Armenian Cheese Rolls Recipes

EASY CHEESE BOREK (ARMENIAN CHEESE TURNOVERS)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

BORAGS

Steps:

• Take the dough out of the refrigerator about 15 minutes before using. Once fillo dough is exposed to air, it dries out very quickly, becomes brittle, and is impossible to use. Be sure to have plastic wrap and a damp towel ready to cover the dough to keep it pliable while you fold the borags.
• If using large fillo sheets, cut the fillo dough in half, lengthwise. Use one half sheet for each borag. Cover the other sheets first with plastic wrap, then the damp towel, while folding each borag.
• Fold each half sheet in half lengthwise. Brush surface with melted butter.
• For each borag, place a spoonful of filling at the end of the folded dough that's closest to you. Begin folding, as though you were folding a flag - on the diagonal from corner to corner, creating a triangular shape. If there is extra dough at the top, just trim it off or tuck it under.
• Continue to do this until you run out of filling - or dough.
• Keep the folded borags covered with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
• Melt about ½ stick (or more) of unsalted butter.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Brush the top of each borag with melted butter.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Return leftover fillo it to its original wrapper, seal it tightly, and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
• Leftover cheese filling can be spread on bread then heated under the broiler. There's raw egg in the mixture, so cook before eating!
• Use the same cheese filling as above.
• Instead of using regular fillo dough sheets, use prepared mini-fillo cups (sold in packages of 15). They can be found in the freezer section of most grocery stores.
• Fill each cup almost to the top with the filling. The amount of cheese filling given in this recipe will fill about 3 boxes of the mini-fillo cups - or - about 45.
• Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 - 12 minutes.

ARMENIAN CHEESE ROLLS

Steps:

• Blend cream cheese and feta cheese together until smooth. If needed, add a bit of water from feta to make mixture creamier.
• Chop cilantro finely and add to mixture.
• Use as a spread or roll into chapati (flat bread, or use whole wheat tortillas) with slices of green pepper and pitted black olives.

CHOEREG (ARMENIAN EASTER BREAD)

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, butter and margarine. Heat until butter and margarine are melted, but do not let it boil. Stir in 1 cup of sugar until dissolved, then set aside to cool to lukewarm.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, dissolve 2 teaspoons of sugar in warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface, and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.
• Crack the eggs into a large bowl, and stir a little to break up the yolks. Slowly pour in the heated milk mixture while whisking constantly, so as to temper the eggs and not cook them. Add the yeast mixture, and stir just until blended.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, mahleb, and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the wet mixture. Stir until it forms a sticky dough. Pour onto a floured surface, and knead in additional flour as needed to make a more substantial dough. Knead for about 10 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, and set in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
• When the dough has doubled, punch down again, and let rise until doubled. It will only take about half as long this time.
• Separate the dough into 5 even portions, then separate each of those into thirds. Roll each of those into ropes about 12 inches long. Braid sets of three ropes together, pinching the ends to seal, and tucking them under for a better presentation. Place the loaves onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Loaves should be spaced 4 inches apart. Set in a warm place to rise until your finger leaves an impression behind when you poke the loaf gently.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush the loaves with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until nicely golden brown all over.

ARMENIAN CHEESE BOEREG

Steps:

• Mix cheeses together with 1 beaten egg and parsley.
• Melt butter in a small frying pan.
• Bring fillo dough to room temperature. Unroll dough on wax paper, cut in half for appetizer size boereg. stack and cover with saran wrap and a damp towel.
• Take one sheet of filo, with short side facing you. Brush entire sheet with melted butter. Place half a teaspoon of cheese a little to the right of center, toward the bottom of the sheet. Fold right side over cheese, and left side over top, in thirds.
• Brush with butter, and fold up the bottom over the cheese ball, then fold over diagonally. Continue to fold diagonally, left and right, until you reach the top and you will have a triangular shaped boereg, around 3 inches across bottom.
• Spray sheet pan with PAM and butter tops of boereg before baking.
• Preheat over to around 300-325 and bake for about 20 minutes, until very light brown.