Gluten Free Sambousek (Samboosek or Hot Pockets)
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.
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.