gimme a bureka

the greek have spanakopita, indians have samosas, and asians have spring rolls (the asian names for 'spring roll' are probably too hard to pronounce), and as ass-backwards as the middle-east may seem, we're not ones to be outdone. 
our own variation of a savoury, crispy, filled-with-goodness treat, is the bureka! [boo-reh-ka].


normally the pastry is of the puff persuasion, though i've seen it done with a more dense dough, and also sometimes with a flakier phyllo. the filling is traditionally either potato, cheese (feta) or spinach. 
any way you pack it, these are the snack item of the gods.


you may, if you're a fan of this humble blog, know that tradition is lost on me. and so when i made burekas the other day, my filling was a combo of sweet potato and baking potato (roughly mashed), chopped spinach (which i bought frozen), fried onion and garlic, goat cheese, table cream, salt, pepper, thyme. it was awesome. but i'm pretty convinced you could wrap poop up in puff pastry and it would still taste decent. ew, what's wrong with me?

NOT pooprekas!

the packaging of these little taste pockets is probably the most difficult part. i spooned some filling into the centre of a puff pastry triangle and then folded in half and pinched the edges shut. i didn't do a very pretty job of it, but in the end the dough was on the outside and the filling was on the inside, and that's all that matters.
brushed with egg-wash and sprinkled with sesame seeds, these suckers were ready for heat.
in the oven at 375 C for 20 minutes or so...when they're browning and they smell delicious, they're ready!


Chả giò, 春捲...ya, good luck.