Cheese Turnovers (Peynirli Boreks)
Author: 
Cuisine: Turkish
 
Ingredients
  • Cheese Filling:
  • 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 8 ounces Feta cheese
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup snipped fresh parsley
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tablespoons snipped fresh dill
  • Phyllo shell:
  • 12 frozen phyllo sheets, thawed
  • 1-/1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Sesame seeds
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Make cheese filling: Mix all cheese filling ingredients together in a bowl until well-combined; set aside.
  3. For phyllo: Place 6 phyllo sheets between barely dampened kitchen towels to prevent drying, Always keep sheets covered after picking up each one.
  4. Place one sheet on clean work surface. Brush top surface with melted butter. Top with 5 additional sheets, brushing each with melted butter before adding another.
  5. Cut layered sheets lengthwise in half. Cut each half into 3 equal pieces, about 6-by-8- inches.
  6. Top each of the 6 sections with about ¼ cup of the cheese filling. Fold dough diagonally over filling to form a triangle. Repeat procedure with reserved phyllo leaves and remaining cheese filling. 7. Place turnovers on baking sheet. Brush tops with with beaten egg, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  7. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush again with egg. Return to oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately. Makes 12 turnovers.
  8. IMPORTANT NOTE: When I have found phyllo dough in the past, the box was very long and probably the size sheets called for in this recipe. All I could find was a 1-pound box with smaller sheets. They worked fine, but the turnovers were smaller. Follow the same directions except after cutting the dough lengthwise, cut the two sides into equal sized pieces, about 4-1/4-inch. Also, some people find phyllo dough sheets cumbersome and hard to handle, so I came up with an alternative idea - using the frozen phyllo cups instead of sheets. All you have to do is fill the frozen cups (do not thaw) with the cheese filling, sprinkle with sesame seeds (or leave out if you don't like them) and bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden and serve. They taste just as good and much easier, plus they make an easy to pick up and eat appetizer.
Recipe by The Culinary Cellar at https://theculinarycellar.com/sphere-magazine-may-1977/