BreakfastSnacks & starters Turkish
Mushroom börek
A Turkish tray börek made with ready-made yufka, a well-browned mushroom and parsley filling and a simple egg and milk sauce. Perfect for breakfast or with afternoon tea.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 55 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
Button mushroom
Börek is Turkey's favourite savoury pastry, and this mushroom version, known in Turkey as mantarlı börek, is a great alternative to the classic cheese or spinach fillings. It's made with yufka: large, round sheets of unleavened dough that are a little thicker and sturdier than filo. You'll find yufka in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops, but filo works too; use about 9 sheets instead of 3 and layer them in threes.
The only secret is cooking the mushrooms until every drop of liquid has evaporated. A dry filling lets the pastry soak up the sauce and bake through properly, top and bottom. Scrunching the sheets means no rolling and no fuss, and you'll have a whole tray in about an hour.
Ingredients
Tick them off as you go.
Filling
Börek
For the top
Method
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-
Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth and cut into small dice; finely chop the onion and parsley. Keep the yufka sheets in their packet or under a damp cloth so they don't dry out.
~8 min -
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and soften the onion over a medium heat for 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, turn up the heat and cook for 8 minutes until all the liquid they release has evaporated; there should be nothing left in the pan, or the börek will turn soggy. Season with the salt, pepper and chilli flakes.
~12 min -
Take the filling off the heat, stir in the parsley and spread it out on a plate to cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180 °C (conventional) and whisk the eggs, milk and oil together in a bowl to make the sauce.
~10 min -
Oil a tray of roughly 30x40 cm. Lay the first sheet of yufka in it with the edges hanging over the sides and drizzle with 3–4 tablespoons of the sauce. Tear the second sheet into four, dip each piece in the sauce and scrunch it loosely over the base, then spread over half the filling.
~8 min -
Tear the third sheet into four as well, dip and scrunch the pieces over the top and scatter over the rest of the filling. Fold the overhanging edges in to close the börek, pour over the remaining sauce and give the tray a gentle shake so it seeps down to the bottom.
~10 min -
Beat the egg yolk with the milk, brush it over the top and sprinkle with sesame or nigella seeds. Cut right down to the base into squares so the sauce reaches every layer and the pieces come apart easily later.
~5 min -
Bake on the middle shelf for 40 minutes, until the top is a deep golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the tray. Check the underneath; if it's still pale, move it to the bottom shelf for the last 5 minutes.
~40 min -
Take the börek out of the oven, cover with a clean tea towel and rest for 7 minutes so the layers soften slightly and the squares hold together. Serve warm.
~7 min
Enjoy!
The mushroom in this recipe
Mushroom swaps
Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatusTear into strips; it releases less water, so cut the frying time by 3–4 minutes.
Shiitake mushroom Lentinula edodesDiscard the stems and slice the caps thinly; mixed half and half with button mushrooms it gives a deeper-tasting filling.
Tips
- Add a handful of crumbled feta or grated cheddar to the filling for a classic cheese and mushroom börek.
- Yufka cracks once it dries out, so use each sheet as soon as you unfold it and keep the rest covered.
- You can assemble and cut it the night before, keep it in the fridge and bake it in the morning; add 5 minutes to the baking time.
- Serve with ayran (a salty yoghurt drink) or a glass of strong black tea.
Storage
Leave it covered at room temperature for no more than a few hours, then keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 3 days. Reheat in a 170 °C oven for 8–10 minutes to crisp the top again. You can freeze baked squares for up to a month and reheat them in the oven straight from frozen.
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Kitchen guides
Before you cook: clean, store, dry
How to clean mushroomsPractical ways to clean everything from button mushrooms to morels without waterlogging them or ruining their texture.
How to store mushroomsHow to keep fresh, cooked, frozen and dried mushrooms at their best — and how to tell when they’ve gone bad.
How to dry mushroomsA step-by-step guide to drying mushrooms at home in the oven, in a dehydrator or on a string — and how to store and rehydrate them.