Bourekas With Potato and Cheese Filling

Ziona Cohen

1 hour

24 bourekas

Baking tray with triangular puff pastries are presented atop a white and blue tablecloth

Photo by Jake Cohen

Photo by Jake Cohen

Staring at the glossy high rises of Tel Aviv today, it’s jarring to remember that in the early years of the country, part of the population lived in huts built atop sand dunes. Ziona Cohen’s mother was one of them. Her parents, Esther and Shmuel Pitchon, who immigrated from Turkey, lived in a shack with an outhouse in Holon, a town a few miles to the south. Ziona, like her mother, reserves elaborate recipes like these bourekas stuffed with feta, rich yogurt, and potatoes for Shabbat. Serve them alongside a chopped salad and fresh fruit for brunch.

Cook’s note: Puff pastry requires an overnight rest in the refrigerator to defrost, so be sure to go shopping atleast a day before making this recipe. 

Read about Ziona’s family on the Jewish Food Society archive and find more Shavuot recipes here.

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Ingredients

  • 12 ounces russet potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 cup quark or Greek yogurt
  • ⅓ cup (3 ounces) feta 
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 packages frozen puff pastry (17 ounces total), thawed in the refrigerator overnight
  • Sesame seeds

Preparation

  1.  Preheat the oven to 375°F and line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Wash the potatoes with cold water, pierce them with a knife or fork, and place them in a microwave-safe bowl. Drizzle with the oil and cook in the microwave until soft, flipping halfway through, 7 to 9 minutes. Let the potato cool, then peel and mash. You should have 1½ cups of mashed potato.
  2.  To the mashed potato, add the quark (or yogurt), feta, half of the beaten egg, salt, and pepper. Mix until evenly combined; you should have about 2½ cups of filling.
  3.  On a cutting board, spread 1 of the 4 sheets of puff pastry (each should be a 9-inch square) and cut into 6 even rectangles.
  4. Take each piece and shape it carefully in your hands into a square. Place 1 tablespoon of potato-cheese filling in the middle of the square, and close the dough from one diagonal corner to the opposite, creating a triangle. Close the open ends lightly to allow proper rising.
  5.  Place the triangle on the prepared sheet pan and continue with the rest of the dough and filling until you have 24 bourekas. The bourekas can be placed right next to each other, as they won’t spread much. Each pan should hold 12 bourekas.
  6.  Using a pastry brush or your fingers, brush the remaining beaten egg over the bourekas then sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds.
  7. Place the pans in the oven and bake, rotating halfway through, until golden brown, 30 minutes. Serve immediately or at room temperature

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