Beetroot and Feta Borek

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OcadoLife

4 serving

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 1 hr 45 mins

Serves: 4

Börek are the traditional pastry found in the lands of the former Ottoman Empire (like baklava). Here we’ve filled them with beetroot and feta for a delicious mix of sweet and savoury, acid and creaminess, gooeyness and crunch. Butternut squash plus herbs and spices create a rich flavour combination. Like their culinary cousin, baklava, börek is made with filo (or phyllo) pastry. Roasting the beetroot brings out their sugars and transforms their texture from crunchy to soft. Börek stores well, so make a fantastic leftover lunch or two. And the vibrant beetroot will get some serious leftover envy on a picnic or lunch break.

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 kg beetroot, peeled and cut into small chunks
½ butternut squash, cut into cubes
2 drizzles olive oil, for roasting and frying
1 onion, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp cumin seeds
100g natural yoghurt
30g coriander, leaves and stalks chopped
30g mint, leaves finely chopped
15g dill, finely chopped
½ lemon, juiced
2 tsp za'atar
100g feta, broken into chunks
1 large pinch aleppo pepper (optional)
1 x 270g pack filo pastry sheets, defrosted
80g unsalted butter, melted
1 bag green salad, to serve

Method

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Put the beetroot and squash in a large roasting tray, drizzle with oil and season with salt; toss to coat and spread out. Roast for 45 mins, turning once, until soft and caramelised.

Step 2

Meanwhile, fry the onion in a frying pan for 8-10 mins, stirring often, until golden. Reduce the heat, add the garlic and cumin and fry for 2-3 mins, stirring. Tip into a mixing bowl.

Step 3

Add the roasted beetroot and squash to the bowl, along with the yoghurt, herbs, lemon juice, za’atar, feta and aleppo pepper, if using. Season, toss gently and set aside.

Step 4

Turn the oven down to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Unravel the filo and cover with a damp tea towel to stop it drying out. Brush a deep 20cm square cake tin with melted butter. Lay one rectangular sheet of filo top to bottom over the tin, leaving overhang but pushing it into the corners. Brush with butter. Turn your second piece of pastry landscape and lay over the tin in the other direction, side to side. Brush with butter. Repeat with the rest of the pastry; don’t brush the last sheet with butter.

Step 5

Pack the filling into the tin then pull the top layer of overhanging filo over the filling. Brush with butter, then repeat, to create a parcel. Bake for 50 mins-1 hr, until deeply golden.