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Ozlem's Aubergine (Eggplant) Borek – Winner of the Foods of Turkey!

Rolled pastry with eggplant, tomatoes, onion - Patlicanli Borek

Rolled pastry with eggplant, tomatoes, onion – Patlicanli Borek

Stop Press! I am delighted to let you know that Ozlem’s Turkish Table won the “Borek” (stuffed pastry) Competition run by the Foods of Turkey website with my aubergine (eggplant) borek recipe! Here is the link to the article :
http://www.foodsofturkey.com/FoodsofTurkey/Eat/Entries/2010/9/23_Recipe__Aubergine_Borek.html
And here is the winning smoked eggplant recipe; it is very delicious, I hope you give it a go sometime:
Eggplant, aubergine is the king of vegetables (actually fruit, as it has seeds) at home; we must have over 200 recipes featuring our beloved eggplant. I made a twist to the eggplant boreks at home, this time grilling the eggplants with the skin on and using the lovely soft flesh. The result was a wonderful marriage of smoked eggplant flesh with sweet onions, tomatoes and mozzarella (you can also use mild cheddar cheese instead). These pastries would make great vegetarian appetizers; they are also lovely served with garlic yoghurt by the side.

Once cooked, they freeze very well too.

Serves 4 – 6
Preparation time: 45 minutes Cooking time: 25 – 30 minutes

260 gr / 9 oz fillo pastry sheets, thawed
1 medium eggplant (aubergine)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 small tomatoes, finely diced
1 bunch or 1/2 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
60 gr / 2 oz shredded mild cheddar or mozzarella
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg, beaten and 1 tablespoon olive oil for brushing the boreks
Sesame seeds to decorate the boreks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bowl of water to seal the boreks

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F/ Gas Mark 4

For best results, thaw the frozen filo pastry in the fridge overnight and bring it to the room temperature 2 hours before using. That enables the filo thaw completely. If it is sold fresh as in the UK, you only need to bring the filo to the room temperature 30 minutes before using.

Cook the eggplants (aubergines) on a barbecue grill or over and open gas flame turning occasionally by the stalks until the outer skin is charred and blistered and the inner flesh soft. (Alternatively they can be baked in a hot oven for about 45 minutes). Peel away the burnt skin and discard the stalks. Put the flesh in a colander to drain away any bitter juices. (You can prepare the eggplants this way a day in advance; squeeze lemon juice over to retain its color and keep in the fridge covered). Finely chop the flesh and set aside.

Sauté the onions with some olive oil for a couple of minutes, until soft. Add the tomatoes and cook for another couple of minutes, until most of the liquid is evaporated. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Once cooled, add the cheese and mix well. Check if more seasoning is needed, set aside to cool.

Place the sheets of filo on a flat surface and cover with a damp dish towel to keep moist.On a dry surface, place 2 fillo pastry sheets on top of one another and cut in half horizontally to form two rectangles. Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture in the middle and roll like a cigar. Then, starting from one end, roll the cigar shape into a rose shape sealing the end with a little water. Make sure you seal all the openings/cracks with a little water. Repeat this with all rectangles.

Mix the egg with the olive oil. Brush the boreks with this mixture and place them on a greased tray. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the boreks and bake them in the oven for about 25 minutes or until golden.

Serve immediately with a leafy salad or garlic yoghurt by the side.

Afiyet Olsun!

8 Responses to Ozlem's Aubergine (Eggplant) Borek – Winner of the Foods of Turkey!

  1. Ozlem's Turkish Table October 15, 2010 at 3:52 am #

    Hello Vincent,

    Many thanks for your kind words and interest, I will look into petitchef connection.

    best wishes,
    Ozlem

  2. Reinventing Nadine July 29, 2012 at 2:20 am #

    this looks Devine! I am going to make it next week for an iftar! Ramadan Kareem

    • Ozlem July 29, 2012 at 10:56 am #

      Ramadan Kareem Nadine 🙂 Glad you liked the aubergine borek, I am delighted that it will be on your Ramadan spread.

  3. Linda October 13, 2012 at 3:28 am #

    Hi Ozlem, I just made this recipe and they are delicious!!! I found your website last night while I was searching the web for a homemade turkish delight recipe. I’m so glad I found your site, your recipes all look amazing, I spent a few hours last night reading through them all. I will make the turkish delights in a few days- they are to decorate the top of pistachio & white choc cupcakes I make on family/friends birthdays. I like to chop the turkish delights into small cubes and dip them in a little melted white choc and then place on top of the cupcakes. Thank you for this delicious borek recipe-I’ve just finished eating my third one! 🙂

    • Ozlem October 13, 2012 at 9:42 am #

      Dear Linda,
      What a lovely way to start a new day, many thanks for your kind comment! I am so glad you enjoyed the aubergine borek and other recipes, it is so wonderful to connect with foodies like you and hearing the recipes work for you, so glad. many thanks for taking the time to write – hope you enjoy the Turkish Delight too!:)

  4. Kasia May 30, 2018 at 4:01 pm #

    Dear Ozlem, yesterday I made borek from your recipe. It was very nice in taste but unfortunately inside the borek fillo pastry was dry and looked like before baking:( do you know why? What typo of fillo pastry are you using?
    Would be very grateful for your answer!
    Greetings,
    Kasia

    • Ozlem Warren May 30, 2018 at 4:48 pm #

      Merhaba dear Kasia, many thanks for your kind note and trying out my recipe. Filo pastry can be quite hard to handle and gets dried easily. I try to get the fresh pastry stored in supermarket section, rather than the frozen ones as they dry out too quickly. If you can only get the frozen ones, I would thaw it overnight in the fridge first and bring to room temp 1 hr in advance. When using filo pastry, I would also cover with damp towel to keep it moist. Many thanks for trying and glad it tasted nice and hope this tip is helpful, Afiyet Olsun, Ozlem

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    […] “The Sultan’s Kitchen”, a present sent by The Foods of Turkey website for my winning recipe Patlicanli Borek (pastry stuffed with eggplant puree filling). Like the most of Turkish casseroles, you can cook ahead of time (up to a day before) and the […]

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