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a straight on shot of someone about to pick up half of a borek off of a plate

Vegan Borek with Tofu, Almonds, and Kale


  • Author: Allison
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 12 boreks 1x
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

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. 


Ingredients

Scale

Dough

  • 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
  • 1 tsp pure maple syrup
  • 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
  • 2 1/23 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

Tofu, Kale, and Almond Filling

  • 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

For Serving


Instructions

  1. First, make the dough. If you’ve made pizza dough before, this dough has the exact same ingredients and steps! Add the water and maple syrup to a small bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and wait for it to work its magic. You’ll know that it’s proofed successfully when the yeast rises back to the surface of the water and creates a foamy layer. Mix together 2 1/2 cups of 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. Add more flour as needed. Place 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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 lightly floured surface, roll a dough ball into a circle that measures about 7 inches in diameter. Add a heaping 1/4 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, making twelve boreks in total. You might need two baking sheets.
  4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the outsides of the boreks are lightly browned and fragrant.
  5. Serve with lemon tahini sauce or hummus!

Notes

Toast almonds on a baking sheet in a 325 degree F oven for 10 minutes.

Make this recipe nut-free by using toasted sunflower seeds in place of the almonds.

Inspired by the Spinach Almond Borek recipe in the Moosewood Celebrates cookbook.

  • Prep Time: 70 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Supper, Lunch, Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keywords: vegan borek recipe, tofu borek, spinach almond tofu borek