Potato Bourekas

Name: Potato Bourekas
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Israel
Ingredients: 500 g puff pastry; 600 g floury potatoes; 1 onion, finely chopped; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp salt; Black pepper; 1 egg, beaten; 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Local name: בורקס

Also written: burekas

Israeli puff pastries filled with cumin-scented mashed potato, glazed and seeded, sold in every bakery in the country.

Published on 19 August 2026·Updated on 25 September 2026

#pastry#potato#sesame#bakery#brunch

Photo: Yoninah , CC BY-SA 3.0

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 30 min
Total: 55 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Method

Boil the potatoes whole and unpeeled in salted water for 25 minutes. Peel while warm and mash with a fork.
Soften the onion in the oil for 8 minutes. Add the cumin and let it warm through for 30 seconds.
Stir the onion into the mash with salt and pepper. Cool completely, or the steam will soften the pastry.
Roll out the pastry and cut 10 cm squares. Spoon filling onto one half of each.
Fold into rectangles and press the edges with the tines of a fork.
Brush with egg, scatter sesame over and bake at 200°C for 25 to 30 minutes.
Serve warm with a hard-boiled egg and chopped tomato salad.

Israeli bakers code the filling by shape: triangles hold cheese, rectangles hold potato, squares hold spinach. You pick your bourekas without asking a single question.

The techniques this recipe uses

Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

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Easy recipes

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 963 kcal
Protein: 15.4 g
Fat: 61.8 g
Carbohydrate: 88.7 g
Fibre: 5.2 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Can bourekas be made vegan?

Yes, the filling already is. Choose a puff pastry made with vegetable oil, as many shop-bought ones are, and replace the egg wash with a little plant milk sweetened with a drop of maple syrup, which colours the tops and holds the sesame seeds.

Why boil the potatoes whole and unpeeled?

A peeled, cut potato soaks up cooking water and gives a wet mash. Cooked in its skin it stays dry and floury, which matters here: any excess moisture would pass into the pastry during the thirty minutes in the oven and leave a soggy base.

Why do my bourekas burst open in the oven?

Either they are overfilled or the edges were not sealed while the pastry was cold. One spoonful per ten-centimetre square is enough, and you need to press firmly along the whole edge with a fork. If the pastry has turned soft and greasy to the touch, chill the shaped pieces for fifteen minutes before baking.

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