Pancar Yaprağı Böreği (Beetroot Leaf pie)

Let's take a look at the stereotypical Jewish Mother. Honest about their emotions, caring, compassionate, worrying, overprotective, neurotic, sometimes smothering (especially with kisses), double all of that and what do you get? The stereotypical Turkish Jewish Mother! and all of these unique qualities of the wonderful women that they are seem to become a reality over the dinner table.
Amir's Mum, who I adore and love very much works extremely hard preparing food. With no air conditioning in the house in Burgaz and the temperature soaring to it's heights outside, there she is, in the kitchen with a wooden spoon in one hand and a cigarette in the other wearing a loose cotton dress. Every so often she wets her face and hair to keep cool while the pots and pans simmer and steam.
8pm is dinner time. We have all returned from the club, showered and changed into comfortable clothes and ready to sit down for dinner. Amir's Mum asks for our plates one by one as she serves the meal that she had been preparing all morning. We wait for her to sit down herself before we start to eat.
I know, that in the corner of her eye she is watching us to see if we are enjoying the meal, if no-one speaks about how the food is the questions start......
"Nasıl?" (translated as how, how is it?)
"Güzel mi?" (Is it nice?)
"Niye yemiyorlar? Çocuklar sebze sevmiyor mu?" (Why aren't they eating? Don't the children like vegetables?)
At that point I explained that Serena and Dan didn't like to eat all vegetables, in fact most things green they tended not to eat. The worrying stage then sets in, "How are they going to grow? They are not getting enough vitamins." After the worry stage, comes the neurotic stage......."Take them to see a specialist, they are not eating properly, it's not normal". 

Now, I am pleased to say that my children eat most things, vegetables included. The beetroot leaf börek is a good way to introduce leafy vegetables. Perhaps it's the purple veins that run through the leaves that save them from being the dreaded totally green vegetable. 

The beetroot leaf  börek is sometimes made with filo pastry but to keep meals healthy I make it without so I wouldn't really consider it as a pie, more of a starter or side dish.
It's a great shame that grocery stores in England cut off the leaves of the beetroot before they display it on sale. Such a waste.

The following ingredients I would estimate as a portion for 4.

3 bunches of beetroot leaves (approx 400g)

50g Feta cheese

100g of grated hard cheese (I use cheddar)

3 tablespoons of oil

1 egg

1 heaped tablespoon of flour

Wash the leaves thoroughly the night before to enable them to dry.

Cut off the stalks and chop. Place in a bowl.

Add all the ingredients together and mush them up in the bowl by squeezing with your hands.

Oil the bottom and sides of an oven dish and flatten down till 1cm thick. (I use a dish approx 30x20cm)

Place in the oven at 180c and bake until it starts to go brown on top.

Cut and serve.

We love eating this with a dollop of natural yoghurt.

If beetroot leaves are too difficult to find. This dish is just as tasty using spinach leaves.