Gluten Free Sambousek

This is one of those recipes that is served as an appetizer or a side dish at parties and almost every occasion. Lebanon has very special entrée dishes or appetizers that are served together before any main meal. These dishes are known as Maza. They might differ in taste from restaurant to restaurant, or from house to house, but they are still mainly the same dishes. Some of these dishes are Tabouleh, Hummus, Sambousek, Kbeb, and many others. Whenever I was served these dishes before the main meal, I always thought there is no way I will be able to stuff the main meal into my belly. Besides, these dishes are so delicious on their own I am not sure I want to get to the main meal. 

Ingredients: 

Multi-Purpose gluten free dough 

-1pound ground beef or lamb 

-1 large onion diced 

-1 teaspoon salt 

-2 teaspoons cinnamon 

-2 teaspoons dehydrated parsley flakes 

-Vegetable oil for frying (optional) 

-Cooking spray 

Utensils: 

– Lage pan 

– Large frying pan or a baking sheet 

-Large Sharp knife for chopping 

-Chopping board 

-Rolling pin or a tortilla press 

-wooden spoon 

-Large fine sieve 

-Silicon mat or parchment paper 

-Tortilla press (optional, but makes life easier) 

-Slotted spoon or spider 

-Cooling rack 

-Oil thermometer 

Directions :

This dough is so flaky and delicious. It will satisfy all your cravings especially if you chose to fry it.

All you have to do is prep your stuffing, and the dough, form some sambousek, and fry them or bake them.

The stuffing is really simple. You’ll first need to brown your ground beef. I like to brown my ground beef with the onions. I find that this method helps the onions to lend their flavor to the ground beef, and vice versa, the ground beef can lend its flavor to the onions. While if you do brown your ground beef, and fry your onions separately, you will not have that marrying of flavor. You will also end up with the extra oil added to fry the onions with as well. While if you fry the onions directly with the juices of the ground beef while its browning, you will not need to add any extra oil. You might have to drain some of the ground beef’s fat, but that’s all.

After you have browned the ground beef and the onions together, it is time to add the seasonings, stir fry the mixture for a couple more minutes, set aside, and let it cool while you work on the dough.

For the dough, you will need to use my Multi-Purpose gluten free dough It is so rich and flaky, you will seriously love it. Just make sure to keep it covered after you have made it in order to keep it moist and prevent it from cracking.

For this step, you could either use a rolling pin or a tortilla press. I personally use a tortilla press lined with a piece of parchment paper that is folded in half. I put about a golf size ball in the middle in between the parchment paper and press. But, if you do want to use a rolling pin, or if you do not have a tortilla press, make sure to oil your rolling pin and the surface on which you will roll the dough. Or you could also roll the dough on a piece of parchment paper or a silicone pad.

Put about a tablespoon of stuffing in the middle of the circle which you have created. Fold the dough over it, and press the edges tightly together to prevent the sambousek from opening. You could also decorate the edges by creating little folds in them, or by creating marks on them using a fork.

Now comes the last part. You could either bake these beautiful sambousek, or fry them. Traditionally, they are deep fried at 350 F until they’re golden brown. They do taste the best fried if fried properly where no extra oil is absorbed, but for a healthier option which I often choose to take, I bake them at 400 F for about 15 minutes or until they’re golden brown. You’ll want to leave some space in between each sambousek to allow room for expansion.

My favorite way to eat sambousek is on the side of a big bowl of tabouleh salad. Yum!

Try them, and let me know what you think in the comments down below.

