Lamb Briouats
The lamb is spiced with cumin, paprika, and cinnamon. It is slightly spicy and slightly sweet at the same time. They are traditionally wrapped in pastry but I thought wrapping them in phyllo dough makes them cute, quick and easy to make. They freeze beautifully so you can make a bunch of them ahead and have them at the ready. Once baked, they are crispy and crunchy and are sure to become as big a hit to you and your guests, just as they were to my son Peter who had them at almost every meal we had at the El Fenn in Marrakesh.
Ingredients
- 2 T Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion finely diced
- 1½ tsp Whole Cumin Seeds toasted* (or 1 ½ tsp. ground cumin)
- 1½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Paprika
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- 1 pound Ground Lamb
- 3 Eggs slightly beaten
- 1 Package Phyllo/Filo Dough defrosted
- ½ cup Butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil; once warm add the onions and sauté 4-6 minutes or until soft. Add the ground cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, and cinnamon. Stir until combined and cook for 1 minute.
- Then add the meat, stirring and breaking the meat up into small pieces. Cook until meat is brown and cooked though; about 5 minutes more.
- Add the beaten eggs and stir constantly until the eggs are cooked and there is no liquid left. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
- Unroll the sheets of the phyllo dough on a flat surface and cover with a towel. Place 1 sheet on the counter and brush the sheet lightly with butter.
- Place another sheet on top. Using a knife or scissors, cut the dough into four 2-inch strips. Place all the strips except one under the towel so that they will not dry out.
- Place a tablespoon of the meat mixture in the bottom corner of the stripe of dough.
- Take a left corner and fold it over to the right, making triangle.
- Continue folding the dough left, right up the column of dough ending with the cute little triangle shaped package.
- Brush the edge with butter and fold over to seal close. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat with all the phyllo dough and meat mixture.
- Place the baking sheet into the oven and cook until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
- Serve warm.
** Toasting Seeds
- Place the seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan continuously until the seeds become fragrant.
- Remove toasted seeds from the pan and place in a spice grinder; grind to a fine grind.
Notes
TIPS & TRICKS
– You can substitute the ground lamb with ground beef or turkey.
– I like to make the filling the day before so that it is really cold.
– Briouats can be prepared then frozen. Place the briouats on a sheet pan in the freezer, once they are completely frozen place them in an air tight container until ready to use. Once ready to serve, remove directly from the freezer and bake in a 350º oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
– I double the filling since you have enough phyllo dough to make two recipes, or use leftover phyllo for another use.
Alternate Search Terms: pastry, bake, philo, filo, dough