Potato Borek, Turkish Patatesli Börek

Soft potato seasoned with smoky heat from chilli peppers, fresh herbiness, and sweet onions — all wrapped up in the thinnest layers of buttery, flaky pastry. Turkish patatesli börek (potato borek) is the perfect appetizer for a Meditterean-style feast.

I’ve never been lucky enough to enjoy börek in Turkey — my obsession with the crispy little pastries started much closer to home.

Across the street, my local international market had a small bakery selling fresh Turkish bread and a selection of borek. I remember spinach borek, cheese borek, and potato borek, all in various shapes. Grabbing one in a little paper bag became routine every time I walked into town.

Since I moved away from home, I had to learn how to make these flaky pastries from scratch, at home. And let me tell you — perfecting this recipe was a revelation!

❓What is Potato Borek?

Popular across the former Ottoman Empire (Turkey, of course, plus Armenia, North Africa, and the Balkans), börek are pastries made from thin layers of phyllo pastry stuffed with various fillings — typically meat, cheese, greens, or vegetables.

Borek is sold in numerous distinct shapes, depending on the region. Here are a few:

• Gül böreği: Rolled into small spirals, these are among the most common and are usually stuffed with cheese.
• Çiğ börek: Dough is folded in half over its filling, making a semi-circle shape similar to empanadas or pasties. Often deep-fried rather than baked.
• Sigara böreği: Translating to “cigar/cigarette borek”, this is the shape I’ve chosen for this recipe. It’s similar to Asian spring rolls.
• Kol böreği: These borek are similar to cigar borek, but much longer. Cooks shape the borek into either “U”s or large spirals — Spanikopita, the Greek spinach and feta pie, fits into this category!
• Tepsi Böreği: Almost like a layered lasagna with phyllo pastry rather than pasta sheets, this translates to “tray borek.” Because it’s baked in one pan and then cut into individual portions, tray borek is the easiest to make.

So, now you know the basics of borek!

Now, let’s talk about our recipe. Undoubtedly more homely than cheese borek, potato stuffing has the advantage of being economical yet filling — and just as delicious.

At its heart, it’s probably not too dissimilar to anyone from a different culinary, culture, either. Potato Cornish pasties, anyone? Or how about Punjabi potato and pea samosa?

Both these recipes (and many more) feature crunchy pastry stuffed with scrumptiously seasoned potatoes, after all!

🥔 What is Borek Made Of?

While it may seem like you need a lot of ingredients to make patatesli börek, that’s totally not the case!

With only a handful of seasonings, this recipe keeps the potato mixture lightly spiced. It’s just enough to give our filling a moreish, irresistible quality, without being overpowering. Aromatics like onion and garlic do the rest of the work.

And since we use ready-made yufka pastry, all that’s left is the sauce we use to slather up each pastry layer (to make it crispy), and the toppings.

Let’s delve deeper into it (and we’ll also cover adjusting these ingredients for dietary requirements)!

The Filling

• Yufka pastry: Yufka is the Turkish name for phyllo (filo) pastry. It’s an unleavened pastry dough made from simple ingredients (flour, salt, oil, and water), and slowly stretched until thin.
  
  Yufka can be bought fresh (günlük yufka) or frozen. However, since even fresh yufka has a long shelf-life, I recommend buying it fresh. Any Turkish or Middle Eastern market worth their salt will sell a selection in the refrigerated area.
  
  There are two common varieties of yufka: the baklava type, which is much more similar to what people envision when you say phyllo; paper-thin, delicate, and rolled into rectangular sheets. The other variety is slightly thicker, partly-cooked, and rolled into round sheets — this is what you need for börek.
• Potatoes: The main character of our filling! Use any high-starch low moisture potatoes: If you’re in the U.K., King Edward’s or Maris Pipers are my go-to. For my U.S. peeps, opt for Russets.
• Olive oil: Fruity and slightly bitter, olive oil perfectly complements these Mediterranean flavours.
• Garlic: Adds depth to our filling with a mild sweetness.
• Spices: Cumin for its warm, sweet notes, plus red chilli powder (or Turkish pepper powder, if you can find it) and chilli flakes for its smoky, fruity heat, which flavours our potato filling.
• Thyme: Adds a peppery, slightly numbing effect. Read below for substitutes.
• Seeds: Including nigella, sesame, and poppy add crunch and nuttiness to the top of our patatesli börek. I like a mixture, but you can use just one of these three.
• Egg: For brushing the pastry to give it a gorgeous golden shine. Read further on for vegan alternatives.

