Turkish Feta-Potato Rolls (Fırında Sigara Böreği)

Sigara Böreği literally means "cigarette pastry" in Turkish and they are usually deep fried. However, I didn't want to have a heavy snack, so instead I baked them with instructions from my mom.

Yufka, Turkish filo dough, is not as thin as the Greek one that you can find frozen at the stores here in States; it is usually round 15-20 inches in diameter. It is not easy to find Turkish filo dough here, but the Greek one is too thin and delicate for me to handle. So I decided to go online; the Turkish filo dough I used for these cigarette pastries is available at Tulumba.

1 pack of Turkish triangle filo dough (there were 28 pieces)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp yogurt
2 eggs (put aside one egg yolk to brush the tops)

for stuffing
2 medium size potatoes, peeled and boiled
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/3 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp black pepper (optional)

black seeds
sesame seeds

-Mash the potato, feta, parsley, and spices with the back of a fork (you can use only potato or feta for stuffing. you don't need to salt the stuffing if you'll use feta, but if not, make sure you salt it)
-Mix olive oil, yogurt, and 2 eggs(-1 egg yolk; we're saving one egg yolk for brushing). Put one layer of filo dough and brush with the mixture. Put the second one on top and brush it again (not to have dry pastries, we need two layers of filo dough wetted with oily yogurt sauce). Place one spoonful of stuffing on the wide side of filo dough. Fold the sides and roll. (Wet the tiny end with the yoogurty sauce if it doesn't stick) Place them on a greased oven tray.
-After you roll all of them, beat the egg yolk that you set aside. Brush it on top of rolls and sprinkle sesame or black seeds, or both.
-Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F for 20-30 minutes until they're golden brown.


























If you want to try them deep fried, you don't need the olive oil+yogurt+egg sauce. Take only one layer of filo dough, put the stuffing, roll, and deep fry it in a ligther oil like vegetable, corn, or canola oil until golden brown. ( Wet the tiny end of filo dough with water to stick) Place on a paper towel to soak excessive oil.

These pastries are good for breakfast or/and with tea. They're good for storing for emergencies, too. Just put them in the freezer seperately until frozen, then gather them in a bag/box until they're needed.

I don't know if you like savory and sweet things together, but you should try dipping your cigarette pastry in any kind of jam (my favorite is cherry), which is, I guess, a very Thracian thing to do in Turkey.