#boregs

I’ve had my share of borekas, boreks, boureks, boregs, etc. but I haven’t had one quite like Borekas in Sherman Oaks. That’s because they created their own dough rather than using the usual phyllo dough. Their dough is described as a cross between phyllo and croissant dough. Imagine a giant flaky hot croissant merging with Mediterranean flavors and you’ll understand why Borekas has been selling out of their Israeli-style bourekas.

So you already know that Borekas makes their own dough. They also make their own cheese. And the bourekas are larger and fresh out of the oven. The bourekas are $12 each. There are four kinds: cultured cheese & za’atar; fungi, onion & truffle; potato & brown butter; spinach & cheese) come with a hard-boiled egg, pickles, tomato pulp, and harissa. They also sell beverages (e.g., Turkish coffee, ayran, soda) and pickles.

They thought of a way to improve and elevate traditional borekas! The boreks I’ve had in the past are small and cold, with thin layers of phyllo and a small amount of filling, typically cheese and spinach. They were usually dry as well.

Spinach & cheese boreka ($12): Let’s start with the crispy, hot, cheese boureka cut into five pieces (for easier dipping). It’s baked to a gorgeous golden brown color. The layers of dough are thin and crispy but the butter keeps the dough from being dry. The feta cheese wasn’t too salty and it oozed out. The spinach was fine – there wasn’t that much of it. Didn’t understand the tomato pulp since it was plain but I mixed their harissa into it and it was so good as a dipping sauce – lots of interesting spices and some heat. The hard-boiled egg was dusted with salt & pepper – made things more substantial but I would have preferred soft-boiled eggs. The dill pickle was crunchy & sour, a good contrast to the buttery, cheesy boureka.  

Borekas is a takeout window in a strip mall. The sidewalk seating is limited and no frills (the seats are milk crates). They open at 9 AM and close when they sell out. To avoid being disappointed, call and prepay. Service was friendly. It took a few tries to get through to them over the phone (would be nice if online ordering were available). I could smell the butter from over a block away. The food is kosher/ Cholov Israel.

Stupid simple! I buy Pepperidge Farm puff pastry (in the frozen section with the frozen pies) and a small bock of jack (or pepperjack, yum) cheese (not positive about ounces, but it’ll be a couple cups worth of cheese). You also want 1 egg and a good handful of chopped parsley, more or less to taste.

When you’re ready to make them, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, pull out the pastry and unfold them. Cut them into 9 squares (one package will give you two sheets, cut them all up into 18 squares total). Let them sit to defrost enough so you can fold them without cracking them but not too much or else they’ll stick to your cutting board!

Grate about 2/3 of the block of cheese into a bowl and crack the whole egg into it, and throw in the chopped parsley. Mix well. Put about a teaspoon of the mixture into each of the squares. Fold the squares over into triangles using a little water to get the edges to stick (this is a little tricky, but you’ll figure it out). I like to press the edges with a fork as well. Place them on a cookie sheet with a little spray oil, leaving enough space that they can rise without hitting each other. Put them in the oven and bake them for a few minutes, turn the pan, and then another couple of minutes. You’ll want to watch them very carefully. As soon as you see any brown on the tops, pull them out pronto! They’ll overcook very quickly. 

Super tasty, though! If you want to make them pretty like I do, you can put a leaf of parsley on the top with a little water before you bake them. 

Enjoy! :) It’s a family tradition, we make them every holiday.

Better yet, I just remembered this! I made a tutorial 4 years ago! With pictures!