Boyotaschen: The Ashkefardi Purim Mashup You Didn’t Know You Were Missing
February 26, 2018
It seems like savory hamantaschen are all the rage this year, and I’m throwing my hat into the ring with a truly delightful Ashkenazi-Sephardi mashup: the boyotaschen.
Boyos, savory stuffed Sephardic pastries made with a yeasted dough enriched with olive oil, are a little bit like borekas, a little bit like empanadas, and totally delicious. It’s really a shame they’re not better known. I’ll share my traditional recipe for boyos soon, but in honor of Purim today I give you boyotaschen.
I first made (and tasted) classic boyos last fall, and I was instantly smitten. If you know me, you know I probably spend about 75% of my waking hours thinking about food. One day a few weeks back when I was walking to work from the subway, a truly magical thought sprung into my mind: What would happen if you crossed a boyo with a hamantaschen?
Something pretty excellent, it turns out.
These are adapted from a friend’s family recipe for traditional boyos. Boyos were eaten throughout the eastern Mediterranean but are especially associated with Turkish Jewish cuisine, above all with the Turkish city of Izmir.
They’re generally filled with cheese and sometimes also a vegetable, like spinach, leeks, potato, pumpkin, or eggplant. In keeping with my friend’s family tradition, I’ve opted for spinach here. If you’re looking to mix up your Purim routine this year, give boyotaschen a try.
For the filling:
½ tbsp. olive oil
½ onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
20 oz. chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup farmer’s cheese
½ cup finely grated Romano cheese
1/3 cup mashed potato
½ beaten egg (reserve the other half for egg wash for the dough)
1/3 tsp salt
In a medium pan, heat olive, oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Adjust heat to low, add garlic, and sauté an additional minute.
In a large bowl, combine the onion and garlic, spinach, cheeses, mashed potato, egg, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
For the dough:
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 package / 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
½ cup olive oil
½ tsp salt
Dissolve yeast in warm water and leave for 5 minutes.
Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture, olive oil, and salt. Mix thoroughly, then knead, by hand (about 15 minutes) or in a stand mixer (about 5–7 minutes), until mixture forms a smooth dough.
Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
Knead the dough by hand for 10 more minutes.
Shaping the boyotaschen:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line 3–4 large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut out 3–4 inch rounds. Place a scant tablespoon of filling in the center of each round. Fold one “side” of the circle over the filling. Then fold a second side over so that the two sides form a triangular point, with the second side overlapping the first at the top of the peak. Then fold the third side in and over the other two, forming the final side of the triangle. Dab each corner of the triangle with water, and press ends together hard. Place on the prepared baking sheets.
Use a pastry brush to apply the remaining ½ beaten egg leftover from the filling as egg wash. Bake until just starting to brown, 15–20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool. Serve warm.
Wrap and store in refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Sources: The Book of Jewish Food (Claudia Roden); Encyclopedia of Jewish Food (Gil Marks, 2010); The New Mediterranean Jewish Table: Old World Recipes for the Modern Home (Joyce Goldstein, 2016)