Tali's Kitchen: Meat “Borekas”

One of Israel signature food, (after the “Falafel”) is the “Borekas”.borekas come from the Turkish Sephardic tradition.

Everywhere you go you can find it and the filling varies. (I like the spinach and chesses) Its basically puff pastry filled with cheese / vegetable.

In Israel you can find many different Pastries that have the name Borekas; they don’t look the same and don’t taste the same.

The main difference is in the dough. Some are made from puff pastry and some made from Filo dough– both are equally delicious.

Borekas is a dish that always has room on Friday dinner table, it’s so easy to make and grate as a side dish, since meat and dairy are not allowed to be on the table together (Jewish restriction-not Kosher).

I make them with ground Beef

So what do we need?

Filling:

1 pound ground beef

1 large onion

1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt and pepper as needed

Pastry:

Frozen puff pastry dough toughed (I use the pre-cut squares)

1 egg bitten with 1 tablespoon of water (egg wash)

Sesame seeds

Directions:

Pre-Heat the oven to 350F.

In a large skillet, heat the oil, chop the onion finely and let it sweat, (When onion is transparent it’s ready).

Add the ground beef and crumble using a fork or wooden spoon. Add the salt and pepper.

When you see the beef starting to brown from the outside, it’s time to take off.

(We will continue cooking it in the oven)

Assembling the pastry:

In the middle of each square, place some of the filling/ leaving some space to close it (try to strain the liquid/ fat from the beef as much as possible).