We recently made these delicious cheese & spinach filo triangles, muska boregi as we call in Turkish, at my recent Turkish cookery class. They were a huge hit and participants pleasantly surprised how easy & delicious they were. Indeed, these scrumptious triangles are a winner from children to adults. They are actually easier than you think; here are step by step visual instructions to make the stuffed filo triangles:
Continue folding the strip in triangles until you get a small, triangular stuffed pastry
Boreks, stuffed pastries are hugely popular in Turkish cuisine; we Turks love them for breakfast as an appetizer or a mid-day snack; there really is not a bad time for a borek! Yufka, the wonderful thin sheets of fresh pastry is used traditionally to make boreks at home, though they are hard to find (and not as good) abroad. (If you can get fresh yufka especially in Turkey, you can use only one sheet at a time, as yufka is more moist and manageable. You may just want to keep your yufka stripes a little longer). I use the filo pastry sheets for this recipe and it works well. If frozen, you need to defrost the filo sheets overnight in the fridge and or leave at room temperature 2 hour before using. If you are using the fresh filo sheets kept in the fridge as in the supermarkets in the UK, you need to leave them at room temperature for 30 minutes before using. As for the cheese filling, if you can get the delicious, moist Turkish white cheese, beyaz peynir, that is a perfect fit here; I love Pinar Foods UK‘s white cheese, beyaz peynir. I find feta drier than the Turkish equivalent. Therefore, I add a little grated mozzarella to bring some creaminess and balance the flavors, especially if feta is used.
Here’s also my YouTube video for these delicious filo triangles:
The trick with filo sheets is that they can dry out very quickly; if you keep the sheets under a slightly damp towel that helps to manage filo greatly. I hope you enjoy these delicious triangles; why not serving these delicious triangles with the refreshing Shepherd’s Salad with Sumac? They complement each other very well.
There are over 90 wholesome, easy, delicious Turkish recipes at my blog here as well as at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table to inspire you. Signed hardback copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table are now 25 % Off at this link and delivered worldwide including the US.
I am also delighted to share with you that we also designed this special Ozlem’s Turkish Table apron, just in time for the holiday gift giving season. It is special to my heart, as it is made in Turkey, with my hometown Antakya’s celebrated daphne leaves in the hand embroidered design – this lovely apron would make a wonderful gift for the festive season, you can get yours at this link. Delivered worldwide including the US. We also have a special offer for Ozlem’s Turkish Table readers; for a limited time, to you can get a signed copy of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book bundled with this apron at a special price of £27.99. This special offer ends on 21th November 2020 (including), if you like to get yours here is the link. Delivered worldwide including the US.
Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem
- 150 gr / 7 oz spinach leaves
- 150 gr/ 7 oz feta cheese, mashed with a fork
- 100 gr / app. 4 oz shredded mozzarella
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 3 tablespoons mild olive oil
- Bowl of 8 fl. oz/ 1 cup water to seal the pastry
- 12 sheets of filo pastry (each sheet 48cmx25cm)
- Preheat oven to 180c/350 F/gas mark 4
- Remove the stalks of the spinach, wash and chop roughly.
- 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.
- In a separate bowl, mix 1 egg and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Grease a rectangular baking dish with a little olive oil.
- Lay the pastry sheets on a clean surface and cut into 10cmx25cm stripes.
- Stack the stripes on top of another and cover with a damp towel so that they won’t dry out.
- Keep a bowl of water near you.
- Lay two stripes of filo sheets at top of one another.
- Place 1 tablespoon of the spinach mixture at one end of the filo pastry strip.
- Fold the end of the strip over the filling diagonally so that it forms a triangle.
- Continue folding the strip in triangles until you get a small, triangular stuffed pastry.
- 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.
- Place the stuffed triangle pastries on the greased baking dish and brush them with the egg & olive oil mixture.
- 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.
i wish i had this for lunch right now!
