Spinach Boreg
Apr. 20th, 2009 03:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zarhooie in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
omnomnomBoreg are spinach and cheese pastries, and are super yummy. They're an Armenian specialty and one of my favorite foods like... ever.
Stuff needed (stuff):
9x12 pan
non-stick spray
some sort of pastry brush
a bit of oil to saute the onions
Bowls, spoons, knife, pot
Stuff needed (food):
2 packages frozen spinach (the square ones, I think they're 10oz?)
1 onion, chopped into little squares
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted (you can clarify it if you want, but I'm usually too lazy to do it with this recipe)
2 normal sized packages of shredded cheese [~16oz total] (I like cheddar, but any sort of standard shredded cheese will do, like Monterrey Jack or mozzarella)
1/2 lb feta cheese, crumbled (get the block stuff then crumble it yourself, it tastes better)
6 eggs
1 package phyllo dough, thawed
How-to:
First, set a pot of water on to boil. I used my 4 quart saucepan.
While the water is heating up, saute the onions. To do this, put them in a pan with a bit of oil or butter (just to keep from sticking) and put the pan on medium heat. Stir until translucent and sweet smelling. This is called "carmelizing" the onions.
In the pan
Out of the pan and into a prep bowl
Set your butter melting right about now if you haven't done that already.
Ok, now your water should be boiling. Add the spinach and use a spoon to get it to break up. You're not trying to boil the hell out of the spinach, you're just trying to get it nice and hot and warmed up.
Once it's hot, drain it.
You want to make sure that you're getting out as much liquid as possible. To do this, wait a little bit (for the stuff to cool a bit) then take bits of it by hand and squeeeeze the liquid out. Put it into a separate bowl.
Next, add both cheeses (the feta and the cheddar or whatever you're using) and also add the 6 beaten eggs. The eggs act as a binder to keep the filling together.
Mix it up really good-like.
Another shot:
Doesn't that look good? Don't eat it all now, but there should be enough that a spoonful won't be missed.
Ok, now comes the hard part: You need to layer the phyllo with butter. I cut the phyllo sheets in half because then they just about fit in my 9x12 pan (which I have sprayed with non-stick spray). There's a pretty good explanation of how to do it on my post about paklava, so I'm not going to repeat it here.
Once you've got half the phyllo down, dump the spinach cheese mixture into the middle of your pan and using your freshly washed hands, press it into an even layer over the phyllo. Next, take the remainder of your phyllo and layer the rest of it on top of the spinach cheese.
Bake it for ~30 minutes at 350* or until the top is golden brown. Let it cool a bit then cut it into squares. I prefer bigger ones for breakfast, but my mom likes to cut them small for appetizers. You can serve it chilled or warm.
I forgot to take pictures of it finished, and by the time I remembered it was completely gone.
Happy eating!
Kat
Stuff needed (stuff):
9x12 pan
non-stick spray
some sort of pastry brush
a bit of oil to saute the onions
Bowls, spoons, knife, pot
Stuff needed (food):
2 packages frozen spinach (the square ones, I think they're 10oz?)
1 onion, chopped into little squares
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted (you can clarify it if you want, but I'm usually too lazy to do it with this recipe)
2 normal sized packages of shredded cheese [~16oz total] (I like cheddar, but any sort of standard shredded cheese will do, like Monterrey Jack or mozzarella)
1/2 lb feta cheese, crumbled (get the block stuff then crumble it yourself, it tastes better)
6 eggs
1 package phyllo dough, thawed
How-to:
First, set a pot of water on to boil. I used my 4 quart saucepan.
While the water is heating up, saute the onions. To do this, put them in a pan with a bit of oil or butter (just to keep from sticking) and put the pan on medium heat. Stir until translucent and sweet smelling. This is called "carmelizing" the onions.
In the pan
Out of the pan and into a prep bowl
Set your butter melting right about now if you haven't done that already.
Ok, now your water should be boiling. Add the spinach and use a spoon to get it to break up. You're not trying to boil the hell out of the spinach, you're just trying to get it nice and hot and warmed up.
Once it's hot, drain it.
You want to make sure that you're getting out as much liquid as possible. To do this, wait a little bit (for the stuff to cool a bit) then take bits of it by hand and squeeeeze the liquid out. Put it into a separate bowl.
Next, add both cheeses (the feta and the cheddar or whatever you're using) and also add the 6 beaten eggs. The eggs act as a binder to keep the filling together.
Mix it up really good-like.
Another shot:
Doesn't that look good? Don't eat it all now, but there should be enough that a spoonful won't be missed.
Ok, now comes the hard part: You need to layer the phyllo with butter. I cut the phyllo sheets in half because then they just about fit in my 9x12 pan (which I have sprayed with non-stick spray). There's a pretty good explanation of how to do it on my post about paklava, so I'm not going to repeat it here.
Once you've got half the phyllo down, dump the spinach cheese mixture into the middle of your pan and using your freshly washed hands, press it into an even layer over the phyllo. Next, take the remainder of your phyllo and layer the rest of it on top of the spinach cheese.
Bake it for ~30 minutes at 350* or until the top is golden brown. Let it cool a bit then cut it into squares. I prefer bigger ones for breakfast, but my mom likes to cut them small for appetizers. You can serve it chilled or warm.
I forgot to take pictures of it finished, and by the time I remembered it was completely gone.
Happy eating!
Kat
no subject
on 2009-04-20 09:30 pm (UTC)this is totally my new most favorite comm ever
no subject
on 2009-04-20 09:38 pm (UTC)I'm really glad you like it. :)
no subject
on 2009-04-20 09:36 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-20 09:39 pm (UTC)I'm half Armenian too. Toomajian is about as armenian (and unpronouncable) as it gets!
no subject
on 2009-04-21 02:09 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-20 09:50 pm (UTC)SO good looking. Oh, man, I'm definitely adding this to my list of recipes to eventually try out. One question: I haven't seen phyllo dough available at my grocery store. Is it one of those things available at all grocers, and I'm just that unobservant?
Thank you for sharing!
no subject
on 2009-04-20 09:57 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-20 10:34 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-21 12:16 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-21 11:17 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-21 12:09 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-23 09:56 pm (UTC)