Looking for a crispy, flaky, salty treat? Look no further, because these chicken and eggplant bourekas are just that! With a soft, cheesy chicken inside and a crunchy, greasy phyllo dough crust, how could you possibly go wrong adding this to your next meal? Curious about what bourekas are and how to make them? Read on!
What are Bourekas?
You’ve likely never heard of bourekas, but they have a rich backstory that spans over generations and religions. Many cultures have some sort of fried hand pie, like knishes, samosas, or calzones. Bourekas originated from the burga, an Asian dumpling. When the Turks in Asia moved to what is now Turkey, burgas evolved to become layered pastries filled with cheeses and meats and in time were known as böreks. When Sephardic Jews moved into Turkey, they adapted the börek to fit a kosher lifestyle, combining it with their empanada, and thus it became a boureka.
Bourekas are a fried or baked hand pie layered with sheets of crisp phyllo dough or soft puff pastry and stuffed with meat, cheese, and veggies. They’re a very popular dish in Israel but are spread throughout the Middle East.
Ingredients
. Red or yellow onion will work, that’s totally up to your taste buds.
. You can cook and shred your own chicken, use leftover rotisserie chicken, or even buy canned chicken breast.
. When it comes to feta cheese, the block stuff is miles beyond the pre-crumbled variety. Sure, it takes a few extra minutes to crumble what you want, but the pre-crumbled kind doesn’t get to sit in water and is therefore much dryer.
. Phyllo dough will creature a crisper, flakier thin crust whereas puff pastry will produce a thicker and softer crust. They can both be fantastic, but I love the crunch so I went with phyllo dough.
- Eggplant
- Red onion
- Shredded chicken
- Ricotta cheese
- Feta cheese
- Egg
- Salt & pepper
- Paprika
- Olive oil
- Phyllo dough
- Sesame seeds
Although this is a historically a kosher dish, this recipe combines meat and dairy, so it is not suitable for those on a kosher diet. For those who are unaware, the kosher diet follows a set of food standards created by Jewish law over 3,000 years ago. Following kosher rules is for more than just health or food safety; it speaks to a respect for the Jewish religion and tradition. Nowadays, some Jewish people are strictly kosher, others pick only some rules to follow, and many do not practice the kosher diet at all. The rules cover what foods one can eat, what foods can be combined, and how foods are produced and processed.
How to Make Bourekas
This is a fairly easy recipe to make, but working with phyllo dough can be a little tricky if you aren’t practiced. As a heads up, this super thin sheet dough can be found in the frozen aisle at most grocery stores. It comes in rolls, which you want to thaw before starting to cook. You also want to make sure that after you open then package and unroll the thawed dough, you cover it with a clean cloth. Phyllo dough drys out when exposed to air and is likely to crack if left out.
To start, sauté your chopped onion a bit before adding in the chopped eggplant. Cook them together until they’re soft, maybe 5-10 minutes. The next step is to remove it from the pan and cool it; you don’t want it too hot during the mixing or assembling process. After it cools, mix it with the shredded chicken and cheeses. I used some leftover rotisserie chicken but whatever small pieces of chicken you’ve got are fine. If you’re using canned chicken, let it sit in a strainer for a bit first or all that water will leak out of the bourekas while baking. Finish making the filling by mixing in the egg and seasonings. Now, the part that takes practice: the phyllo dough. Lay out 1 sheet of dough, quickly brush with oil, then lay on another sheet and brush it again. If you don’t do that quickly it can dry exceptionally fast. Once it’s oiled and the other dough is covered again, cut strips lengthwise so you’ve got little runways for your filling. You’ll put on a spoonful of filling at one end, then fold it across diagonally so the fold comes out a triangle. Continue down your oily runway until you’ve got a nice layered pastry, ready to be baked!
What to Pair It With
Bourekas are rich and a bit greasy, so they make a much better side dish than full meal. I like to serve this with a lentil soup, Israeli salad, or tabbouleh salad. Since these have meat in them already, I recommend keeping the main course vegetarian to add more fresh produce and fiber to the meal.
Chicken & Eggplant Bourekas
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups eggplant, chopped into small bits
- 1 cup yellow or red onion, chopped into small bits
- 1 1/2 cups chicken breast, cooked, cooled, and shredded
- 1/4 cup ricotta cheese, part skim
- 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
- 7 – 8 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Chop onion and sauté in a heated and oiled pan over medium high heat for about 3 minutes. Add chopped eggplant and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Place in a bowl and in the freezer or fridge to cool. It doesn’t have to get cold, but it can’t be hot.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚ and line a baking tray or 2 with silicone baking mats.
- Stir cheeses and chicken into the cooled filling, then stir in egg and seasonings.
- Lay 1 phyllo sheet on a clean work surface and brush with oil.
- Top with a second phyllo sheet and brush again. Cut phyllo sheets lengthwise into 4 long strips.
- Place a small dollop ( ~1 ½ tsp) of filling at the top of the oiled strip.
- Fold diagonally, then again but in the opposite direction, like a flag. Continue folding down the length of the dough until you are left with a layered triangle.
- Repeat this until you have a full baking sheet and brush with just enough oil on the tops to let sesame seeds stick.
- Bake on 350° for 10 minutes, then switch the baking sheet's position on the rack and bake another 10 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
- You can replace the olive oil with melted butter if you prefer.
- It’s important to keep the phyllo dough you aren’t working with at the moment covered with a towel or lid. When thawed and exposed to open air it gets dry and cracked very quickly.
- Bourekas don’t expand so you can crowd the baking sheet a bit if needed.
- To cut the phyllo sheets, you can use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter.