Sigara Böreği (Cheese-Filled Filo Cigars)

Name: Sigara Böreği (Cheese-Filled Filo Cigars)
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 250 g Yufka or filo pastry sheets; 250 g White cheese (beyaz peynir or feta), crumbled; 1 Egg; 0.5 tsp (2.5 ml) Turkish red pepper flakes (optional); 0.25 tsp (1.25 ml) Black pepper; 3 tbsp (45 ml) Water, for sealing; 500 ml Sunflower oil, for frying; Flat-leaf parsley

Triangles of tissue-thin yufka rolled tightly around white cheese and parsley into slim cigars and fried crisp and golden — the little meze that vanishes fastest from every Turkish table.

Source

Recette de Turkish home kitchens · 🏺 Traditionnel · Household and neighbourhood cooking carried across Türkiye — no single author owns these dishes

Turkish · traditional dish — An ownerless traditional dish, so no individual cook is credited. The cited article documents börek as a family of thin-pastry pies, of which sigara böreği is the cigar-rolled, usually cheese-filled fried form. Quantities and step wording here are this book's own.

Background on Wikipedia ↗

Watch it being made · 3 videos

The Mediterranean Dish Phitzee Raku Eats

⏱ 45 min🍽 6 portions🔥 220 kcal🇹🇷 Turquie

VégétarienSans fruits à coqueHalal

Étapes

Mash the crumbled cheese with a fork, then mix in the egg, chopped parsley, pepper flakes and black pepper into a thick, spreadable filling.
Lay a sheet of yufka on the bench and cut it into large triangles, like slices of a pizza, about 8 per round.
Take one triangle with the wide edge nearest you and the point facing away.
Spoon a small finger of filling along the wide edge, leaving a gap at each side.
Fold the two sides in over the ends of the filling to trap it.
Roll up firmly from the wide edge toward the point into a tight, slim cigar.
💡 Roll tight — a loose cigar drinks up oil and falls apart in the pan.
Brush the final point with a little water and press to seal so it can't unroll in the oil.
Shape the rest the same way and set them seam-side down.
Heat the oil to 175°C — a scrap of pastry should turn golden in about 30 seconds.
Fry the cigars a few at a time, turning, for 2–3 minutes until evenly golden and crisp.
Drain on paper towel and serve hot, while the cheese inside is still soft.

💡 Astuces

For a lighter version, brush the cigars with oil and bake at 200°C for 15–18 minutes until golden instead of frying.
A spoon of mashed potato or spinach mixed into the cheese makes an easy variation.