{"id":2540,"date":"2019-07-17T15:52:10","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T12:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/test.thebitterolive.com\/?p=2540"},"modified":"2019-12-18T20:57:03","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T18:57:03","slug":"the-perfect-cheese-sambousek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.thebitterolive.com\/?p=2540","title":{"rendered":"The Perfect Cheese Sambousek"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Another one of the perfect recipe series. Trust me it is not easy to label a recipe as being perfect. It definitely isn\u2019t a recipe that we\u2019ve tried once or twice or even 10 times. These recipes are the ones that we have been constantly making for years and have not once failed us. I mean this sambousek recipe is truly the best I tried and everyone who tastes these fried sambousek asks for the recipe. In our family, no recipe is well kept for us, we do love to share. Now you too can replicate mom\u2019s phenomenal cheese sambousek. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No family gathering or iftar\ntable is complete without sambousek. They are the first to be served and the\nfirst to quickly disappear. No matter how many we make, we rarely have\nleftovers. And what do we do when we have guests on a short notice? You guessed\nit right, pop some out of the freezer, deep fry them and you have the perfect\nthing for your guests to nibble.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Sambousek?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Middle eastern crunchy deep-fried\nsmall pastries filled with various fillings, usually ground meat or cheese.\nDepending on the type of dough used, they either have a crescent shape, or a\ntriangular one. Unlike <\/strong>shishbarak<\/strong><\/a>\nwhose origins people disagree about, sambousek originated in the Middle East\nand made its way to the rest of the world to be the more popular Indian samosas\nand Latin American empanadas. Can you believe it? Samosas and empanadas were\nactually inspired by our humble sambousek. I\u2019d say I am not surprised because\nthey are that good!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"making<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s fry Sambousek together!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Making the dough<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Adding a little bit of corn\nstarch to the dough, make it super crunchy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, the recipe calls for\npowdered milk. (A lot of traditional middle eastern recipes call for powdered\nmilk, mainly because fresh milk was not readily available and\/or was too\nexpensive. Also, powdered milk was a kitchen staple.) However, I know that this\nnot readily available everywhere and some people just don\u2019t like to use it over\nhealth concerns. If this is the case, replace powdered milk and water with 1\ncup full fat milk. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baking powder helps the dough\nto puff and makes it so light and airy. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kneading the dough really well\nhelps developing gluten and make rolling it thin possible. A thin sambousek is\npreferred because it is crunchier. Also, sambousek cooks relatively very\nquickly, so if you have a thick dough, it won\u2019t cook on the inside and will\nremain chewy. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Braiding the edges of the\ndough give it a very nice-looking finish but is also important to make sure it\nwell sealed. If this is not easy for you, then press a fork against the edges\nof the sambousek. This is also another classic look and fulfils the purpose. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparing the filling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For the cheese filling you can\nuse Nabulsi, Akkawi or Halloumi cheese. If the cheese is too salty, soak it in\nwater, but drain it overnight as it has to be super dry. Also, you can add up\nto 2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella for the classic cheese pull if akkawi\nis not available. However, adding too much mozzarella, will make all the cheese\nooze during frying. You\u2019ll end up with burnt cheese in the oil and an empty\nsambousek.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using fresh herbs (we use parsley) and nigella seeds if not already in your cheese, adds a lot of flavor to the cheese filling and give it an authentic middle eastern taste.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you don\u2019t soak your\ncheese, there can still be some moisture in it. Adding one tablespoon of flour\nto the cheese filling draws out the moisture out of the cheese. This is very\nimportant because if your cheese filling is moist, you will end up with a soggy\nsambousek.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"frying<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Deep frying<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here is a classic frying tip,\ndo not over crowd the pan. But also equally important, do not fry sambousek in\na larger than needed pan, because they will brown quickly and won\u2019t cook well. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sambousek are very light and\nairy so they will float on the surface of the oil, make sure you flip them so\nthat they brown equally on both sides.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"fried<\/figure>\n\n\n
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\"cheese<\/div>\n\t
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<\/div>\n\t<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Print<\/a>\n\t<\/path><\/g><\/svg><\/span> Pin<\/a>\n\t\n<\/div>\n

The Best Cheese Sambousek<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n
These fried cheesy middle eastern pastries are so irresistible, you won\u2019t be able to stop at one.<\/div>\n
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Ingredients<\/h3>

For the dough<\/h4>
  • 3<\/span> cups<\/span> all-purpose flour<\/span><\/li>
  • 1 \u00bd<\/span> tbsp<\/span> powdered milk<\/span> see note above<\/span><\/li>
  • \u00bd<\/span> tbsp<\/span> corn starch<\/span><\/li>
  • 1<\/span> tsp<\/span> salt<\/span><\/li>
  • \u00bc<\/span> tsp<\/span> baking powder<\/span><\/li>
  • \u2153<\/span> cup<\/span> vegetable oil<\/span> like corn or sunflower oil<\/span><\/li>
  • 1<\/span> cup<\/span> water<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div>

    For the cheese filling<\/h4>
    • 600<\/span> g<\/span> grated cheese<\/span> Akkawi, Nabulsi or Halloumi, see note above<\/span><\/li>
    • 2<\/span> tbsp<\/span> fresh flat leaf parsley<\/span><\/li>
    • 1<\/span> tbsp<\/span> flour<\/span><\/li>
    • \u00bd<\/span> tsp<\/span> nigella seeds<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div>

      For frying<\/h4>
      • Oil for frying<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n

        Instructions<\/h3>
        • Add all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined.<\/div><\/li>
        • Add vegetable oil and water and knead until dough is soft.<\/div><\/li>
        • All the dough to set for 30 minutes.<\/div><\/li>
        • Mix cheese, parsley, flour and nigella seeds together.<\/div><\/li>
        • Roll out the dough and cut out circle using a 9 cm cookie cutter.<\/div><\/li>
        • fill the circle with about 1 tbsp of cheese mixture. Make sure to leave the edges empty so that you seal them properly. Close to form a crescent shape.<\/div><\/li>
        • Braid the edges to form the classic sambousek shape. If you find this technique hard, press the edges of a fork against the dough to make sure it is well sealed.<\/div><\/li>
        • Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the sambousek in batches.<\/div><\/li>
        • Serve hot as part of a mezze spread or on their own as a snack.<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Another one of the perfect recipe series. Trust me it is not easy to label a recipe as being perfect. It definitely isn\u2019t a recipe that we\u2019ve tried once or twice or even 10 times. These recipes are the ones that we have been constantly making for years and have not once failed us. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":""},"categories":[33,161,74,36],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Perfect Cheese Sambousek - TheBitterOlive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/test.thebitterolive.com\/?p=2540\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Perfect Cheese Sambousek - TheBitterOlive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Another one of the perfect recipe series. Trust me it is not easy to label a recipe as being perfect. It definitely isn\u2019t a recipe that we\u2019ve tried once or twice or even 10 times. 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