ½-inch cubes
- ½cup/120 milliliters ice water, plus more as needed
- Egg wash (1 large egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
- 1medium eggplant (about 1 pound/455 grams)
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1small onion, diced (about ½ cup/115 grams)
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- ½cup/115 grams strained diced tomatoes (from a can)
- ¼cup/25 grams grated Parmesan, plus more for topping
- 1large egg, beaten
- 2teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1package frozen chopped spinach (16 ounces/455 grams), defrosted and drained
- ¾cup/115 grams crumbled strongly flavored feta cheese
- ½cup/50 grams grated Parmesan, plus more for topping
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 1large egg, beaten
- 1tablespoon all-purpose flour
For the Dough
For the Eggplant-tomato Filling
Or for the Spinach-feta Filling
Nutritional analysis per serving (14 servings)
257 calories; 14 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 456 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
If using the eggplant-tomato filling, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Pierce the eggplant several times with a knife and roast on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet until the eggplant collapses and is completely soft, 35 to 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin; transfer the flesh to a strainer to drain and set aside.
- Step 2
Make the dough: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade attachment, add the flour and salt and pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter and pulse just until the butter pieces are the size of peas. Slowly add the ice water and process just until combined. Form the dough into 2 disks about 1 inch thick, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Step 4
If using the spinach-feta filling: In a medium bowl, combine the spinach, feta and Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then add egg and flour.
- Step 5
If using the eggplant-tomato filling: In a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, season with salt, and cook until beginning to soften but not brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and eggplant, breaking them up with a wooden spoon, and cook until the mixture begins to thicken and loses some of its moisture, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. When the mixture has cooled, stir in the Parmesan, egg and flour.
- Step 6
Working with one disk of dough at a time, on a lightly floured surface and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a circle about ⅛-inch thick or slightly thinner. Using a 3½-inch/9-centimeter circle cutter, cut as many circles as you can from the dough.
- Step 7
Hold a circle in your hand and fill with 1 tablespoon of filling. Fold up the sides into a half-moon shape and pinch the edges closed to seal, crimping them if you like. Place the sealed bureka on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
- Step 8
Brush the tops lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with a large pinch of grated Parmesan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the crusts are golden brown.
Private Notes
Comments
Why not give the recipe with the olive oil to make it parve?
The accompanying article says the dough is boiled twice. ??
Considering that these are made with feta cheese, they wouldn't be parve anyway. That said, a quick rule of thumb for substituting butter with oil is to use 2/3 - 3/4 oil for the volume of butter the recipe calls for. So if a recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use between 2/3 and 3/4 cup of oil instead. You may have to experiment a little to get the texture you want, since pastry made with oil produces a less flaky product than butter does.
Delicious. Browned 1 chopped onion in EVOO, deglazed pan with white wine and cooked it off. Added red pepper and used beet greens instead of spinach because that what I had in my garden.
I substituted King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour and it worked perfectly. The crust was flakey and delicious. I hadn’t realized how simple making these could be!
Dough was easy to prepare and work with. The size made the end product over doughy and not enough filling. If I were to make this again, I would definitely make lareger ones. I cut the eggplant into small cubes and fried them; provided a very nice flavor and texture when added to the tomatoes and onions. I also would use a cheese that melts such as mozzarella or fontina to the mixture. Definitely, use water to dampen and seal the burekas.