Bourek (Meat Filled Pastry)

Submitted by Cookie16

"This is an Algerian appetizer. Traditionally ground lamb is used for the filling but you can also try ground beef or turkey or even one time I did spinach and feta. You can also adjust the seasonings. I think phyllo dough is a pain to work with and was told to try it with an asian type wrapper. I tried but it didn't come out as well. You can fold the dough around it pretty much any way you want. Just do them all the same so they cook in the same amount of time."

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photo by Sandi From CA

Ready In:: 40mins
Ingredients:: 10
Serves:: 8

ingredients

1 teaspoon butter
¹⁄₂ lb ground lamb
1 small onion
4 sprigs parsley, chopped
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper
¹⁄₈ teaspoon cinnamon
8 phyllo pastry sheets, 12 x 17 inches each
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg, beaten

directions

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Add the lamb and stir-fry a minute.
Add the onion, parsley, salt, pepper and cinnamon and cook over medium low heat til lamb is cooked through.
Take one sheet of phyllo and fold both side to the center length-wise.
Sprinkle lightly with melted butter.
Place 2 heaping tablespoons of meat stuffing at one end of the phyllo.
Press it out til it is about 4 inches wide and 1 inch deep.
Roll the dough over and roll about 3 times.
Sprinkle a bit more butter on the end and dab with egg to seal.
Do this with the remaining meat mix and phyllo.
Bake in a buttered baking dish in 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

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Reviews

We really enjoyed these, Happy Mom. I cut the recipe in half, used ground beef, slightly less cinnamon and happily used phyllo sheets for the first time in my life... successfully! ;o) I didn't need the beaten egg to seal them shut, but I did baste the tops of each with it to aid in browning. All in all a nice, repeatable recipe, thank you!

Sandi From CA
Very good. The whole family loved them. I served them with Hajar's Wicked Sauce Tomatish!, my own Coriander/Cilantro Yoghurt (Very Easy Side Dish) and a mixed leaf salad. We had two boureks each, as a main course. I didn't use the egg to seal the packages shut, because if you just lay them on the tray seam-side down, you don't need to seal them. I often make another version of this which has more spices, and I would have preferred more than 1/8 tsp cinnamon in this recipe because I couldn't taste it in the finished product - next time I'll increase the amount. I have to say that nobody else felt that more cinnamon was needed, so this is obviously a matter of personal taste! This is a great recipe - very easy to make, and a big hit with my family. Thank you.

Syrinx