Sambousek

About This Recipe

No Lebanese celebration table is complete without a platter of sambousek — golden half-moon pastries that shatter at the first bite to reveal a filling of cinnamon-and-allspice-scented meat studded with pine nuts, or molten salty cheese. They are the dish grandmothers make by the hundred before holidays, crimping the edges in assembly-line fashion with daughters and grandchildren around the table. The pastry here matters as much as the filling: rubbing cold butter into the flour before adding water creates fine flaky layers that blister and crisp in hot oil. Cooled filling, well-sealed edges, and steady 170°C oil are the three details that guarantee sambousek that are crunchy outside, juicy inside, and never greasy.

Ingredients

Serves 24

• 3 cupsall-purpose flour
• 1/2 cupbutter or ghee, cold and cubed
• 3/4 cupwarm water
• 1 tspsalt
• 300 gground beef or lamb
• 1 mediumonion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsppine nuts, toasted
• 1 tspallspice
• 1/2 tspcinnamon
• 1/2 tspblack pepper
• oil for frying

Instructions

1. 1

   Make dough

   Rub the cold butter into the flour and salt with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps remaining. Add the warm water a little at a time, kneading just until a smooth, supple dough forms — about 3 minutes. Wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes.

   Overworking the dough after the water goes in makes it tough; stop kneading as soon as it comes together.

2. 2

   Cook filling

   Cook the onion and ground meat together in a dry pan over medium-high heat, breaking the meat into fine crumbles, until browned and any liquid has evaporated — about 8 minutes. Season with allspice, cinnamon, pepper, and salt, stir in the toasted pine nuts, and spread on a plate to cool completely before filling.

   Warm filling melts the dough and breaks the seal — cool it fully, even briefly in the fridge.

3. 3

   Shape

   Roll the rested dough out to about 2 mm thick and cut 8 cm circles with a cutter or glass. Place a scant tablespoon of filling on one half of each circle, leaving a clean border, fold into a half-moon, and press the edges firmly together. Crimp with fork tines or rope-twist the edge for the traditional finish.

4. 4

   Fry

   Heat 4–5 cm of oil to 170°C — a scrap of dough should bubble steadily, not violently. Fry the sambousek in batches of 5–6 so the temperature holds, turning once, until deep golden brown all over, about 3–4 minutes total. Drain on paper towels and serve hot, with yogurt or as part of a mezze spread.

Variations

• •

  Cheese sambousek: fill with crumbled desalted akkawi or grated halloumi mixed with chopped parsley and a little egg.

• •

  Baked version: brush with olive oil or egg wash and bake at 200°C for 18–20 minutes until golden.

• •

  Spinach filling: sautéed spinach with onion, sumac, and lemon, in the style of fatayer, works beautifully in this dough.

• •

  Add a teaspoon of pomegranate molasses to the meat filling for a subtle sweet-sour note.

Storage

Fried sambousek keep 2 days refrigerated; re-crisp at 180°C in the oven for 6–8 minutes rather than microwaving. For best results, freeze them shaped and unfried in a single layer for up to 3 months and fry straight from frozen, adding a minute or two to the cooking time.

Frequently Asked Questions