sigara borek

These delicious Turkish cheese rolls, known as sigara boregi, are made with crispy, flaky phyllo dough and an herby feta cheese filling. You can prepare them ahead and refrigerate or freeze for later. The recipe gives you 12 rolls, but if you are serving a larger crowd, feel free to double or triple the recipe. You will just need to cook them in batches so as to not crowd the pan. In the video, I do bake the sigara borek but if you like,  you can shallow fry them in olive oil, which is the more traditional way to prepare them.

Sigara Boregi (Turkish Cheese Rolls)

phyllo dough, (thawed)

Extra virgin olive oil

feta cheese, (crumbled)

Parmesan cheese

scallions,

parsley

thyme

red pepper flakes,

To bake: If baking the sigara boregi, heat the oven to 375°F, and position a rack in the middle. (If frying, skip this step)

Make the filling: In a medium bowl, combine the cheeses, scallions, parsley, and thyme. Add the pepper flakes and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Prepare the phyllo dough. Lay the phyllo sheets flat on a cutting board, using a sharp knife, cut the phyllo sheets into 4 equal strips.

Prepare the cheese rolls. Now, working with 1 strip of phyllo at a time, spoon about 1 ½ tablespoons of the feta in a straight line along the bottom edge that is closest to you (leave a little room on either side for the filling to expand). Roll tightly about 4 or 5 times away from you, tucking the sides in, so that the filling is now encased into a roll. Repeat until the phyllo strips and filling are all used up. Brush the outside of the phyllo cheese rolls with extra virgin olive oil.

Cook the sigara boregi:To fry: Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large pan until shimmering. Add the phyllo cheese rolls (do this in batches, if needed) and cook, turning regularly, until they are crispy and golden brown on all sides. Remove from the heat and put the rolls on a large plate lined with a paper towel to remove some of the oil, then serve. To bake: As I do in the video, assemble the rolls on a large sheet pan in a single layer and bake on the center rack of the heated oven for about 10 minutes or so, watching the rolls and turning them over halfway through cooking, until they are crispy and golden brown on all sides.

Arrange the sigara boregi on a plate and serve warm or at room temperature.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/hdVZQpCU.mp4

A herby cheese filling wrapped in crispy phyllo dough!

These delighftul cigar shaped feta rolls are served with a simple yogurt dipping sauce!

Turkish Cheese Rolls (Sigara Boregi)

plain greek yogurt

garlic powder

parsley,

lemon juice

lemon wedge

oz crumbled feta cheese

mozzarella cheese

eggs

green onions, finely chopped

sweet paprika

chili

phyllo dough

Kosher salt and black pepper,

vegetable oil,

Mix the yogurt sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Mix the borek ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside.

Place a sheet of phyllo on the work surface with the longer edge facing you. Vertically cut the phyllo into 4 equal-sized lengths, then place 2 teaspoons of the feta mixture near one end of each strip. Make sure to leave a border of about 1 inch.

Cover the cheese by folding the long sides of the phyllo over to meet in the middle. Roll up the filling and keep rolling until you get almost to the end of the strip - the borek should look like a cigar. Moisten the end with some water to help seal, and finish rolling. Continue for the other three rolls of the phyllo sheet, then repeat the process until you have used up all of the borek filling.

To fry the borek, heat the oil in a fry pan at medium-high heat. In batches of 5-6, cook the boregi for 3-4 minutes, turning regularly, until they are golden brown in color. When cooked, remove boregi from the pan and set on paper towels to drain excess oil.

When all boregi are cooked, place them on a serving tray with the yogurt sauce (and/or your favorite dipping sauce) and serve while hot.

Sigara Börek are crispy filo rolls filled with cheese and parsley. Incredibly tasty snack both for kids and adults.

Sigara Boregi (Turkish Sigara Börek)

feta cheese, crumbled

mozzarella

phyllo sheets, thawed

½ cup oil to fry the boreks

Before starting to make sigara boregi, make sure to thaw the phyllo dough if it is frozen by keeping it at room temperature for 2-3 hours.

Prepare the filling: In a medium mixing bowl, combine feta cheese and mozzarella with chopped parsley.

Cut the phyllo sheets into squares: Place a phyllo sheet on a flat surface. Cover the remaining sheets with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Brush the filo sheet with water. Place another sheet right on this one. Brush it with water as well. Now cut it into 4 equal pieces using a knife. Don't forget to cover the filo sheets with a kitchen towel each time you get one to stuff and roll.

Make the rolls: Put a square-shaped filo sheet on the counter like a diamond shape. And put about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons cheese mixture on the  bottom side leaving some room at each side. Fold the bottom tip over the cheese. Then fold both sides on this one and make a tight roll. Brush the top edge with water so that it sticks when rolled. Roll it up and put it aside. Repeat these steps for the remaining phyllo dough sheets. 

Fry the rolls: Heat oil in a pan (about 2 inches of oil) and fry the phyllo cheese rolls in batches until they get golden on all sides. It takes about 5-7 minutes. Make sure you transfer them on paper towel to remove the excessive oil. Serve them warm. Yummy!

I made these today and we ate them ALL! I'm going to make more next time so that I can freeze some for later use. Thank you for the recipe!

Is there a gluten free yufka or phyllo? Also corn (sorghum and teff free) free. I have tried using rice sheets (for spring rolls) for borek in the oven but it makes it too hard.

I have made this recipe many times and cannot rave enough about it. The step-by-step photos are so helpful, and if you follow them you'll succeed. I just love it when a recipe works. My whole family loves these. So, well deserved 5 stars!!

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