Gluten Free Sambousek

Gluten Free Sambousek (Samboosek or Hot Pockets)

Chantal
This is one of those recipes that is served as an appetizer or a side dish at parties and almost every occasion. Lebanon has a very special entrée dishes or appetizers that are served together before any main meal. These dishes are known as Maza. They might differ in taste from restaurant to restaurant, or from house to house, but they are still mainly the same dishes. Some of these dishes are Tabouleh, Hummus, Sambousek, Kbeb, and many others. Whenever I was served these dishes before the main meal, I always thought there is no way I will be able to stuff the main meal into my belly. Besides, these dishes are so delicious on their own I am not sure I want to get to the main meal. 
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Mediterranean
Servings 6 people

Equipment

  • Large pan
  • Large frying pan or a baking sheet 
  • Large Sharp knife for chopping
  • Chopping board
  • Rolling pin or a tortilla press
  • Wooden Spoon
  • Large fine sieve
  • Silicon mat or parchment paper
  • Tortilla press (optional, but makes life easier) 
  • Slotted spoon or spider
  • Cooling rack
  • Oil thermometer 

Ingredients
  

  • Multi Purpose gluten free dough
  • 1 pound ground beef or lamb
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons dehydrated parsley flakes
  • vegetable oil for frying optional
  • cooking spray

Instructions
 

  • In a large pan, brown the ground beef and diced onions together over medium heat. Drain the fat using a large fine sieve, and place the mixture back into the pan on medium low heat. 
  • Season the ground beef mixture with salt, cinnamon, and parsley. Stir fry for a couple more minutes and remove from heat. Set aside while you work on the dough. 
  • There are two ways to prepare this food. Either baking it or frying it. If you choose to bake it, you’ll want to preheat your oven to 400 F at this point. 
  • Before you begin this step, make sure your dough is well hydrated. If it looks crackly, or if you try to make a shape with it, and it feels crumbly, then you’ll want to add a little bit of liquid to it. About 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or milk, making sure to knead it after each addition to check if it reached the right consistency. Always keep the dough covered with either a plate or a clean damp kitchen towel. 
  • Take about a golf size ball piece of dough and roll it between your hands to form a circular shape. Press it flat between the palm of your hands.
  • If you chose a rolling pin for this step, make sure to keep it well-oiled to prevent the dough from sticking to it. Roll the dough onto a silicon matt into a circular shape of about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. You could also do this step by pressing the dough using a tortilla press lined with parchment paper. 
  • Gently place the circular dough into the palm of your hand making sure not to crack it. Place a tablespoon of filling into the center of the circle. Do not put too much filling as this will cause the sambousek to burst open. Fold the circle in half onto itself while covering the filling. Pinch the edges tight together to prevent the dough from opening up.
  • You can now decorate the edges of the sambousek where the dough meets itself by either pinching the dough to form beautiful shapes, or by using a fork and pressing down on the edges. Repeat steps 6 to 8 until all dough and filling are used up. 
  • If you are going to bake the sambousek, spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray, place the sambousek on it by leaving about ¼ inch space in between each sambousek, spray the sambousek with some cooking spray, and bake in a 400 F oven on center rack for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve hot or cold with tabbouleh, Roz a djej (rice and chicken), shish kebab, or any other dish that you might think of. You could also serve it on its own as a hot pocket. 
  • If you choose to fry the sambousek, you’ll need to prepare a large frying pan. Fill it with vegetable oil. Preheat the oil to 350 F. Place a few sambousek pieces at a time into the oil and fry on both sides until golden brown. Remove using a spider or a slotted spoon, and place onto a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining sambousek. Do not overcrowd the pan as we do not want them to steam, but to fry. Do not let the oil exceed the 350 F as the sambousek will burn quickly.  

Video

Notes

This meat filling is only one variation of sambousek, and it is the only one that I know of that is served as a Maza, but this really is up to your imagination. Now that you have the dough and the technique to make the sambousek, you can fill it with any filling that you can think of. Maybe some spinach and goat cheese! Yum! Or anything really as long as you follow the techniques listed above. 
Frying the dough produces a crunchier, much tastier sambousek, but baking is the healthier rout that I prefer to take. 
You can click on my Multi-Purpose Gluten Free Dough to take you to the dough recipe.
Keyword gluten free hot pockets, gluten free samboosek, gluten free sambousek, hot pockets, samboosek, sambousek

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