Real African Dishes: [MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Turkish Cheese and Wild Greens Pie

* Exported from MasterCook *

Cheese and Wild Greens Pie - Peynirli Boregi

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : LowCal (Less than 300 cals) LowerCarbs
Veggie

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 1/4 ounces nettle tops -- or other greens
1 large onion
7 ounces feta cheese -- crumbled
3 eggs
1 pinch salt -- and a much bigger pinch black pepper
2 Tablespoons plain yogurt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
10 sheets yufka -- ready-made, or 1 package frozen filo, defrosted

Okay, rubber gloves on first. Wash the nettles well; wild green stuff
should always be sloshed around in a bowl of cold water and then squeezed
out -running water over them in a colander just doesn't get the mud off,
and merely serves to provide any resident creepy crawlies with a nice
shower. Blanch the nettle tops in boiling water for around 15 minutes -
this removes the sting and means you can take off your gloves. If you are
using any other vegetables, 5 - 10 minutes will do. (In theory, you should
retain the blanching water and use it as a tea - but I won't tell if you
don't). Once the nettles are softened, drain them and Plunge them into
cold water; this helps them to retain their pretty green-ness. Drain once
again, and then chop roughly.

Chop the onion finely, and put it in a bowl with the feta, chopped
nettles, and one of the eggs. A.dd the salt and pepper, and mix well-
using your hands w ll ensure homogeneity.

Beat the remaining two eggs genrtly wirh the yogurt and olive oil -it will
probably curdle, but there you go.

Now you can make this two ways: small individual ones (fiddly but fun) or
one big pie (much easier, though difficult to cut).

If you opt for the former (which are known as sigara boregi, or cigarette
pies), you will need to cut each sheet of pastry into four. Work on a very
clean, very dry board. If you are using round yufka, just divide them into
quadrants.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven ro 350 F/180 C.

Brush each portion of pastry with some of the yogurt "glaze." Place a
teaspoon of the green mixture near the pointy end (which should be
pointing towards you), and roll the pastry up around it away from you,
tucking in the pastry flaps as you go. Arrange the finished boregi on an
oiled baking sheet and brush the exposed pastry with the remaining glaze,
then bake in the oven for about 35 minutes.

If you are making the chunkier, family version, grease an oven dish of an
appropriate shape/size (slightly smaller than the size of your pastry
sheets) and layer half the pastry in, brushing in between each sheet with
the yogurt mixture as you go (but not on the top layer). It may be easier
to shred the yulka to make it fit your dish. Spoon the cheese mixture
evenly over the pastry, and then layer the second half of the pastry on
top, again brushing with the glaze in between each layer. If you are using
f ilo, you will need t o trim the overhanging bits when you reach the top
(otherwise they will burn): use a sharp knife, and the task is an easier
one. Yufka is usually thicker and more malleable, so just tuck the ends
in. Brush the top with the rest of the glaze, score through lightly (I
usually cut the pie into six or eight portions), and then bake at 350"
F/I80'C for about 40 minutes, or until the boregi is golden brown and
pleasingly puffy.

Enioy with salad and cacik (see p .6l ). (Unless, that is, you are
preparing it for a finger buffet , in which case a glass of champagne
would be a more appropriate accompaniment.)

Serves 6, or 40 buffet nibbles

Boregi really just means "pie." The word-and indeed, the concept-came from
those opulent Ottomans, who spread their cuisine and customs far and wide:
from Tunisian brik to Greek galatoboureko are both derived from it.
Anyway, the Turks have got them down to a fine art, and there are hundreds
of variations in terms of filling and shape. Some are boiled. Some are
fried. Ours are baked. You can use filo but the pastry of choice here is
Yufka (see opposite).

I have used mostly nettle in this, as it is authentic. Turkey seems to
produce a vast amount of healthy green stuff-a lot of it unknown to us-and
impressively very little of it gets wasted. (Unlike us: we ought to be
ashamed about how much of our herbal lore we have lost. When did you last
go and engage with a hedgerow?)

Nettles are incredibly good for you: they're great for flushing out the
system and fighting allergies (yes, including urticaria, or nettle rash).
And since I have been attached to an Iranian family I have learned to look
again at vegetables: the tops of root vegetables are mostly edible, and I
know that most of us throw them away. You can, of course, easily
substitute spinach: this dish is, in fact, very similar to the Greek
spanakopita, or spinach pie.

Anyway, pruning shears at the ready? You can buy nettles at the funkier
farmer's markets, but it is more satisfying to acquire them-there are
enough of them growing wild, after all. If you are picking your own, avoid
those which may have been sprayed or are situated by a busy road-you don't
want to be detoxing and retoxing at the same time. Nettle tops are best
picked when very young, and it goes without saying that you should wear
gloves when you do it.

Supplement (or replace) the nettles with radish tops, beet greens,
watercress, an spinach if you have to; I tend to use a mixture.

When working with yufka or filo, always make sure that you keep the pastry
covered with a damp towel or wrapped up in plastic wrap; filo especially
dries out really quickly, and this renders it useless.

Cuisine:
"Turkish"
Source:
"New Middle Eastern Vegetarian: Modern Recipes from Veggiestan by
Sally Butcher, 2012"
S(Formatted by Chupa Babi):
"July 2013"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 271 Calories; 16g Fat (70.1%
calories from fat); 11g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 136mg
Cholesterol; 591mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1/2
Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 1423 0 0 0 0 0 0 0