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Mushroom & Cheese Bourekas (savory puff pastry triangles)

You can use my puff pastry recipe to make desserts and savory appetizers, but my favorite snack from the Middle East is the bureka. Burekas, sometimes written "bourekas," are triangles of puff pastry baked with different fillings. The most common are perhaps cheese and potato or spinach. This is similar to the Greek's spanakopita, or even Iraqi sambusacs. In all cases, we love eating with our hands!

To make these delicious triangles, take out your puff pastry and allow it to thaw a little. It doesn't need to reach room temperature, but you should be able to work with it. In a frying pan sauté the onions in butter. Then add the mushrooms and a bit of salt, allowing the mushrooms to cook and steam off excessive water. Then combine the herbs and remove from heat. Once the mixture has cooled you can add the feta cheese and one beaten egg—the egg will help hold everything together.

Roll out the puff pastry dough into approximately 20 4-inch squares. Place a heaping spoonful of the shitake-feta mixture in the center and folded the square over into a triangle to seal it. Then, brush the top with egg wash (egg mixed with a bit of water or milk) and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. Place the burekas in a 350ºF oven for about 30 minutes, or until they are a golden brown color.

Tips

Potato and cheese burekas are another one of my favorites. Simply boil some potatoes and combine with your favorite cheese (even mozzarella will do).

Puff pastry dough will only taste sooo good if you make it at home. However, you can buy it ready-made in the supermarket. If you go this route, try to find one made with butter and not shortening.

Alternatively, you can use filo dough, which is lower in calories. However, it will taste more like a spanakopita than a bureka!