Family Favorite: Potato Cheese Borecas

I love teaching all kinds of recipes but it always makes me especially happy to share my Sephardic family dishes like I did this past spring at my cooking class at PCC Natural Markets.

“Sephardi” means Spanish in Hebrew. A quick explanation is that Sephardic Jews originally hailed from Spain but were booted out during the Inquisition and moved to different locations all over the world. My maternal great-grandparents’ families landed in Greece and Turkey. The Sephardic culture was so strong, that my great-grandparents still spoke Ladino (a Spanish dialect, our version of Yiddish) hundreds of years later when they ended up in Seattle in the early 1900’s.

Ladino was my Papu’s (my maternal grandpa, born in 1915) first language. Unfortunately, speaking a foreign language was not so cool in those days so he didn’t speak it much unless he wanted to get beat up. So, although I missed out on learning the language of my ancestors, I was raised with lots of terms like “huevos” for eggs and “deseo” for desiring something (usually in reference to food - of course). Sephardic Jews take their food very seriously.

My great-grandmother, Nona, was known for being a fantastic cook and baker. She made borecas and many other Sephardic pastries without following a recipe. According to family lore, she was always in the kitchen preparing something. Since many of the dishes, especially borecas, take a long time to prepare, it was common to make them in groups. It doesn’t happen often these days, but my brother and I try to make them with my mom and his kids whenever we can. It’s a wonderful way for different generations to share an activity together.

Many recipes refer to borecas with a “k” as in “borekas” but for some reason, my Grandma and Papu wrote it as “borecas” on the 1960’s recipe index card that our family still uses today - so that’s why you see me spelling it that way. Serve your borecas with an Israeli salad (diced cucumber and tomatoes), bagels and lox, and some fruit and you have a lovely brunch menu!

Borecas (Potato and Cheese Filled Pastries)

In Sephardic households, borecas are like gold. They take a couple of hours to prepare so whenever someone takes the time to bake them, they disappear quickly. Sephardic families from different areas of the world have their own versions – some use different cheeses, some add spinach in their filling and many use filo dough. This dough is very easy to make but you have to prepare it right before you use it – it does not keep well – and you can’t alter it or double it.

Filling

2 cups russet potatoes, mashed (around 1 pound of raw potatoes)
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 beaten eggs
2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup feta (or any other strong-flavored cheese - my aunt likes Kashkaval)

Dough
4 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 cup water

1 egg for brushing
Garnish: 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Filling: Thoroughly scrub potatoes with vegetable brush and water. Cut in half and add to a large pot. Add enough water so that potatoes are fully submerged. Cover pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium so that a soft boil will continue until potatoes are soft (about 40 minutes). To test softness, poke a fork; they should be soft all the way through. Place potatoes in a strainer and cool.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Peel potatoes (discard skin) and place in a medium bowl.  Mash by hand until smooth. Measure out 2 cups. Add salt, olive oil, eggs, and cheeses. Set aside (or store in refrigerator in sealed container for up to 2 days).

Dough: In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour and salt. Push flour to the side to create a crater in the middle and add canola and water. Thoroughly mix together until moist. Knead gently to combine into a dough consistency.

Rolling: Prepare flat area for rolling borecas. Roll a small amount of dough into a ball (the size of a strawberry) and roll out with a rolling pin, smooth glass or your fingers. Make sure that the dough is thin - otherwise it will get too thick in the oven.

Scoop a small amount of filling into the middle of each dough circle. Fold over into a half-moon shape.

Pinch edges together and press fork on the edge to decorate and ensure full closure.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or is lightly oiled. Lightly brush each boreca with extra beaten egg. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Sometimes, I’ll make a bunch of filling and then keep making the dough, one batch at a time, until I run out of filling.

*If you’re worried this looks too hard, note that these pictures were taken in my cooking class where my students were making them for the first time!

Serves 8 to 10
Preparation and baking time: 1½ hours
Recipe adapted from Sephardic Cooking – Sephardic Biker Holim Ladies Auxiliary of Seattle © 1960s (exact year unknown)