Turkish Tuesday #18

This week, I took on a new challenge in the Turkish culinary arena: pastries.

After receiving a great NPR article spotted by James Yao--a wonderful Ole alum who loves me, Turkey, and food in general--I have had borek on the brain.  Borek is a traditional Turkish snack--the perfect accompaniment to some chai, a game of backgammon, an afternoon chat with your "abi" (bro), or all three.  If you all have time to read this article, do! It has a nice little cultural comparison on snacking, a few mentions of yogurt, and even some borek recipes for you to try out if you are inspired to explore Turkish snacking yourself. 

Though James' article inspired my meal this week, I kind of left its recipes behind and whipped up (literally!) a more traditional version of the borek, namely a batch of sigara boregi (cigarette borek).  Combining a recipe from Binnur's Turkish Cookbook, tips from NPR, a few other random google results, and suggestions from Imge, one of my office-mates, I was successfully able to create a baked version of this tasty snack.  I contribute these little crispy creations to a generally snack-y dinner (also featuring olives, feta, string cheese, patlican soslu (eggplant sauce), grape leaves, and fresh bread) with Margot, Clayton, and Liz (Margot's visiting friend).  Who says snacks are only for snacking on??

Sigara Boregi turned out to be quite easy to make. I simply mixed some feta, chopped parsley, an egg yolk and a bit of thyme together.  Then, I laid a line out on a triangle of yufka dough, and rolled it up tightly, like a Swedish pancake! I brushed the whole thing with melted butter, sprinkled some toasted sesame seeds on top, and baked it at 400 for 20 minutes.  They came out hot, delicious, and everyone was so surprised that I made them! --Sigara Boregi is a classic snack that, as it turns out, is as easy to make at home, as it is to enjoy at your favorite seaside cafe in Yalova.