Author Notes
Traditionally, Turkish cigara börek are filled with feta and parsley but I decided to make mine with mint, carrot, and feta. These cigara börek make for a fantastic party snack—you can roll all your börek before your guests arrive and fry them just before serving. Alternatively, you can fry them all in advance and re-heat them in the oven later. —Anne's Kitchen
Test Kitchen Notes
WHO: Anne's Kitchen is a Luxembourg-born Londoner with a soft spot for Turkish cuisine.
WHAT: A mint-spiked take on a classic Eastern European app.
HOW: Tuck sautéed shallots and carrots, feta, and mint into filo sheets, roll into a filo-burrito, and fry until golden. Don't forget a drizzle of honey, to finish.
WHY WE LOVE IT: A little fry can go a long way—but that wasn't the case with these fried rolls: The addition of mint kept them bright, and the honey kept us coming back for more. —The Editors
Ingredients
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1 tablespoon
sunflower oil
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1
shallot, peeled and grated
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150 grams
carrots, peeled and grated
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Salt and pepper, to taste
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200 grams
feta cheese
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4 tablespoons
fresh mint, chopped
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9
filo pastry sheets
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Sunflower oil, for frying
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Honey, for drizzling
Directions
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In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil and fry the shallot for 2 minutes. Add the grated carrot and 2 tablespoons of water and cook for about 4 additional minutes until the carrot has softened. Season with salt and pepper.
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Put the carrot mix into a bowl and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Crumble the feta into the carrot mix, add the mint and mix well.
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Unroll the filo pastry sheets and cut diagonally into two triangles. Cover with cling film, then cover with a damp tea towel so the pastry doesn’t dry out.
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Take a triangle and position it so that the longest side is facing you. Put 3 teaspoons of the carrot mixture along the base of the triangle, leaving an edge of about 4 centimeters on each side. Fold the two edges over the filling to hold it in and roll away from you until you get to the tip of the triangle. Dunk the tip into a bowl of water and finish rolling.
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Put the uncooked börek onto a floured plate or baking paper, cover with cling film and proceed rolling up the remaining börek.
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Once all the börek are ready, put a generous glug of sunflower oil into a frying pan, so that it covers the entire base. Heat the oil and fry the börek in batches until golden brown.
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Place each börek onto a piece of kitchen paper to soak up the excess oil and continue frying the rest of the batch.
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Serve the börek while still hot, drizzled with honey.
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