Bourekas (Israeli Cheese Pastries)

About This Recipe

Bourekas are Israel's most ubiquitous pastry — flaky triangles or squares of puff pastry (or sometimes filo or yufka dough) wrapped around a creamy, salty filling of feta and ricotta, sometimes spinach, sometimes mashed potato. Brought to Israel by Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews from Ottoman-era Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and the Balkans (where they're called börek, byrek, or buureka), bourekas became a national breakfast and snack food. Found at every Israeli bakery, every kosher cafe, every Friday-morning kiddush spread. Eaten for breakfast with a hard-boiled egg, tomato, and a small pickle (the classic bakery combo), or as a snack with sweet tea. The cheese version is the most beloved; spinach-cheese (sabanech) and potato (kartoshka) are runners-up.

Ingredients

Serves 12

• 2 sheetsgood all-butter puff pastry (about 500 g total), thawed
• 250 gfeta cheese, crumbled
• 250 gricotta or fresh farmer's cheese
• 1 largeegg yolk (for filling)
• 2 tbspfinely chopped fresh dill or parsley
• 1/2 tspfreshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tspfreshly grated nutmeg
• 1 largeegg, beaten (for egg wash)
• 1 tbspsesame seeds (white and black mixed)
• 1 tspnigella seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the filling

   In a bowl, mash feta with a fork until crumbly but not dust. Add ricotta, egg yolk, dill, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix gently — taste; feta is salty so usually no extra salt needed.

2. 2

   Roll the pastry

   On a lightly floured surface, roll each puff pastry sheet to 30 × 40 cm (about 3 mm thick). Cut into 6 squares — 12 total.

3. 3

   Fill

   Place 2 heaped tablespoons of filling slightly off-center on each square. Don't overfill — bourekas leak.

4. 4

   Fold into triangles

   Fold one corner over the filling diagonally to meet the opposite corner, creating a triangle. Press the edges firmly with a fork to seal.

5. 5

   Decorate

   Place bourekas on a parchment-lined baking tray, leaving 3 cm between each. Brush the tops with beaten egg. Sprinkle generously with sesame seeds and nigella seeds.

6. 6

   Bake

   Bake at 200°C for 22-28 minutes until deep golden brown and visibly puffed. The bottoms should be golden — if pale, give them another 3-4 minutes.

7. 7

   Cool slightly

   Cool on the tray 5 minutes — bourekas hot from the oven release scalding cheese filling. After 5 minutes they're hot but bite-safe.

8. 8

   Serve

   Serve warm at breakfast with a hard-boiled egg, sliced tomato, a few pickled cucumbers, and a glass of sweet hot tea. Or pack into lunch boxes — they're excellent at room temperature too.

Variations

• •

  Bourekas spinach (sabanech): replace half the cheese with cooked-and-drained spinach.

• •

  Bourekas kartoshka: mashed potato + caramelized onion + butter filling.

• •

  Bourekas pizza-style: tomato sauce + mozzarella + olives. Modern Israeli kid favorite.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days; freeze 2 months. Reheat at 180°C for 8 minutes to re-crisp. Microwave makes them sad.

Frequently Asked Questions