Bourekia me kima is a type of Cypriot fried or baked pastry made with flaky homemade phyllo and filled with cooked minced meat.
Bourekia is a general term and your can find them in many countries with different names and different fillings.
In Greece and Cyprus they are called bourekia or bourekakia, although in Crete, they are called kaltsounia. Other similar pastries are börek or burek, empanadas, calzone, samosa, turnovers, etc., each country having a variety of fillings.
Bourekia can be either savory or sweet.
Apart from minced meat, they can also be filled with cheese, such as anari, halloumi, graviera or feta, spinach, pumpkin, mushrooms, etc.
It is the perfect finger food snack for your child’s party, for a picnic, to take to school but also as an appetizer or meze to accompany a glass of wine or ouzo.
The sweet ones can be filled with anari or halvas.
How to make Bourekia me Kima
Dough: Prepare the dough and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Filling: Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the minced meat and sauté until it changes colour and becomes white. Mix in all the remaining ingredients and set aside until it cools.
Roll out the dough either by hand or using the pasta machine.
Place 1 tsp of the filling at the edge and leaving a gap of about 3 cm (about 1 inch) in between and continue adding some filling.
When done, lightly brush the gaps of the phyllo with oil. Cover with remaining phyllo and press the gaps with your finger.
Cut with a drinking water glass. Invert the glass and press down on the dough starting from one edge, going round to the other end, to give a semi-circle shape. If you like, you can cut them with a ravioli cutter.
Fry them in hot mild olive oil or vegetable oil, until golden brown on both sides.
Put them on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.
Can I make Bourekia with store bought phyllo?
Sure. If you cannot make your own homemade phyllo, the same recipe can be made with store bought phyllo.
Below, I am going to post some vegan bourekia made with store bought phyllo.
Vegan Bourekia with Mushrooms
Before the holidays a friend of mine who is vegan visited us and I made these Mushroom Bourekia for her.
You can substitute the filling with any other filling you like.
I made this recipe with traditional store bought phyllo, which is suitable for Greek pies, but you can also use regular thin phyllo as well.
The are made the same way as Tyropitakia.
Bourekia me Manitaria (Mushrooms)
If you’re looking for a take-along party appetizer recipe that’s easy, impressive, and makes A LOT, these crispy mushroom phyllo triangles are it.
Ingredients
- 2 store bought phyllo sheets (thick or thin)
- Olive oil for frying
For the filling:
- 250 grams button (agaricus) or oyster mushrooms
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 large onion, cut into thin slices
- ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- Freshly grated black pepper
- A pinch of cinnamon
Instructions
- Wipe the mushrooms (never wash them) and cut them into small pieces.
- Sauté the onion until translucent and then add the mushrooms as well as the spices.
- Set aside to cool and mix in the parsley.
- Using a sharp knife cut the phyllo sheets in the middle and then into equal sized stripes, about 6 – 7 cm (2 - 2 ½ inches) wide, depending on how big you want them.
- At the top of each stripe add one tablespoon of the filling and fold into a triangle.
- Bring forward and fold to the left. Bring forward again and then fold to the right (as if folding a flag). Continue the same procedure, to the end of the phyllo stripe.
- Just before the end brush with some olive oil and fold.
- Keep them covered until the time of frying.
- Fry them in hot olive oil until golden and crispy turning them once or twice until golden.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 77Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 0mgSodium 222mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 1g
Bourekia me Kima
Bourekia me kima, is a type of fried filled pastry made with flaky homemade phyllo and filled with cooked minced meat.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 500 grams all purpose flour (or bread flour)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp wine vinegar
- 200 ml water (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup olive oil for frying
For filling:
- 300 grams (10.5 oz) minced pork
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup parsley, finely chopped
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A pinch of cinnamon
Instructions
- Prepare dough and set aside to rest.
- Meantime, heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the minced meat and sauté until it changes colour and becomes white. Mix in all the remaining ingredients and set aside until it cools.
- Roll out the dough to a thin phyllo either with pasta machine or manually.
- Place 1 tsp of the filling at the edge and leaving a gap of about 3 cm (about 1 inch) in between and continue adding some filling.
- When done, lightly brush the gaps of the phyllo with oil.
- Cover with remaining phyllo and press the gaps with your finger. Cut with a drinking water glass. Invert the glass and press down on the dough starting from one edge, going round to the other end, to give a semi-circle shape. If you like, you can cut them with a ravioli cutter.
- Leftover dough (provided there is no filling on it, is shaped into a ball and used again.
- Fry them in hot mild olive oil or vegetable oil, until golden brown on both sides.
- Put them on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.
Nutrition Information
Yield 50 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 74Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 5mgSodium 59mgCarbohydrates 8gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 3g
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!
