Lamb bôreks

Name: Lamb bôreks
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 30 g pine nuts; 2 brown onions, minced; 30 ml olive oil; 250 g lamb (shoulder or leg), coarsely minced; 6 cloves garlic, minced; 250 g lamb (shoulder or leg), coarsely minced; 250 g lamb (shoulder or leg), coarsely minced; ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ground; ½ teaspoon freshly ground allspice; 1 egg, beaten; ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 tablespoon finely shredded mint leaves; 1 tablespoon shredded flat-leaf parsley; ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 125 g unsalted butter, melted; 10 sheets filo pastry

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Spice

By Christine Manfield

Published 1999

About

A popular Turkish savoury pie, but also found in other parts of the Middle East, bôreks are made with layers of buttered filo pastry that enclose a filling of spiced meat or cheese. Buy a good-quality (preferably locally made) filo and keep it covered with a damp tea towel while rolling the pastries, as it dries out very quickly.

Ingredients

30 g pine nuts
30 ml olive oil
2 brown onions

Asia
Turkey
Japan
Vietnam
China
Pastry
Pie
Mediterranean
Southeast Asia
Spicy

Method

Dry-roast pine nuts over gentle heat until just coloured, then cool.
Heat oil in a frying pan and fry onion and garlic over gentle heat until lightly coloured.
Add lamb and spices and cook over moderately high heat until meat changes colour.
Remove pan from heat and stir in pine nuts, egg, parsley, mint, salt and pepper until thoroughly comb