Baked Spinach and Feta Sigara Böreği

La storia di questo piatto

Sigara böreği is a cigar-shaped pastry of Turkish kitchens, where thin yufka and a savoury filling of spinach and feta are an everyday comfort. This baked version keeps that familiar soul while lightening it with sesame and, if you like, nigella seeds.

Ingredienti

• 6 sheets Yufka (or phyllo) pastry
• 750 g Fresh spinach
• 350 g Feta cheese
• 1 medium White or yellow onion
• 200 ml Melted butter
• 4 tablespoons Olive oil
• 0.25 teaspoon Nutmeg
• q.b. g Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons White sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon Nigella seeds (çörek otu), optional

Preparazione

1. Pour 4 tablespoons of oil into a large pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot (you can feel the heat with your hand a few centimeters above it), add the finely chopped white or yellow onion. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. After 5-6 minutes, the onion will turn translucent and the edges will start to turn lightly golden. You will smell a sweet, pleasant aroma: when there is no longer a raw onion smell and the scent is sweetish, it is ready. If you smell something bitter or burnt, the heat is too high.
2. Add the cleaned and washed spinach to the golden onion, in handfuls if the pan is full, letting each handful wilt before adding the next. Raise the heat to medium-high and stir often with the spoon. The spinach will shrink and darken: from a large pile it will become a compact mass. A lot of water will also come out of the spinach and the pan will steam a little. When the spinach no longer releases liquid (after 8-10 minutes), transfer it to a colander. Using the back of a spatula (or the spoon), gently press the colander to drain all the water without crushing the spinach too much. Let it cool slightly.
3. Put the drained spinach into a medium bowl. Using your fingers, crumble the feta directly into the bowl into small pieces. Add a generous pinch of nutmeg (a quarter teaspoon; grate it fresh if possible, as it will have more flavor), salt and pepper to taste (feta is already salty: taste before adding salt). With a wooden spoon, gently mix for 2-3 minutes until the feta is evenly distributed throughout the mixture. The feta should not become a smooth cream, but should remain in small pieces scattered through the spinach.
4. This is the baked version of the small rolls (sigara böreği), different from the spiral tepsi böreği baked in a pan. Gently warm the melted butter until lukewarm (not hot). Cut each sheet in half into two semicircles or two rectangular halves, to obtain 12 pieces: keep them covered with a damp cloth. If using Turkish yufka (thicker and sturdier), lightly dampen it with a veil of water and butter to soften it; if using Greek phyllo (thinner and more fragile), always keep it covered with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. Place one half on a clean, dry work surface, with the wider side facing you. Using a soft brush, brush the half with the lukewarm melted butter up to the edges. Spread 2 tablespoons of the spinach-feta filling in a compact line along the wider edge, leaving about 2 centimeters free on the sides.
5. Fold the edge over the filling and begin rolling firmly but without tearing, as if wrapping a gift. After the first turn, fold the left and right edges inward so the filling is contained and does not spill out the sides. Continue rolling tightly to the tip, producing a small compact cigar, as the sigara böreği tradition requires. Brush the tip with a little butter to seal it. The roll should be well closed, uniform, and free of visible air bubbles.
6. Repeat the previous steps with the remaining pastry halves until you have 12 small cigar-shaped sigara böreği (about 3 per serving). Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, with the seam facing down. Leave about 1-2 centimeters of space between them so the pastry can expand and bake evenly.
7. Using the brush, spread the remaining melted butter over the top of each börek, making two crossing passes to cover everything well. Sprinkle them with 2 tablespoons of white sesame seeds (and, if you like, the teaspoon of nigella seeds). Bake in an oven already preheated to 200°C. After 20-25 minutes, the börek will be golden across the whole surface, the sesame seeds will have turned golden, and the pastry will feel crisp to the touch. You will smell an intense, fragrant aroma coming from the oven.
8. Remove the tray from the oven using sturdy oven mitts and place it on a work surface. Let the börek rest for 5 minutes at room temperature: this allows the pastry to settle and become even crispier, without the filling spilling out when you cut them. Serve the börek still warm, optionally accompanied by Greek yogurt as a dip.