Tunisian Brik is a deep-fried triangular pastry pocket stuffed with a whole egg, chopped onion, meat, capers, parsley and is served as an appetizer.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Total Time45 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast
Cuisine: North African, Tunisian
Servings: 6briks
Author: Famidha Ashraf
INGREDIENTS
For the filling mixture
3tablespoonsolive oil
1medium oniondiced finely
2garlic clovescrushed and chopped
2green chillieschopped finely
400gramsground chicken or ground beef
1tablespooncapersaround 8 to 10 (optional)
fresh parsley
1teaspoonsumacoptional
1tablespoonlemon juice
2 to 4cheese sliceoptional, highly recommended
2 to 6eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
For the brik
Oil to pan fryuse a pan big enough to fit the whole brik
2 to 6thin pastry sheets malsouka, filo, etc.
INSTRUCTIONS
Thaw the pastry sheets
Thaw the pastry sheet as per packet instructions and remove as many sheets as you want and pack the rest back into the freezer. Cover and keep the sheets until needed.
Prepare the filling
Heat olive oil in a shallow pan and add the chopped onions, garlic cloves and green chillies. Saute until the onions are translucent.
Add the ground chicken or meat and cook on high while breaking any lumps. Cook until the chicken is done. Switch off and transfer to a bowl.
Stir in some capers and freshly chopped parsley. Sprinkle sumac and squeeze in some lemon juice. Do a taste test and let the stuffing mixture cool before you start assembling.
Assemble the brik
Once stuffed, there cannot be any delay in sliding the brik into the hot oil. Any delay will make the pastry sheet soggy and it will be a mess.
Heat oil in a shallow frying pan.
Mound the stuffing in the centre of the pastry sheet and make a well in the middle to add the egg. Just crack open an egg into that space.
Tear the cheese slices into small pieces and place a few pieces of cheese over the filling.
Fry the brik
Hold one corner/end of the pastry and join the other corner and quickly and gently slide it into the hot oil.
Use a spoon to press and seal the sides of the brik. Scoop some oil onto the top of the brik. Fry until the sides start to turn golden.
Use two slotted spoons or a tong and turn the brik to fry the other side. The brik gets done in less than a minute as ideally Tunisian Brik has runny egg. But, if you want the egg well done, then fry it for a few more seconds and then remove it.
Remove from oil and leave on a kitchen tissue to drain the excess oil. Serve hot.
Notes
Note: If you are using shredded cheese, then mix the cheese into the filling just before you start assembling. I had only cheese slices and wanted to ensure each brik had a good share of cheese, so made it an effort to tear and place them.The filling recipe will make for more than 2 briks. I made only 2 and the rest of the filling went into 4 spring rolls. You can make up to 6 brik using this recipe.