ALGERIAN CHICKEN & PRESERVED LEMON BOUREK

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Algerian Chicken & Preserved Lemon Bourek image

The fillings for bourek really are endless, I love the traditional ground lamb & parsley, the prawn & bechemel, potato & cheese........the list goes on. Here I combined ground chicken with fresh coriander & a little preserved lemon for a delicious fried snack. You can freeze these bourek easily & when you come to cook them, allow to 1/2 thaw before deep frying. You can also shallow fry them in a frying pan about 1" deep in sunflower or vegetable oil. Bourek are wonderful whenever, but really they are a Ramadan essential in any Algerian household. (If you are new to making bourek & rolls, here is a step by step -in photos- demo for you: http://radiancerecipes.com/chinese-springrolls/)

Provided by Um Safia

Categories     Chicken

Time 2h10m

Yield 36 bourek

Number Of Ingredients 11

36 spring roll wrappers (I use the large square ones in a green pack)
5 cups ground chicken
3 large brown onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 preserved lemon, skin only
1/2 teaspoon ras el hanout spice mix
1/4 teaspoon schwartz Season-All salt
3 -4 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons plain flour
1/2 cup water

Steps:

  • In a medium sized casserole, heat the olive oil & gently fry the onion until pale golden. Add the chicken & fry for 15-20 minutes on a medium heat.
  • Add your ras el hanout & the Season All, mix well & cook for a few minutes.
  • Wash the preserved lemon really well (make sure to discard the flesh), then chop it very finely & add to the casserole. Cook for a few more minutes.
  • Remove the casserole from the heat, add the coriander (cilantro) & allow to cool. Mix in the chopped eggs & re-season if required.
  • Once the filling is cooled completely, you are ready to assemble the bourek.
  • Make your flour paste by putting the flour in a bowl & gradually adding the water until you have a very runny paste - a bit like crepe batter.
  • Lay 1 spring roll sheet on your work surface & place 2 generous teaspoonfulls of the filling onto the sheet. You need to place it in a line approx 1" up from the bottom of the sheet & the line of filling should have a fraction over 1" of spring roll sheet visable on both the left & right side.
  • Next bring the left side of the sheet over the filling - it will overlap the filling by about an inch. Do the same with the right side.
  • Take the bottom of the sheet in both hands & pull it up so that it covers the line of filling.
  • With a pastry brush or the back of a teaspoon, brush a small amount of the flour paste along the edges of the sheet.
  • Now start to roll the bourek, be careful to keep it tight & even. When you have rolled it up securely, you can brush a tiny amount of the paste along the seam so that the bourek stays closed whilst it is being fried.
  • Repeat these steps with the remaining 35 spring roll sheets.
  • Now you can either freeze the bourek or fry them in hot oil (I like to deep fry at approx 165-170c) in batches, until a deep golden colour & very crispy!

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