Why You Should be Making Pizza Bourekas

January 13, 2020 Shannon Sarna

This article originally appeared on The Nosher.

Bourekas were one of the foods I fell in love with hard while in Israel for the first time. I am a sucker for pastry filled with, well, basically anything — samosas, empanadas, calzones, you name it. So warm, flaky dough filled with cheese, potatoes, or mushrooms was like a savory dream come true. And as my colleague Rachel Myerson points out, even when Israeli bourekas are bad, they are actually still good.

When in Israel, we buy them in bulk at the corner makolet (convenience store), and snack on them all day. Of course, they make the perfect breakfast alongside some Israeli-style chopped salad and labneh.

While flavors like spinach and cheese are more classic, pizza bourekas are a new, Americanized version of the traditional Turkish-inspired bourekas. As a half-Italian, half-Jewish, self-proclaimed pizza bagel myself, I cannot think of a more perfect flavor for bourekas then pizza.

My recipe for pizza bourekas is very Israeli-meets-Italian-American: I use a combination of shredded Edam and mozzarella cheeses, a schmear of tomato sauce, and sliced Israeli green olives. But you can use any shredded cheese you prefer: mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey Jack, or even that pre-shredded bag of Italian mixed cheeses hanging in the supermarket. I like to add a little Italian seasoning and a pinch of thick sea salt after I have egg washed them, but this is completely optional.

These are so easy, they come together in just 30 minutes — perfect for a nosh, finger food for a party, or even an easy weeknight dinner. They are crowd-pleasing and 100 percent kid-friendly.

Why You Should be Making Pizza Bourekas

Ingredients

Instructions