Dinner in 30 Minutes: Turn Malawach into a Perfect Cheesy Treat

Quick Malawach Cheese Boats

Yield: 4 personal pastries

Prep time: 5-10 minutes

Bake time: 15-20 minutes

This is the kind of midweek dinner that looks like you made an effort, while secretly outsourcing most of the work to the freezer. Malawach turns into a crisp, golden pastry shell, the cheese filling melts in the middle, and the whole thing lands somewhere between bourekas and a quick homemade khachapuri.

Serve it hot with chopped Israeli salad, fresh tomato dip, and something sharp or fresh on the side to balance the richness.

Ingredients

4 malawach rounds, lightly thawed until flexible

Filling

250g white cheese or cottage cheese

150g grated yellow cheese

100g Bulgarian cheese or feta, crumbled

Optional: sliced green olives or sweet corn

For finishing

1 egg, beaten

Sesame seeds

Optional khachapuri-style topping

4 eggs, or 4 egg yolks

Instructions

Prepare oven and pan: Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Make the filling: In a medium bowl, mix the white cheese or cottage cheese, grated yellow cheese, and crumbled Bulgarian cheese or feta. Add olives or corn, if using, and mix until combined.

Shape the pastries: Place one lightly thawed malawach round on the work surface. Spoon one quarter of the cheese filling into the center, leaving clean edges around it.

Form boats: Fold or roll the right and left sides slightly inward toward the filling, then pinch the top and bottom ends firmly to create an oval boat shape with the cheese exposed in the center. Repeat with the remaining malawach rounds and filling.

Finish: Transfer the pastries to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the exposed dough edges with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake: Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the malawach is deeply golden, crisp, and puffed, and the cheese is bubbling.

Optional egg topping: For a more khachapuri-style version, remove the tray from the oven about 3 minutes before the end of baking. Carefully add one egg or one yolk to the center of each pastry and return to the oven until the white is just set and the yolk is still soft.

Serve: Serve immediately, while the pastry is hot and crisp. Add chopped Israeli salad and fresh grated tomato or tomato dip on the side.