Turkish Breakfast Secrets Revealed Zucchini Borek Recipe & Kaymak

Hello ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Chef Salim's recipe channel. The king of breakfast. For today's breakfast, I'll be making zucchini borek. Let's start by whipping up a sauce for it. First, I crack four eggs into a bowl. If you ask me, the more eggs, the merrier. Now I'll add some yogurt and whisk it a little. By the way, a whisk is like a magic wand in the kitchen. Wave it around and everything gets smooth. Then in goes the mineral water. After the yogurt and mineral water, I add some milk and sunflower oil. At this point, you might be thinking, that's a lot of liquid. Don't worry. The yufka, phyllo dough is thirsty. I sprinkle in a little salt and decide to go wild with the eggs. Let's make it seven. More eggs, more protein, right? Now I grease the tray with sunflower oil. Pro tip, don't skimp on the oil unless you want your borek to get clingy with the tray. We don't want any sticky situations here. I layer the yufka in the tray, making sure it covers the bottom completely. Then I pour the sauce over the yufka. It's like giving the dough a relaxing spa treatment. Make sure it gets a good soak. I keep layering the yufka, making sure they're nice and puffy. We want the borek to look like it's had a nice nap and woke up fluffy. Now onto the zucchini. I fried these beauties earlier and let them cool down. A quick tip, always make extra fried zucchini, because somehow they tend to disappear before they make it into the recipe. I swear it's not me eating them. Well, maybe just one or two. I chop them a bit more finely now. Once the zucchini is all set, I add more sauce. It's important to make sure every piece of dough is soaked. Think of it as dough hydration. I spread the sauce evenly with my hands. Yes, we're going all in. After the zucchini goes in, I layer more yufka on top, leaving them puffed up again, like little dough pillows. I close up the sides, sealing the borek, and brush on a bit more sauce for good measure. Now comes the tricky part. We're freezing this bad boy overnight. This is like sending the borek to a cool retreat before its big day. Oh, and a tip for saving on plastic wrap. I cut up some bags to cover the tray. Not my best moment. I ended up wasting the bag. But hey, we learn, right? The next morning, I arrive at work just as the sun rises. I pop the borek into the oven and let it bake for 25 minutes at 165 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, I've put some water on to boil for tea. Fun fact, in Turkey, if there's no tea, it's not really breakfast. It's just an early lunch. Now about this milk from last night. We boiled 40 liters, and the creamy layer on top is called kaymak. Clotted cream. A little trivia for you. Kaymak is like butter's cooler cousin. You can spread it on bread, pair it with honey, or just eat it straight. I skim the kaymak off the top and set it aside for later. When it comes to Turkish breakfast, kaymak is a VIP guest. With the milk still warm, the kaymak hasn't fully formed yet, but will probably get about a kilogram. Not bad, right? I carefully cut the kaymak and place it in a container. Remember, Turkish breakfast wouldn't be complete without honey, kaymak, walnuts, and bananas. It's the breakfast of champions. Speaking of champions, let's talk about the essentials. We've got cucumbers, and I'll add tomatoes soon. By the way, here's my homemade black plum jam. I'm telling you, once you try it, you'll never go back to store-bought. The water's boiled, so it's time to brew the tea. Here's a tip for perfect Turkish tea. Don't let it overboil, or it'll get bitter. After a couple of hours, I remove the tea leaves from the teapot to keep it fresh longer. I call that the tea preservation method. You're welcome. Now for the breakfast favorite, chocolate spread. Some people might ask, what's chocolate doing at breakfast? My answer? Why not? It keeps the kids happy. And if it makes breakfast more fun, I'm all for it. I chop up the cucumbers, fill a bowl, and add some tomatoes. If we run out, no worries. I'll just chop more. Breakfast here runs from 7am to 11am. That's four hours of solid feasting. We're in for a marathon, not a sprint. The zucchini borek is golden and crispy now. I slice it into 32 pieces, which is enough for 16 people. Pro tip, a good borek knife makes cutting super easy. If the bottom is crispy, we're good to go. Fruit is always part of a Turkish breakfast, so I'll serve black plums today. I also make myself a plate with some white cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, and, of course, a little chocolate spread. You didn't think I'd skip that, did you? I fill my plate with a little bit of everything. It's all about variety. A little sweet, a little savory, a little crunchy. Without a breakfast like this, Turks can't wake up and start their day. You need tea, kaymak, sweet and savory items, fruits, veggies, and cheese to power through the morning. Thanks for watching. Don't forget to check out my other breakfast videos on my channel. Until next time, may your breakfasts be grand and your boreks always crispy.