Ingredients
Units
For the filling:
- 1 eggplant
- sunflower or canola oil
- 1 leek, cleaned and chopped into small chunks
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup feta cheese
- handful of cilantro, finely chopped
To assemble:
- 2 sheets store-bought puff pastry, defrosted
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp filling (or filling of your choice)
- 1 egg yolk + 2 tsp cool water
- 1 Tbsp sesame or poppy seeds (optional)
- ¼ Tbsp kosher salt
- ½ Tbsp ground black pepper
- nonstick cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Slice the eggplant into 1/4-inch rounds. Place rounds on a paper towel and dust them with kosher salt and let sit for at least 30 minutes. The kosher salt is drawing out moisture from the eggplant so that it will be more crispy was baked or fried. After 30 minutes, pat dry and cut into cubes. Fill a frying pan with 1 inch sunflower or canola oil and set on stove top burner at medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add the eggplant and fry until each side is golden brown. Let fried eggplant cool on a paper-towel lined plate and set aside.
- While the eggplant is cooling, add another 2 Tbsp oil to the pan.
- Once, hot, add chopped leeks and garlic, and sauté on medium-high heat until fragrant (about 5 minutes). Add mixture to plate of cooling eggplant.
- Place eggplant, leeks, cilantro, feta, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl and stir to combine. Reserve mixture.
- On a lightly floured surface, unfold one of your puff pastry sheets. Use a rolling pin to roll out the sheet to a 12×12-inch square. Cut the sheet of puff pastry dough into nine equal-sized squares, each about 4×4 inches large.
- Place 1 Tbsp filling in the center of each dough square.
- Fold the dough squares by grasping one corner and folding it over to the opposite corner to make triangles. Pinch firmly along the outer open edge of the triangles to seal. Go over each edge with a finger dip of water to help seal the dough.
- Spray your baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Place your bourekas on each sheet, evenly spaced, giving them some room to expand during baking.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and 2 tsp cool water. Use a pastry brush to brush a light layer of the egg wash onto the surface of each boureka. Sprinkle each boureka with sesame seeds if desired.
- Bake the bourekas for about 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Israeli