Börek with Soda Water

(Sodalı Börek)

Main Ingredients:
3 pieces of Turkish yufka (or 14-15 sheets of phyllo pastry)
3/4 cup Perrier or any sparkling (mineral) water
2 lt oven proof tray, oiled

Sauce:
1/2 cup milk or Ayran
5-6 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs, beaten

For this recipe, choose one of the following fillings:

Cheese Filling:
1 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
2-3 tbsp dill chopped
1 egg yolk

Beef Filling:
250 g lean ground beef
1/2 cup red onion, sliced
2 medium-size tomatoes, peeled, discard the seeds, diced
1 cubanelle pepper, discard the seeds, chopped
1 long green pepper, hot, discard the seeds, chopped
Salt
Pepper

Garnish:
Sesame seeds
Nigella seeds

For cheese filling: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

For Beef Filling: Place the salt, black pepper, ground beef and onion in a pan. Cook at medium heat until the beef is done. Add the tomatoes and pepper. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Put aside.

Now we can move onto the main ingredients. First prepare the sauce; In a bowl, mix the eggs, olive oil and milk with a whisk. This liquid mix will go between every layer of the pastry, and will complement your choice of filling. The cheese or beef filling will go in the middle only.

Place the first yufka at the bottom and over the sides of the oiled casserole dish. Spread a few tablespoons of the sauce on top. Cut the second yufka in half and lay down on it and spread some sauce all over it. Layer down the second half of second yufka. Then, spread all the main filling onto the stack. Cut the third yufka in half. Cover the filling with half of it. Spread some sauce. Layer down the last half of yufka on it and spoon out some sauce all over. Then, fold the sides of the bottom layer over. Make sure that you pour the remaining sauce. Now pour the bottle of Soda all over the Borek slowly. Cover the tray with a plastic wrap.

Keep the borek in the fridge for 7-8 hours. Take it out from the fridge and leave at room temperature for about half an hour. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and Nigella seeds all over.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Bake until golden brown.

This recipe goes well with Compote on the side or Ayran. You can have it as a main dish (4 servings) or with afternoon tea as a snack.