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pumpkin bourekas recipe
Photo credit Susan Barocas

Pumpkin Bourekas

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Bourekas de kalavasa or “pumpkin turnovers” are the perfect Sephardic dish for fall.

  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients

Units
  • 1 15ounce can pumpkin puree (about 1 ¾ cups)
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese with 2 tablespoons removed and set aside
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp cardamom (optional)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 package filo (phyllo) dough, defrosted according to package directions
  • ½ cup olive oil or melted butter

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 1 or 2 baking sheets or cover with parchment paper and lightly grease. 
  2. Put all the ingredients except the 2 Tbsp of parmesan, the filo and olive oil or butter in a large mixing bowl and blend very well. Set aside.
  3. Open one package of filo and carefully unroll the dough. Using a sharp, large knife or a pizza cutter, cut the stacked sheets of filo the long way into 3 equal strips for larger bourekas or 4 strips for smaller.
  4. As you work, keep the dough soft and pliable until it’s ready to be used by covering with a very slightly damp cotton towel or plastic wrap or aluminum foil. 
  5. Uncover one strip of stacked filo. Working quickly, lightly brush the top of a filo strip with oil or butter.
  6. Place about 1 teaspoon of filling on a bottom corner near you. At that corner, pull apart the top 2 strips of filo from the stack and fold it over so the corner with the filling crosses diagonally to the opposite edge, covering the filling. Then fold up triangle to square off the strip again. Repeat by folding a third time diagonally the opposite direction from the original fold, then square off again. Continue folding this way to the end of the strip. (Folding a boureka is exactly like folding a flag.)
  7. When folded to the end, brush the edge of the dough with oil or butter and wrap it around the triangle  to close it. Don’t worry if the dough cracks or tears. Just use oil or butter to “glue” the dough back together.  
  8. Place on the prepared baking sheet and brush the outside very lightly with oil or butter. Repeat until all the filling is used.
  9. Boureka triangles should be close, but not touching, on the baking sheet. When the sheet is full, sprinkle each boureka with a little of the 2 Tbsp of parmesan cheese that was set aside.
  10. Bake about 20 minutes until golden. Serve warm.
  11. Baked bourekas can be refrigerated or frozen, then reheated as needed. To reheat, place bourekas on a parchment-covered baking sheet in a preheated 350-degree oven until heated through, 10 minutes if defrosted or 20-25 minutes if frozen. 
  • Author: Susan Barocas
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Sephardic