Samsa recipe

A Central Asian pastry, often layered, wrapped around raw chopped lamb, onion and tail fat that cook inside the dough, traditionally baked against the wall of a tandoor.

2 hours and 10 minutesmedium10 ingredients

Ingredients

• 500 g lamb
• 100 g lamb tail fat
• 400 g onion
• 500 g wheat flour
• 250 ml water
• 80 g butter
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2.5 tsp salt
• 1 egg yolk

How to make Samsa

1. Mix 500 g wheat flour, 2.5 tsp salt and about 250 ml cold water into a firm unleavened dough; knead 10 minutes, cover and rest 30 minutes.
2. Roll the dough out very thin, brush it with 80 g melted butter, roll it up tightly into a log and chill 30 minutes.
3. Chop 100 g boneless lamb and 500 g lamb tail fat into small dice with a knife, without cooking them.
4. Mix the raw meat and fat with 400 g finely chopped onion, 1.5 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp black pepper and 2.5 tsp salt.
5. Slice the log into 12 rounds, set each cut side up and roll it into a 12 cm circle.
6. Place 2 tbsp of raw filling in the centre of each circle and fold the edges into a sealed triangle.
7. Set the samsa seam side down on a tray, brush with 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp water.
8. Bake at 220 °C for 25 to 30 minutes until deep golden; a home oven replaces the traditional tandoor.

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