Crunchy on the outside, made of thin layers of dough, and usually filled with cheese, with or spinach — and in its local version, potatoes — bourekas have long been an icon of the Israeli food scene. Yet like many other foods, “bourekas are a synthesis of cultures and styles…. that have been transformed and transferred, on their way to becoming a ubiquitous treat in modern Israel,” as Gil Marks writes in his important “Encyclopedia of Jewish Food.” So, how did bourekas get to Israel, and how did they adapt?

We traced the flakey pastry’s many transformations and fascinating voyage from the meals of nomads to royal tables, and from street stands to hot restaurants. Read more about its history here. For this bourekas collection, we gathered recipes from exceptional home cooks, professional chefs, cookbooks from our library, and our partner’s archive, the Jewish Food Society.