Thanks Jaz, I wished you were close by and I’d share some! They really are easy though, hope you enjoy it!:)
My mom would make these at home, she called them “Spinach Samboseh” and I would love “helping” her role these up! I agree these are perfect for parties, especially if you make big batches and freeze ahead of time…these flavors are making me crave fresh summer food!
Thanks a lot for stopping by, they really are irresistable you are right; I am all up for making a great big batch and freeze some, they make a lovely suprise!
Özlem, They recipe sounds delicious. I’ve never made them in that form but it sounds very doable and I’ve learned to trust your recipes when you say they’re easy. Happily, I can get yufka fresh at the Friday market on the island so next time we go, I’ll give it a try. Thanks so much. Öpüyoruz.
Cok tesekkurler SD, oh you’ll make them in a flash with that lovely fresh yufka!:) You don’t need two layers with yufka, as it is much moist and manageable, you may just want to keep the lenght longer. Afiyet olsun, cok selam ve sevgiler, Ozlem x
. . even I can do this! . . . actually, I’m feeling quite enthusiastic about it 🙂
You’d make delicious muska boreks Alan, lucky J!: ) Afiyet olsun, many thanks for your kind words.
Recently had boregi in Seattle, Ozlem, so excited to have a recipe to make them at home! And I love the simple delicious filling. XxPeri.
Merhaba Peri, many thanks for your comment, I am glad you enjoyed the post and so glad you’ll recreate this borek : ) Afiyet olsun ! Ozlem xx
One of the joys of returning to Turkey was having fresh yuvka available again. I couldn’t really get on with filo pastry.
Nothing beats yufka, enjoy it – it took a while to get used to filo, once you know how to handle it, it gives good results
Wow! I made these as a low-fat alternative to a well known brand of cheese pasties here in the UK, my 2 daughters and their boyfriends ate them all and i had to make a second batch the same day! Light, delicious and very easy – thank you!
Dear Pat, really delighted to hear you all enjoyed the spinach & cheese filo triangles! They are very moreish, I tend to make an extra badge and freeze some for an easy use. Many thanks for letting me know – afiyet olsun!
Thanks Ozlem. I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while and I finally did last night. They were great. So looking forward to trying another recipe from your site.
Merhaba Johanna, you are very welcome, so glad to hear you enjoyed these boreks – afiyet olsun! Thank you for letting me know, best wishes.
I love turkish cusine.
I was in turkey last month and had these borek in breakfast and i was like eating all of it yummmm delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Ill definitely try it
Merhaba Fatima, you are very welcome – so glad you enjoyed muska boregi at home and that you’ll now make it with my recipe, afiyet olsun! Ozlem
Hi ozlem,
I live in a Melbourne and I go to the Queen Victoria market every weekend for such a cheese and spinach borek . It is really delicious and my husband introduced with it to me . Thanks to you for such a yummy recipe and it’s easiest one which I have ever seen ….so my request is please show almond croissant recipe …
Merhaba Rohini and greetings to you in Melbourne! So glad you enjoyed spinach and cheese borek, a firm favorite with us too – I haven’t made almond croissant yet, though not Turkish, I love it too. If I can get round making one, will gladly share here. Afiyet Olsun, Ozlem
Made this recipe for dinner, sooo good ! Very easy and fast to do. Thank you
Hi Lison,
Absolutely delighted to hear you enjoyed this delicious borek, very popular with us too. Just to let you know, there are over 90 wholesome, easy, delicious Turkish recipes also at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table. Signed hardback copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table are NOW 30 % OFF at this link and delivered worldwide including the US, for a limited time, if interested, Afiyet Olsun, https://www.gbpublishing.co.uk/product-page/ozlem-s-turkish-table-hardback
Ozlem
It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
Hello Ozlem, I’m from London and my husband is from Balikesir in Turkey,
My sisters in law often make these when we are there on holiday, so delicious!!!
Now i can make my own at home,
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Carole xx
Merhaba dear Carole,
You are most welcome – I hope you enjoy making these delicious Muska boregi, filo triangles and they bring back happe memories – they are amonst the most popular recipes at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table too. Afiyet olsun, Ozlem x