At a Glance
- Potato Type: Russet
- Prep Method: null
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Yield: 8
- Prep Time:
- Ready Time:
- Cook Time:
Recipe By: United States Potato Board
These North African pastries usually are made with paper thin dough called malsouqua (Tunisian pastry) or ouarka (Moroccan pastry). As these semolina flour pastries are time consuming and a bit tricky to make, and because they are not readily available at our markets, we’ll use filo. Briouats are similar to Tunisian briks or small Greek and Turkish borek type pastries. Layers of paper thin pastry are wrapped around a filling, rolled up onto cylinders or folded into triangles or rectangles. They usually are deep fried but also can be baked. These can be filled with a savory potato mixture, ground meat or merquez sausage. You may assemble briouats ahead of time, place on baker’s parchment lined baking sheets, cover loosely with a foil tent (but don’t press the foil on the pastries or they will tear when you remove the foil) and refrigerate until needed. They’ll keep for a few days.
Ingredients
Potato Filling:
- 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 3 tablespoons chopped mint or fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 1 egg
- Clarified melted butter
- 8 sheets filo
Preparation
Cook the potatoes in salted water until they are soft. Drain well and mash. Set aside. Heat oil in small sauté pan and cook the onion over moderate heat for 7 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the herbs. Add the onion mixture to the potatoes, season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the raw egg to bind the mixture.
To make the briouats or cigar shaped pastries: Cut filo into strips 5 inches wide and about 12 inches long. Butter one layer, top with another and butter it well. Put some filling on the bottom or along one side, roll, tuck in sides and continue rolling to seal. Brush with water or egg to seal. Or cut strips that are 3 inches wide, butter and top with another layer, then place a tablespoon of filling on one end and fold into triangles.
To bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush pastries lightly with melted butter and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.
Serve at once.
