Vegan Spinach and 'Feta' Borek

Turkish Borek is a popular pastry dish made with paper-thin yufka dough and all sorts of filling. Here’s how to make them completely vegan with dairy-free cheese, a vegan egg substitute, and crumbled tofu.

This savory finger food is actually very simple to make, and it’s totally customizable. Fill your borek with tomato paste, veggie ground ‘meat’, cashew cream, mashed potatoes, or with a veganized version of the traditional spinach and feta filling.

What’s also fun about borek is that you can shape them into different shapes: Individual-serving triangles, cigars, spirals, pouches, or make them into one large pastry to share.

Turkish Borek is a popular pastry dish made with paper-thin yufka dough and all sorts of filling. Here’s how to make them completely vegan with dairy-free cheese, a vegan egg substitute, and crumbled tofu.

This savory finger food is actually very simple to make, and it’s totally customizable. Fill your borek with tomato paste, veggie ground ‘meat’, cashew cream, mashed potatoes, or with a veganized version of the traditional spinach and feta filling.

What’s also fun about borek is that you can shape them into different shapes: Individual-serving triangles, cigars, spirals, pouches, or make them into one large pastry to share.

Makes 16 pieces | Active Time: | Total Time: 50 minutes

Chef's Notes

How to Make this Vegan Recipe on a Budget:
Use frozen spinach instead of fresh.

If you can’t find any inexpensive egg substitutes, simply use chickpea flour (besan) instead.

Try other budget-friendly filling options, such as mashed potatoes, or tomato and textured vegetable protein (TVP) mix

Prepare this recipe in a batch. Simply freeze borek (before baking), then when ready to eat, bake straight from the freezer.

Step 1: Make the Borek

10.5 oz/300 g fresh or frozen spinach
2 tbsp vegan egg substitute
7 oz/200 g firm tofu, crumbled
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp white wine vinegar
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chili flakes (optional)
8 sheets of phyllo or yufka dough (10.5 oz/300 g)
1/3 cup of vegetable oil

If using fresh spinach, blanch them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer to ice water. If using frozen spinach, simply thaw spinach.

Place spinach in a fine mesh sieve, and press out as much water, as possible. Transfer spinach to a mixing bowl.

Mix together vegan egg substitute with 1/4 cup of water, or as package instructions suggest. Add vegan egg to spinach together with crumbled tofu, nutritional yeast, vinegar, garlic, and chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and mix well together.

Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C.

Lay a sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface. Brush with oil, and lay another sheet on top. Cover the rest of the dough with a damp towel to avoid drying out.

Using a knife or a scissor, cut the sheet into 4 long strips. Strips will be about 17 inch/45 cm long, and 4 inch/10 cm wide, but size may vary slightly.

Place a dollop of the spinach-tofu mix on one end of the strip. Fold the end of the strip over the filling diagonally, so that it makes a little triangle.

Keep folding the strip down in triangles, until you reach the end.

Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.

Place triangles on a baking sheet. Lightly brush with oil again, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden.

Serve borek hot and fresh straight out of the oven for brunch or lunch, or at room temperature as a snack any time of the day. Borek is delicious on its own or with a dipping sauce of your choice.

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