Silverbeet Börek with Filo Pastry
A Turkish-inspired filo pie with silverbeet and feta, brushed with yoghurt and egg between the layers. Party food, served in squares, warm or at room temperature.
Börek is the Ottoman kitchen's answer to every celebration: crisp filo pastry around a juicy filling of greens and white cheese. In Turkey silverbeet goes by pazı (elsewhere by Swiss chard or mangold), and pazı böreği is one of the classics; this is a version for an ordinary baking dish and supermarket filo.
The secret is a dry filling. Silverbeet releases a surprising amount of water, and every gram you press out is the difference between crisp and soggy. Be ruthless with the colander.
Ingredients
- 8 sheets filo pastry, thawed if frozen
- 600 g silverbeet
- 200 g feta cheese
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 eggs
- 150 ml natural yoghurt
- 100 ml olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 tbsp sesame or nigella seeds
Method
- 1Preheat the oven to 190°C. Grease a small roasting tin or baking dish, about 20 × 30 cm.
- 2Finely chop the silverbeet stems and roughly chop the leaves. Fry onion and stems in 2 tbsp of the oil for 5 minutes, then add the leaves in batches until everything has wilted.
- 3Tip the filling into a colander and press out as much liquid as you can with the back of a spoon. This is the most important step: a wet filling makes a soggy börek.
- 4Crumble the feta into the filling and season with pepper. Go easy on the salt; the feta carries enough for most.
- 5Whisk together the eggs, yoghurt, and remaining oil for the brushing mixture.
- 6Lay 4 filo sheets in the dish, one at a time, with a generous brushing of the mixture between each. Let the sheets crumple a little; that's where the crispness comes from.
- 7Spread the filling evenly, then layer the last 4 sheets on top the same way. Pour the rest of the brushing mixture over the top and scatter over the seeds.
- 8Score the top layers into squares with a sharp knife and bake for 30–35 minutes until deeply golden. Rest for 10 minutes before cutting all the way through.
Serving suggestions
Serve in squares as party food, warm or at room temperature, ideally with tea in the Turkish manner or a sharp tomato salad alongside.
Make ahead, store, and reheat
The börek can be assembled and kept covered in the fridge for a few hours before baking. Reheat baked leftovers in a 160°C oven for 10 minutes; the microwave turns filo chewy.