Pastry rolls with pastirma, cheese and vegetables; Pacanga BoregiSpinach and cheese filled filo pastry triangles; Muska BoregiManti, Turkish dumplings with ground meat, onion and spices

Step 1

For best results, thaw the frozen filo pastry in the fridge overnight and bring it to the room temperature 1 hour before using. That enables the filo thaw completely. If it is sold fresh as in the UK, you only need to bring the filo sheets to the room temperature 30 minutes before using.

Step 2

Heat the olive oil in a pan and stir in the diced pepper and tomatoes. Stir and cook over medium heat for 3 -5 minutes, until the peppers start to soften. Season with salt and ground black pepper to your taste (You may use a little salt or omit, as the pastirma is quite salty too). Set aside to cool.

Step 3

Place the chopped pastirma or pastrami of your choice and the cheese in a wide bowl. Stir in the cooked tomatoes and peppers, combine well. Filling is ready.

Step 4

Cut the filo sheets into 11cmx25cm (4”x9”) rectangular stripes and stack on top of each other. Place a damp towel over them so that they don’t dry out.

Step 5

Lay two rectangular strips of filo sheets on top of one another.

Step 6

Place a generous tablespoon of the filling along the short end near you (take care not to overfill as the filling may ooze out while cooking). Fold over the pastry from each side to seal in the mixture and then roll up like a fat cigar.

Step 7

Seal the end of the pastry as well as any openings/ cracks with little water. Repeat this with the remaining filo sheets.

Step 8

Mix the egg with the olive oil in a small bowl. Brush the boreks, pastries with this mixture and place them on a greased tray.

Step 9

Bake the pastries in the preheated oven for about 25 - 30 minutes or until golden.

Step 10

Serve hot as a mezze spread, weekend brunch or a tasty snack.

Step 11

Preheat oven to 180c/350 F/gas mark 4

Step 12

Remove the stalks of the spinach, wash and chop roughly.

Step 13

Mix together in a bowl with the feta cheese, 1 tablespoon olive oil, shredded mozzarella and two of the beaten eggs; the filling is ready.

Step 14

In a separate bowl, mix 1 egg and 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Step 15

Grease a rectangular baking dish with a little olive oil.

Step 16

Lay the pastry sheets on a clean surface and cut into 10cmx25cm stripes.

Step 17

Stack the stripes on top of another and cover with a damp towel so that they won’t dry out.

Step 18

Keep a bowl of water near you.

Step 19

Lay two stripes of filo sheets at top of one another.

Step 20

Place 1 tablespoon of the spinach mixture at one end of the filo pastry strip.

Step 21

Fold the end of the strip over the filling diagonally so that it forms a triangle.

Step 22

Continue folding the strip in triangles until you get a small, triangular stuffed pastry.

Step 23

Seal the pastry all around with the water; water really helps to keep filo sheets intact here. Repeat with remaining filo until you have used all of the filling.

Step 24

Place the stuffed triangle pastries on the greased baking dish and brush them with the egg & olive oil mixture.

Step 25

Bake the triangles in the oven for about 20 – 25 minutes, until they are is golden brown. Serve hot as an appetizer or as part of a mezze spread.This dish can be successfully reheated.