Sambousek with Aioli
Sambousek is a popular street food in Egypt. It is a meat pie that falls along the lines of the South American empanada, the Asian egg roll, or the Cornish pastie. It's a simple concept--dough stuffed with savory meat, portable and delicious--that can be found just about anywhere in the world.
We used Berbere Seasoning in our meat filling to enhance the flavor of this dish and to keep the flavors of Africa in mind. Using a pre-packaged puff pastry dough is a definite shortcut. Each box of puff pastry comes with two pastries, wrapped in a paper wrapper. We use both pastries in this dish.
We deep-fried our sambousek, but you could easily bake them instead. Just brush the sambousek with oil, heat your oven to 375°F, and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and crispy, turning once about half-way through. You could also use ground turkey instead of ground beef, or even a plant-based mock meat. Serve this with our aioli-based dipping sauce, your favorite chili sauce, or yogurt flavored with parsley and lemon.
For the sambousek
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced small
- 5-6 green onion, sliced
- 2 teaspoons California Roasted Minced Garlic
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Berbere
- 2 pounds ground beef
- Fine Sea Salt and Black Pepper Medium Grind to taste
- 2 egg yolks, beaten
- 1 box (2 packs) puff pastry
For the aioli
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon Ginger Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cilantro
- 1/2 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon bottled hot sauce
- 2 teaspoons California Roasted Minced Garlic
- In a large skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent.
- Add California Roasted Minced Garlic and Berbere. Cook for one minute.
- Add ground beef and cook until browned. Season with Fine Sea Salt and Black Pepper Medium Grind. Remove from heat and set aside. Drain grease if necessary.
- Unfold the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Lightly roll out the dough. Cut each puff pastry rectangle into 4 squares, for 8 squares in total.
- Brush beaten egg yolks around the edge. Spoon about a quarter cup of the meat filling on the lower third of the pastry dough. Fold 2 sides over the filling and roll up.
- In a Dutch oven or deep fryer set to 350°F, add the pastry roll carefully into the oil. Fry on all sides until golden brown.
- To make aioli, put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Serve sambousek with aioli.
