Sigara Börek with sheep cheese filling

Ingredients for 20 servings:

• 20 dough sheets (yufka)
• 200 g sheep’s cheese
• 3 m.-sized eggs
• small bunch of dill
• Oil for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Cigar börek

You can buy the pre-made triangular yufka pastry sheets from Turkish supermarkets. Take them out of the fridge shortly before use, but leave them in the package, as otherwise they will dry out. We use a mixture of feta cheese and dill for the filling; the dill is more optional here, so you can replace it with other herbs (e.g., parsley) or simply omit it completely. For the filling, finely chop the dill and crumble the feta cheese in a large bowl with a fork. Separate the eggs, reserving the egg whites in a small bowl. Add the egg yolks and finely chopped dill to the crumbled feta cheese and mix well. Now remove the yufka pastry sheets from the package. They usually stick together a little, so always separate the sheet you want to fill from the rest first. Use a teaspoon to place a walnut-sized mound of the feta cheese mixture in the center of the short side, leaving some space at the back. Fold once toward the tip to cover the filling, then fold the long sides toward the center and roll the whole thing toward the tip. Dip the tip of the roll into the egg white and “stick” it to the roll. If you’re not using the böregi yet, it’s advisable to place them in a cool place and cover them, as they dry out easily. To fry the “cigars,” heat oil in a large pot or deep fryer. Depending on the size of the pot/deep fryer, add the börek to the oil and fry for a few minutes until golden brown, turning the rolls several times.