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Water Borek with Ground Beef Recipe

Pastry
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Pastry
Cuisine: Turkish
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories:
Author: BreadandSalt

Ingredients

For Filling:

  • 500-600 gr Ground beef
  • 1 Normal size onion chopped,
  • 4 Tablespoons sunflower oil or olive oil,
  • 1/2 Teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 Teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 Cup Butter melted, (nearly 200 gram),

For Phyllo Dough:

  • 4-5 Cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting,
  • 6 Normal size eggs
  • 1 Cup warm milk
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Sunflower oil

To cook the phyllo sheets:

  • 3 Liter water to boil in a pot
  • 3 Liter cold water in another pot
  • 1/2 Tablespoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Sunflower oil or olive oil,

Instructions

  • 1- First of all, put your all ingredients on the work surface. Then make the filling first. For filling: stir fry the chopped onions with a little sunflower oil (or olive oil) for a while (3-5 minutes). Then, add ground meat, salt and ground black pepper and continue to frying until their colour changes. (if needed, you can add some more oil). Then put it aside. Also, keep the melted butter in another bowl on the side.
  • 2- Secondly, make your phyllo sheets; combine flour, milk and eggs in a large bowl. Knead dough well either with your hands (or in your stand mixer). Bye the way, add little flour if necessary. It won’t be a soft dough due to the eggs (Actually, to make the phyllo sheets is very similar to making pasta). Knead dough until the dough becomes as soft as your ear lobes. Leave the dough for a rest for about 30 minutes.
  • 3- Then transfer the dough on the kitchen counter and knead again and then roll it into a log and cut it into 8-10 balls. Then cover them with a damp kitchen towel so that they don’t dry when you are rolling them out one by one. Dust the kitchen counter with a little flour each time you roll out a dough ball. Stack the phyllo sheets on the kitchen counter. Make sure you sprinkle a generous amount of flour between each so that they don’t stick.
  • 4- Then brush a baking tray with oil and place an uncooked phyllo sheet in the baking tray as the bottom of your water borek. Then cook the remaining phyllo sheets.
  • 5- For cooking the phyllo sheets In simmering water; fill a large pot with water, add in salt and sunflower oil. Bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with cold water and put it aside. With the help of a thin rolling pin, take the phyllo sheet to the pot and drop it into the simmering water. Keep it there for 2-3 minutes and take it out with a large slotted spoon. Then transfer it into the cold water to stop cooking. Repeat the same process for the remaining phyllo sheets.
  • 6- You know the first phyllo sheet you place uncooked in the baking tray! Brush the top of it with melted butter. Then place a cooked phyllo sheet on that first one. Brush it with melted butter too. Repeat with 3 more phyllo sheets. Then spread the ground beef and onions mixture on the fifth phyllo sheet. Place the 6th phyllo sheet on it. Brush it with melted butter and repeat with the remaining sheets. (It is optional: Cover the tray with aluminum folio and keep it in the fridge so the phyllo sheet / yufka absorbs the melted butter for about half an hour. Or You can do all this the day before, to make it even better).
  • 7- Finally bake it in a preheated oven at 350F/180C. for about 40-45 minutes or until golden (or cook it on the stowtop on low heat). Then cut it into squares and serve.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

https://breadvesalt.blogspot.com/2021/12/turkish-lasagna-water-borek-with-ground.html