These crispy Moroccan pastries (briouats or braewats) are made with a tasty combination of ground meat (kefta) and veggies. Although usually served as an appetizer or side, they can also be presented as a main dish.
A Moroccan dough called warqa is traditionally used to wrap the filling for briouats, but spring roll wrappers or phyllo dough are good substitutes. How to Fold Briouats Into Cylinders shows how to work with all of these doughs.
Briouats can be made in advance and stored in the fridge or freezer until frying time.
Serves 4 to 6.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces (225 g) ground beef, lamb or turkey
- 1 lb. (500 g) carrots
- 1 lb (500 g) zucchini
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 to 3 teaspoons dried beef or other bouillon (up to 3 small cubes or 1 1/2 large)
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg, beaten
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- 1 lb. (about 1/2 kg) warqa, phyllo dough or spring roll wrappers
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 egg yolk
Preparation:
Make the Filling
Cook the ground beef in one tablespoon of olive oil, stirring constantly to break up the meat. Drain the cooked meat, and set aside.
Wash and peel the carrots, and grate them into fine strands. Pick up handfuls of the carrots, and press or squeeze out the excess liquid. Discard the juice, or reserve it for another use.
Wash the zucchinis and grate them into fine strands. Squeeze out the excess juice as you did for the carrots. Again, you can discard or reserve this liquid for another use.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the zucchini, carrots, onions, and seasoning, and saute over fairly high heat for four to five minutes, or just until the vegetables soften. Don't overcook, or the vegetables will release too much liquid and turn mushy.
Add the cooked meat, stir to mix, and adjust the seasoning. Mix in the beaten egg, and cook for one minute longer. Remove the filling from the heat and set aside.
Fold the Briouats
See How to Fold Briouats into Cylinders or follow the directions below.
To fold cylinders from large sheets of warqa or phyllo dough, cut the dough into long strips about four inches wide. Brush the bottom half of the dough with melted butter. Place a large tablespoon or two of filling towards the bottom of the dough. Fold the two long sides of the dough into the center to partially cover the filling. Fold the bottom edge of the dough up over the filling to fully enclose it. Roll the folded dough up like a rug, sealing the edge of the dough to the roll with a little egg yolk.
To fold cylinders from square spring roll wrappers, place the wrapper so that it forms a diamond shape in front of you. Add two to three tablespoons of filling towards the bottom of the dough. Fold the bottom of the dough up around the filling, and the fold the right and left sides of the dough into the center so that the edges are straight and parallel. Roll up the dough like a rug, sealing the top edge of the dough to the roll with a little egg yolk.Cook or Freeze the Briouats
Deep fry the briouats in hot oil until light to medium golden brown, about five to seven minutes. Drain and serve. Briouats stay warm for a long time, but if frying them well in advance of serving, you can reheat them in a 350 degree oven for five to 10 minutes.
Uncooked briouats can be refrigerated for one day or frozen for up to two months in a freezer bag or plastic storage container. They can be fried directly from the freezer, or allowed to thaw for 30 minutes to one hour before frying.
