Algerian cuisine - Starters
Scrambled Egg and Spinach Samoussa or Bricks
Here's a variation that's delicious, quick and economical.
Everyone knows that the quickest way to break the crust is to cook eggs. Pairing them with seasonal spinach is child's play and a pure delight.
Ingredients: ( 10 pieces or more)
Brick pastry sheets, homemade recipe HERE
1 bunch organic spinach
Preparation:
Pour the semolina, flour and salt into a bowl and gradually add half the amount of water to gather the dough.
Then knead strongly, taking care not to break the elasticity of the dough, adding water little by little to give it more body and elasticity.
I've put the kneading technique on a video for a better understanding.
You'll have a soft, elastic dough, which you cover with cling film and a tea towel.
Leave your dough to rest overnight, or prepare it in the morning and bake it in the afternoon.
Baking the pastry sheets:
Utensils needed to cook the bricks; 1 tinned copper tray specially designed for cooking these sheets. By default, I cook them in a good-quality crêpe pan.
Place the tray on top, smooth side out.
Wipe with a lightly oiled tea towel at first, then only if the dough sticks to the tray.
Take a little dough between your fingers after wetting your hand.
Tap on the already hot tray, lifting your hand in a continuous motion.
The elastic dough is caught as soon as it touches the tray, leaving a thin white film each time.
These thin films, glued together by this repeated movement, should form a round disk 30 to 35 cm in diameter, which you detach from the tray by pulling gently towards you.
The sheet is fired on one side only, and placed on a towel within easy reach, shiny side up.
Repeat the operation until all the dough has been used up, and place the sheets one on top of the other, always with the shiny side facing upwards, so that they don't stick together.
The heat of the tray should always be even.
When all the sheets are done, wrap them flat in a towel... and you can freeze them for several days or even months.
Ingredients
Potato purée (2 to 3 potatoes cooked in salted water, preferably with the skin on)
minced meat
salt and pepper
A dash of cumin (optional, but great with potatoes)
1 bunch parsley
1 small onion ( New onion is better with these stems)
1 clove garlic (optional)
2 tbsp oil
Fresh eggs, depending on the number of bricks to be prepared
Lemon and harissa
Oil for frying
3 organic eggs
1 pinch cumin
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch hot pepper
1 knob butter + a drizzle of organic olive oil
salt and pepper
Fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, deseeded
Preparation
1- Wash and drain the spinach well in advance to avoid softening the samoussa and, above all, to avoid prolonging the cooking time of the spinach.
2- Chop the spinach and parsley, melt the butter with the olive oil in a frying pan and add.
3- Brown the herbs in the butter and oil, then add the crushed or finely grated garlic, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the cumin, chili pepper and ginger, letting them absorb the water over a high heat.
4- Crack the eggs into a bowl one at a time and stir in to bind with the spinach.
5- Don't overcook the filling, which should be deep-fried afterwards.
6- Cut the bricks in half, then fold each half-sheet in half lengthways. Place a spoonful of filling on one side, leaving enough to cover, and fold over, starting from the opposite side and working your way to the end.
7- Tuck the end into the folding so that it doesn't open during baking, or stick it in place with beaten egg or flour glue.
samoussas, bricks, Borek, Bourek, Appetizer, Ramadan