The Pastry Sauce

Pastry sauce, you ask? Yes! This is a simple step that’s going to transform your potato borek from average to spectacular.

While you might be used to brushing layers of phyllo with butter, this mixture of ingredients takes things to the next level. You get the earth-shattering crispness, but you also get added flavour.

• Plain flour: Prevents the two yufka sheets from sticking together, thereby creating a beautifully crunchy layered effect. For my U.S. readers, use all-purpose (AP) flour.
• Vinegar: Helps the borek filling remain soft, while your dough will be crisp. I use apple cider vinegar, although white vinegar will also work.
• Yoghurt: Adds a scrumptious tanginess to the pastries. Use Greek yoghurt or thick natural Turkish yoghurt.
• Oil: Use olive oil for a light grassy flavour, or neutral oil if you just want richness. This adds shattering crispness to the yufka dough.

🧀 Variations and Substitutions

• Vegan potato borek. To make this patatesli börek recipe vegan, you must substitute two ingredients: the egg wash, and the yoghurt in the börek sauce.
  
  For the vegan egg wash substitute, you can use aquafaba (liquid from the chickpea can/soaking water) or a mixture of high-protein non-dairy milk (like soy) with vegan butter. These combinations replicate the fat content of the egg, creating a glossy golden finish to our borek.
  
  Yoghurt is a breeze to substitute. Simply use any neutral-flavoured non-dairy yoghurt, such as soy.
• Cheesy potato borek. If you love cheese börek and potato borek, why not combine the two recipes? Go the traditional route by mixing feta (beyaz peynir) into the potatoes, or choose gooey, melty mozzarella for a modern option.
• Spicy potato borek. While this recipe boasts a pleasant layer of heat, it’s nothing that’ll knock your socks off. You can up the spiciness by increasing the quantity of chilli powder or by adding chopped fresh chillies.

Furthermore, you can subtly vary the taste of potato borek by using whichever fresh herbs you have on hand. I use thyme in this recipe for its fresh, aromatic, numbing flavour, but mint or parsley are classic additions. While not traditional, coriander (cilantro) would also be delicious.

🧑‍🍳 How to Make Potato Borek

With these easy step-by-step photos and matching instructions, making potato borek at home is a breeze. There may be lots of steps, but there are no complicated techniques.

Even the shaping/rolling of the borek is easy. It’s just like rolling a burrito or Asian spring rolls — Sure, you may not get super neat patatesli börek like a Turkish grandmother, but they’ll be just as tasty!

🧑‍🏫 Expert Tips for Potato Borek

Use börek yufka for the most authentic texture. While you can use baklava yufka or phyllo/filo, you’ll need to use twice the amount of pastry sheets, and it won’t be quite the same. Fresh yufka is easier to work with than frozen.

Cover your pastry while you’re not using it. Fresh yufka dries out easily, which can make it exceedingly hard to work with.

To prevent this, cover any unused pastry with a damp towel when it’s not in use.

Don’t skip the pastry sauce. This is what lends our borek its distinctive golden-brown appearance and moreish texture. Not only are the outer layers crispy, but our filling remains moist and soft, rather than dry.

Don’t overfill the borek. Getting the right ratio of soft, gently spiced potato filling to crisp pastry is crucial for a pastry everyone will rave about!

Besides, over-filling your borek can make it harder to roll/shape. See the step-by-step pictures above for visual representation.

🫙 Storage and Reheating

To store potato borek once cooked, store them in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to four days.

You can eat borek cold, but if you prefer to reheat the potato borek, pop it in the oven at low heat until the pastry is crispy again. Alternatively, you can heat them in a frying pan on the stovetop.

Furthermore, one of my favourite things about börek is the fact it freezes excellently. After shaping but before cooking, freeze the pastries on a lined baking pan for around two hours — this stops the borek from sticking together). Once frozen, you can place the borek in a bag or airtight container and freeze for up to three months.

🥗 Serving Suggestions for Potato Borek

Potato borek can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner. It’s all down to how you serve the pastries!

For breakfast, enjoy the potato borek alongside a glass or two of Turkish tea (side note — did you know that Turkey has the largest per capita tea consumption?!).

Alternatively, for a lunch or light dinner, pair patatesli börek with yoghurt sauce or spicy tomato dip, a fresh green salad or pomegranate salad, and olives.

Potato borek can be served hot or cold (or even at room temperature!).