Sambousek fried stuffed pastries recipe

By The Shahrouk sisters
Difficulty not too difficult
Cooking time more than 1 hour
Serves 10 or more

INGREDIENTS

Dough
250g unsalted butter, melted
½ cup milk
½ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1kg plain bakers flour
canola oil, for frying

Filling
3 tablespoons ghee
2 brown onions, finely diced
500g premium beef mince
⅓ cup tahini
⅓ cup white vinegar
1½ tablespoons pomegranate molasses
¼ cup pine nuts
½ bunch parsley, finely chopped
2 sprigs mint, finely chopped

METHOD

1. For the dough, place melted butter, milk, oil, sugar, salt with 1⅓ cups boiling water into a large bowl and mix to combine. Gradually mix in the baker’s flour until you have a smooth and soft ball.

2. Turn onto a lightly floured bench and knead for 3-5 minutes, add more flour as needed to achieve a smooth elastic dough. Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for an hour to rest.

3. For the filling, place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of ghee. Once hot, add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until onion is golden. Increase the heat to high and when hot, add the mince. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until mince is browned and any liquid has evaporated.  Stir to break up any lumps.  Remove from heat.

4. Place tahini and vinegar in a small bowl and stir until a custard like consistency forms. Stir in the pomegranate molasses then add to the meat mixture and mix to combine.

5. In a small frying pan, heat the remaining ghee until melted. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring, until pine nuts are golden. Strain away any excess ghee and add pine nuts to the meat filling. Cover and refrigerate until cool.

6. Once cooled, stir through mint and parsley and season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

7. Take the dough from the fridge, cut into 4 portions and working with one portion at a time, place on a lightly floured bench top or very large board and roll out to 3mm thick.

8. Using a 10cm diameter round cutter, cut rounds from the dough. Fill each round with 1 heaped tablespoon (or 2 level tablespoons) of filling in the centre in a somewhat oval shape. Brush the edge of the pastry with a little water and fold the pastry around the filling to give you a half moon shape, gently pressing to seal. Pick up each half moon and working around the edge from one end to the other, pinch with your thumb and forefinger and pull the pastry gently away from the filling, then twist and crimp, repeating this along the edge to the end.

9. Heat a large pot or deep fryer of oil to 180°C. Deep fry the sambousek, 3-4 at a time, for 1-2 minutes or until crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain any excess oil.

10. Serve on their own or with an accompaniment like cucumber and mint yogurt.

Note: Any excess dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 3 months.

Image and recipe from the Sharouk sisters for Family Food Fight