Kiymali Borek {Turkish Ground Beef and Phyllo Pie} {SRC}

Today is my post for The Secret Recipe Club.  I really enjoyed this month's assignment.  I was assigned Tara's Multicultural Table.  The day I found out which blog I would cooking from, my blogging buddy Henna posted a recipe for Shish Taouk.  When I looked at where she got the recipe it was Tara's blog (small world!).  Tara's Shish Taouk recipe is originally from An Edible Mosaic.  A cookbook I have and absolutely love.  I've made this Shish Taouk recipe several times and always receive great reviews for it.  I definitely suggest you give the Shish Taouk recipe a try!

Tara's blog has recipes from all over the world.  We love to try different cuisines.  Sometimes we aren't able to because all the restaurants aren't Halal so I try to make things at home.  I've bookmarked about 16 recipes from Tara's blog to try.  Originally I thought I had to make her Chocolate Chilli Tacos because after all my blog is called Chocolate & Chillies!  But I have to say I sometimes am a wimp when it comes to trying flavours that I normally don't have together. I'm sure it is delicious though!  So as I was perusing her recipes, I was drawn to her Middle Eastern recipes.  We have never had Turkish food before so I chose Kiymali Borek (Turkish Ground Beef and Phyllo Pie) to try out.  My changes were to double the garlic and I used coriander instead of parsley since that is what I had.  I also reduced the oil used when layering the phyllo by half.  Next time I will replace the paprika with red chilli flakes to give it some more spice.

We all loved this dish.  I used an 8x11 dish to make the meat filling thicker so I had to fold the phyllo at the ends.  The ground beef is very simple but it is very tasty.

Some of the recipes I plan to try out soon are Noni Afghani with Sabsi Borani (Afghan Flatbread with Spinach Yogurt Dip), Key West Grilled Chicken, Mubattan Kusha (Libyan Layered Potato and Meat Casserole) and Chicken with Tomato Herb Pan Sauce.  If you enjoy trying different cuisines I strongly suggest you visit Tara's blog!

Kiymali Borek (Turkish Ground Beef and Phyllo Pie)
Adapted from Tara's Multicultural Table

Filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup coriander, chopped
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp paprika

Outer Layers:
1 package phyllo dough
1 cup yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg

In a pot, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until softened.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Next add the ground beef.  While cooking break up the pieces of ground beef.  Cook until the water has evaporated.  Add the coriander, salt, black pepper and paprika.  Stir and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Preheat over to 350 F.

In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1/4 cup olive oil and egg.  Cut the phyllo dough in half.  In a 9x13 dish (I used 8x11 because I wanted a thicker meat layer), brush the yogurt mixture spray with baking spray.  Add a layer of phyllo and gently brush with yogurt mixture.  Continue making layers until half of the phyllo is used.  Add the ground beef and spread.  Add a layer of phyllo and continue to make layers, gently brushing between each sheet.  On the final layer brush the top with the yogurt mixture.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until brown on top.  Let rest 10 minutes prior to serving.

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