Barbajuan recipe

Monaco's fried turnover: a paper-thin olive-oil dough around Swiss chard, ricotta and rice, eaten above all on national day, 19 November.

2 hours and 30 minutesmedium11 ingredients

Ingredients

• 600 g Swiss chard leaves
• 250 g ricotta
• 80 g parmesan
• 60 g rice
• 1 leek
• 1 onion
• 300 g plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1000 ml oil for frying
• 1 pinch salt and black pepper

How to make Barbajuan

1. Make the dough: 300 g of plain flour, 1 egg, 4 tbsp of olive oil, a pinch of salt and about 100 ml of warm water. Knead 10 minutes until smooth and rest it 1 hour. Puff pastry is not used here; the shell must stay thin and crisp.
2. Boil 60 g of rice until soft, drain and cool.
3. Sweat 1 chopped onion and 1 sliced leek in 4 tbsp of olive oil for 5 minutes, then add 600 g of chopped Swiss chard leaves and cook 10 minutes until the pan is dry.
4. Cool the greens and squeeze out every drop of water with your hands, otherwise the parcels burst in the oil.
5. Mix the chard with 250 g of ricotta, 80 g of grated parmesan, the rice, 1 egg, salt and pepper.
6. Roll the dough out to 1 to 2 mm and cut 8 cm rounds. Put 1 tsp of filling on each, fold into a half-moon and seal the edge with a fork.
7. Fry in oil at 170 °C for 2 to 3 minutes a side until blistered and golden.
8. Drain and eat warm, with your fingers.

Get Copper on the App Store

More dishes from Monaco →