Name: Vegan Borek with Tofu, Almonds, and Kale
Prep time: 1 h 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F); 1 tsp pure maple syrup; 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast; 2 1/2-3 cups all purpose flour (up to 1 1/2 cups of the flour can be whole spelt or whole wheat); 1 tsp fine sea salt; 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 medium yellow onion, diced; 3 medium garlic cloves, minced; 1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp coriander; 1 tsp dried thyme; 1/2 tsp fine sea salt; 1/2 tsp chili flakes; 1/4 tsp cinnamon; Freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 2 carrots, finely diced; 1/3 cup raisins or currants; 1 block (450 grams) organic firm tofu, crumbled; 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice; 2 tbsp nutritional yeast; 2 tbsp reduced sodium tamari; 1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped (see note); 8 cups chopped kale or spinach (from 1 large bunch or 2 small bunches); 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped; Hummus or Lemon Tahini Sauce

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Boreks are middle eastern savoury stuffed pastries typically filled with a combination of vegetables, meat, and/or cheese. My vegan boreks are made with an easy pizza dough instead of phyllo and filled with a flavourful tofu, kale, and almond mixture. Served with lemon tahini sauce for dipping, these boreks make an incredible plant-based meal or side dish with soup or stew.

Cuisines all around the world seem to boast some variety of savoury stuffed dough pockets: Eastern European countries have pierogi and piroshki; Central and South American countries have empanadas and arepas; India has samosas and parathas; Italy has calzones; Asian countries have spring rolls and dumplings. And the countries of the Middle East have sambusas and borek! I could go on, but my point here is to say that dough filled with some variety of vegetables, cheese, and protein has an almost universal appeal.

what is a borek?

Unless you live in a part of the world where borek is a common food, you might be wondering just what borek is! Borek is an envelope of pastry filled with cheese, spinach, or ground meat and then baked or fried. In my inspired version, you’ll make a filling with vegetables, tofu, and almonds instead of meat or dairy.

I first learned about borek through the Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks, of which I own many. While they are traditionally made with phyllo pastry, I learned through the cookbooks that they can actually be made with yeasted dough, too! I opted to go with a yeasted dough for this recipe, since it is much easier to work with–at least, I find that it is!

ingredients you’ll need

For the dough: Yeast, water, maple syrup, extra virgin olive oil, flour, and salt.
For the tofu, kale, and almond filling: Extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, thyme, cinnamon, chili flakes, salt, pepper, carrots, firm tofu, raisins or currants, lemon juice, tamari, nutritional yeast, toasted almonds, kale or spinach, and olives.

how to make vegan borek

First, make the dough. If you’ve made pizza dough before, this dough has the exact same ingredients and steps! Proof they yeast with water and maple syrup in a bowl. Mix together the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Once proofed, add the yeast and olive oil to the flour, stir, and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead for about 5 minutes, until a smooth, elastic, springy dough forms. Place the dough in a clean, lightly greased bowl. Cover with a damp towel and place in warm, draft-free area for one hour, or until the dough doubles in bulk.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Sauté the onion and garlic in a skillet for five minutes. Add the spices, salt, pepper, and carrots. Cook until the carrots are tender before adding the raisins and crumbled tofu. In a small dish, stir together the tamari, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast. Pour over the tofu mixture and stir to coat. Finally, add the toasted almonds, kale, and olives. Cook for a few more minutes.
Assemble the boreks. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Punch down the dough and knead a few times. Divide the dough into 12 balls. On a floured surface, roll a dough ball into a circle that measures about 7 inches in diameter. Add a heaping ¼ cup of the filling to half of the circle, leaving a bit of space around the edge to facilitate folding over. Fold over and pinch firmly to close. Pierce a few times with a fork to allow air to escape during baking. Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the outsides of the boreks are lightly browned and fragrant.
Serve with lemon tahini sauce or hummus!

serving and menu ideas

As I mentioned earlier, these boreks go well with soups and stews, particularly this Summer Vegetable and White Bean Stew! They would also be tasty with this Mediterranean Lentil Salad or this Roasted Delicata Squash, Fig, and Kale Salad in the fall and winter months.

I hope that you enjoy making (and eating) vegan borek with tofu, almonds, and kale! If you try them, leave a comment and rating below the post to let me know how they turned out. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen!

Enjoy!