Tapsy (Sou) Boereg

Tapsy Boereg is like Cheese Boereg, but made in a pan instead of into individual pastries. It makes a great appetizer or dinner. Flaky, buttery layers of phyllo dough with melted cheeses are always a crowd pleaser.

1 lb. phyllo dough sheets, defrosted over night in the refrigerator

1 stick salted butter, melted

2 lbs. jack (or pepper jack if you like it spicy) cheese, shredded

1/3 cup small curd whole milk cottage cheese

1/3 cup spreadable cream cheese

1-2 Tbsp. feta cheese

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (optional)

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup whole milk

First, make the cheese filling by mixing together all the cheeses plus 1 of the beaten eggs and the parsley, if you’re using it. Mix it together with your hands like you would meatloaf until everything is very well incorporated together.

Butter a 9×13 casserole dish very well. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on the bottom, brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have 4 sheets of phyllo dough on the bottom. Now spread a thin layer of the cheese mixture on the phyllo dough. Next, layer 4 more sheets of phyllo dough, buttering each one as you did before. Now more cheese. Repeat layering like this until you run out of phyllo dough or cheese. End with phyllo dough on top.

Get a small sharp knife and cut the boereg into rectangles. It will be impossible to cut after you bake it, so do it now and save yourself some trouble. At this point, you can put it into the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it. If you want to bake it right away, that’s fine too.

Just before baking, mix together the 3 beaten eggs and 1 cup milk. Pour over the boereg and tilt the pan so that the egg mixture gets into every nook and cranny.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour, rotating 180 degrees half way through so it cooks evenly. Let sit 5 minutes on the counter and then enjoy!