Making Armenian Cheese Boerek
Monday is a great day. The weekend is over and we are back to business here. Easter was lovely and tiring all at once. Between attending church and the preparations, I am spent, but we pulled it off.
So, how about a little distraction before the week of painting gets under way?
Part of my contribution to Easter dinner was baking a favorite Armenian cheese pie we call boerek, with homemade phyllo dough. It's not exactly as thin as regular phyllo, a little thicker and, in my opinion, tastier. My grandmother was an expert, but I try my best.
The trick is to roll it out so that you can see through the dough. That's when I know it's thin enough. I use a dowel I fashioned from a broken broom stick and sanded off the paint. I roll it and flip it to stretch the dough.
When the dough is ready I lightly butter the surface and fold, butter and fold, until I have a neat square. I pop it in the refrigerator to rest, work the next ball of dough, roll out the first to the size of my pan, and fill with muenster and mozzarella cheeses, and a sprinkle of feta. It bakes until brown and melty.
Sorry, there are no photos of the finished cheese boerek. And there is none left!
Hi Dora, love the photos of boerek making. I have never done it (my background is English/Irish/Scottish) and became Armenian by association. The fun thing is - I have that cook book! My husband's great aunt gave it to me the one time we visited, decades ago, when we went through Pennsylvania. I have used it for other recipes but the pastry is beyond me. Looks delicious, as I know it is. Happy baking and painting!
ReplyDeleteLorraine, that is one old book! I don't actually use the dough recipes in it except to find out how much flour to use. My grandmother made it way thinner than me, and used it for baklava too. I just do my best!
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