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Homemade Balkan bourekas with eggplant, tomatoes, Jarlsberg and feta cheese
Crispy on the inside and brimming with gooey goodness on the inside, Balkan bourekas are little pockets of flaky homemade dough that are filled to bursting with luscious eggplant, cooked in aromatic cumin-laced tomato sauce and paired with gooey Jarlsberg cheese. A Middle Eastern take on calzone!
Servings 6 people
Ingredients
- For the dough:
- ½ kg 3 cups flour
- 100 grams ½ cup butter cubed
- 100 ml ½ cup minus a tablespoon olive oil
- 120 mL ½ cup water
- 5 g ½ TB baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt flat
- For filling:
- 1 large eggplant cut into small squares
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin ground
- 1 handful parsley, chopped finely
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped finely optional
- 100 g feta crumbled
- 150 g Jarlsberg cheese grated
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
For topping:
- 1 egg
- Sesame
Instructions
To prepare dough:
- In a large bowl, mix flour, butter, oil, water, baking powder and salt into a uniform dough. Work with your hands until dough is soft and pliable, about 5 minutes.
To prepare filling:
- Preheat pan to medium-high heat. Start by adding 2 TBs of olive oil. Add cubed eggplant and cook, stirring often and adding oil as necessary, until browned on all sides. Be liberal and ensure to use the total ¼ cup of oil - eggplant loves oil! This should take about 15 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and cook until their raw flavour passes and tomatoes break down into sauce, about 10 minutes. Add herbs, cumin, salt and pepper and cook an additional 5 minutes. Add feta and 120g of Jarlsberg, reserving 30 grams. Taste and correct seasonings as needed.
- Preheat oven to 360Arrange a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To assemble Balkan bourekas: Roll dough into balls, each weighing about 35 grams. Roll each ball with a rolling pin. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each dough circle. Distribute remaining Jarlsberg cheese, sprinkling it on top of each bourekas. Close each bourekas into a crescent shape. Press on the edges of the dough with a fork or pinch them with your fingers to ensure proper sealing.
- Transfer Balkan bourekas to baking sheet. In a small bowl, scramble egg with a drop of water. Brush the top of each bourekas with egg wash, and sprinkle with sesame.
- Bake in a 360F oven for 25 minutes, until Balkan bourekas are golden. Remove, let cool for a minute and eat immediately for that fresh-out-of-the-oven taste and maximum cheesy goodness.