Ispanaklı Börek

the Ottoman spinach and white cheese börek: hand-stretched yufka pastry layered with wilted spinach, crumbled beyaz peynir, and eggs into a coiled or sliced pastry baked to a shattering, burnished gold, the ancestor of spanakopita and the definitive expression of the Ottoman börek tradition

Origin: Ottoman Anatolia and the Capital of Constantinople

From the journey of Spinach.

Börek (بورك in Ottoman Turkish) is among the Ottoman culinary tradition's most significant contributions to world cooking, and the spinach and cheese filling (ıspanaklı börek) is its most universally eaten form, made and consumed across the entire span of former Ottoman territory: Turkey, the Balkans, Greece, the Levant, North Africa, and the Caucasus. The word 'börek' itself is of debated origin, with some scholars tracing it to a Turkic root meaning 'twisted' or 'coiled', others to the Mongolian 'burek' for filled pastries brought by the Central Asian Turkic peoples into Anatolia. The technique at the heart of börek-making is the production of yufka (يوفكا), the hand-stretched, paper-thin pastry sheet that is the Turkish equivalent of the Arabic warqa and the ancestor of the Greek filo. The skill of stretching yufka dough, using a long thin rolling pin (oklava) over a round table (yufka tahtası), to achieve sheets large enough to drape over the edge of the table without tearing is one of the fundamental arts of the Ottoman palace kitchen; professional börekçi (börek makers) in Istanbul's markets practised it daily. The ispanaklı börek took shape as the Ottoman kitchen absorbed spinach from the Arab culinary tradition of Anatolia and developed it as the primary filling for the cheese-and-egg börek category. The combination of wilted spinach, beyaz peynir (white brine cheese similar to feta), and egg, layered in yufka and baked to a shattering crust with a brushing of egg and milk, became the standard. This is the direct ancestor of the Greek spanakopita; the Greek kitchen received the filo technique and the spinach-and-cheese filling through centuries of Ottoman cultural contact, and spanakopita belongs to the same family tree as ispanaklı börek in both technique and genealogy.

Ingredients

Pastry

6 sheets filo pastry (or Turkish yufka if available), roughly 40 x 30 cm
80 g unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp olive oil

Filling

500 g baby spinach or flat-leaf spinach, washed
250 g beyaz peynir or feta cheese, crumbled
2 large eggs
0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper
0.25 tsp dried chilli flakes (pul biber, optional)
2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Glaze

1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp full-fat milk
1 tsp sesame seeds or nigella seeds

Method

Wilt the spinach in a dry pan over medium heat (or blanch briefly in boiling water). Drain and squeeze very firmly in a clean cloth to remove as much water as possible. Chop finely. In a bowl, combine the chopped spinach, crumbled beyaz peynir, 2 eggs, black pepper, chilli flakes, and parsley. Mix well. Taste, the filling should be well seasoned; the cheese is salty, so additional salt may not be needed.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Lightly grease a 30 x 20 cm baking tray (or a similar-sized oven dish) with a little of the butter-oil mixture.
Combine the melted butter and olive oil in a small bowl. Lay one filo sheet in the prepared tray, allowing it to overhang the edges. Brush lightly with the butter-oil mixture. Lay a second sheet on top and brush again. Repeat with a third sheet. Spread the spinach and cheese filling evenly over the pastry.
Layer the remaining three filo sheets on top of the filling, brushing each with butter-oil mixture. Fold any overhanging pastry up and over the top to form neat edges. Brush the top generously with the remaining butter-oil.
Beat together the egg and milk for the glaze. Brush the surface of the börek with the glaze. Scatter with sesame or nigella seeds. Using a sharp knife, score the surface into squares or diamonds; do not cut all the way through.
Bake at 200°C for 35–40 minutes until the surface is a deep, burnished gold and the pastry is shattering-crisp when tapped. Allow to rest for 5–10 minutes before cutting along the scored lines and serving.

Notes

Turkish börekçi (börek makers) often use a rolled or coiled formation ('sigara böreği' for cigarette-shaped individual rolls, 'tepsi böreği' for the flat tray version presented here, and 'kol böreği' for a large coiled wheel). All use the same filling; the formation determines the ratio of filling to pastry and the texture of the final result. Beyaz peynir is preferred over Greek feta for an authentic Ottoman result, though feta is an excellent substitute; Turkish beyaz peynir is slightly less salty and creamier than most commercial Greek feta. The börek keeps well at room temperature for several hours and can be served as a warm breakfast, a light lunch, or a mezze component; it occupies all these positions in the Turkish table.

The Gastrographer

Name: Ispanaklı Börek
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Ottoman Anatolia and the Capital of Constantinople
Ingredients: 6 sheets filo pastry (or Turkish yufka if available), roughly 40 x 30 cm; 80 g unsalted butter, melted; 2 tbsp olive oil; 500 g baby spinach or flat-leaf spinach, washed; 250 g beyaz peynir or feta cheese, crumbled; 2 large eggs; 0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 0.25 tsp dried chilli flakes (pul biber, optional); 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped; 1 large egg, beaten; 2 tbsp full-fat milk; 1 tsp sesame seeds or nigella seeds

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control