Borek with Kataifi
Kataifi, or shredded phyllo dough, is a very common dessert ingredient in the Middle Eastern, Turkish and Greek cuisines. Like baklava, it is sweetened with sugar syrup or honey. There are some varities for preparing it. The most popular one is "kunefe" which has unsalted cheese in it and is served while it is still warm.
In Turkey, it is very easy to find a phyllo dough maker, and most of the time those stores have kataifi dough as well. In the US, however, I could not find uncooked kataifi for a very long time. There are precooked kataifi in the Middle Eastern, Turkish or Greek markets, and as you can imagine, you have limited options with those.
When my friend told me that I can find kataifi in the frozen dessert section in the supermarkets, I was excited and bought one. After an unsuccessful trial, I threw it away, deep inside the refrigerator.
This weekend, I decided to give kataifi another chance. I checked my supplies, and realized that I have got barely one cup of sugar. Obviously the sugar was not enough. Also I was too lazy to go out for shopping.
A question popped up in my mind: "Who said, kataifi dough has to be used for desserts? If I change the other ingredients it may be a borek as well." I knew what my mother was going to say, "It can be, why not?". 
(I like my mother's approach for making up recipes.) So I gave it a try.
I was not sure about to output, so I used a smaller portion of my half package kataifi dough. It was delicious, and I am planning to try it again with different fillings soon.
Ingredients:
8 oz shredded phyllo dough (kataifi)
1/2 cup cooked lentils
1 medium sized onion
2 tbsp feta cheese
1/4 cups chopped parsley
salt and spices
2/3 cups of milk
4 tbsp oil
1. Mix lentil, onion, parsley, and feta in a bowl. Add salt and spices.
2. Mix milk and oil in another bowl.
3. Gently open half of the kataifi with your fingers on a shallow frying pan.
4. Spread first half of the milk-oil mixture, than the lentil mixture on the dough.
5. Gently open the other half on top of lentil mixture, and spread the remainin milk.
6. Close the lid, and cook it at a low temperature, until the bottom turn golden brown.
7. Turn the borek upside down, using the lid or a flat dish. Continue cooking until the other side also turn to golden brown.
Serve it while it is still hot.
Leave a comment