Sambousek
also called sambousek · sambusak · sambousak · sambousick · sambousa · sambusa · sanbusak · meat turnovers · fried meat pies · half-moon pies
- Shawarma Counter
- serves 8
- about 1 hr 45 min
- Dumplings & Rolls
Three ways to read this recipe
The table
| 5 Tbs(70 g; cold, diced)unsalted butter | rub the butter into the flour | bring together, rest 30 min | fill, crimp the rim | fry at 350°F 4 min |
| 2 1/2 cups(325 g)all-purpose flour | ||||
| 1 tsp(6 g)fine sea salt | ||||
| 1/2 tspbaking powder | ||||
| 1/2 cup(120 mL)cold water | ||||
| 1 tsp(5 mL)distilled white vinegar | ||||
| 10 oz(280 g)ground lamb | fry the filling 8 min, cool it | |||
| 1 medium(diced fine)yellow onion | ||||
| 1/4 cup(35 g)pine nuts | ||||
| 1 tspground allspice | ||||
| 1/2 tspground cinnamon | ||||
| 1 tspkosher salt | ||||
| 1/2 tspblack pepper | ||||
| 1 Tbs(15 mL)olive oil | ||||
| 1 Tbs(15 mL)lemon juice | ||||
| 5 cups(1.2 L; at 350°F/175°C)neutral oil | ||||
What to lay out
Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.17 things to get out.
Pans and tools
1rub the butter into the flour
2bring together, rest 30 min
goes in with what step 1 made
3fry the filling 8 min, cool it
5fry at 350°F 4 min
goes in with what step 4 made
Cooking it
Start to finish is the longest chain through the table, so branches that overlap are counted once. That is why the waits add up to more than the clock — and it only holds if you get them going together.
Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.
The clock
- Start to finish
- at least 34 mintwo waits that overlap count once
- Needs you
- 12 minof the steps that give a time
2 of the 5 steps never say how long they take, so both numbers are floors. The recipe itself says 1 hr 45 min.
rub the butter into the flour
not timedfrom the start
fry the filling 8 min, cool it
28 minneeds youfrom the start
bring together, rest 30 min
30 minwalk awayfrom the start
fill, crimp the rim
not timed30 min in
fry at 350°F 4 min
4 minneeds you30 min in
- needs you
- you can walk away
- never timed
Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them. Bars that line up are happening at the same time.
You'll need skillet
Goes with
See how it is written
>> title: Sambousek
>> category: Dumplings & Rolls
>> tags: lamb, pastry, deep-fry, middle eastern, turnover, pine nuts
>> counters: Shawarma Counter
>> aka: sambousek, sambusak, sambousak, sambousick, sambousa, sambusa, sanbusak, meat turnovers, fried meat pies, half-moon pies
>> pairs-with: labneh, kabis, tahini-sauce
>> servings: 8
>> time: 1 hr 45 min
>> step.1: rub the butter into the flour
>> step.2: bring together, rest 30 min
>> step.3: fry the filling 8 min, cool it
>> step.4: fill, crimp the rim
>> step.5: fry at 350°F 4 min
Rub @unsalted butter{5%Tbs}(70 g; cold, diced) into @all-purpose flour{2 1/2%cups}(325 g), @fine sea salt{1%tsp}(6 g) and @baking powder{1/2%tsp} with your fingertips until it looks like coarse meal. Short and unleavened, not the yeasted dough the baked pastries take — this one has to fry to a crisp shell in four minutes, and a bread dough in hot oil goes to a doughnut.
Bring @&(~1)rubbed flour{} together with @cold water{1/2%cup}(120 mL) and @distilled white vinegar{1%tsp}(5 mL) into a stiff dough without kneading it, then ~rest{30%min} wrapped. The vinegar keeps it tender; kneading it develops gluten and gives you a tough half-moon that fights the bite.
Fry @ground lamb{10%oz}(280 g), @yellow onion{1%medium}(diced fine), @pine nuts{1/4%cup}(35 g), @ground allspice{1%tsp}, @ground cinnamon{1/2%tsp}, @kosher salt{1%tsp} and @black pepper{1/2%tsp} in @olive oil{1%Tbs}(15 mL) in a #skillet{} ~fry{8%min}, until the meat is browned and dry in the pan, then stir in @lemon juice{1%Tbs}(15 mL) and ~cool{20%min}. Dry in the pan is the target: a juicy filling steams the seam apart in the fryer.
Roll @&(~2)rested dough{} thin, cut four-inch rounds, spoon @&(~1)cooled filling{} onto one half of each, fold over and crimp the rim between finger and thumb in overlapping folds. Press out every pocket of air as you close it — trapped air expands in the oil and bursts the seam.
Fry @&(~1)filled sambousek{} in @neutral oil{5%cups}(1.2 L; at 350°F/175°C) in batches ~fry{4%min}, turning once, until they are evenly gold and blistered. They are just as good baked at 400°F for twenty minutes and they are not the same thing — baked, the shell is short and crumbly; fried, it shatters.