When you bite into one of these Baklava meat rolls you can become an addicted
Have you had enough of the cold weather? Tuesday was bone chillin’. I can’t remember when it’s been this cold in our area. We took my dad to an outpatient surgery on Tuesday and I was sure that our faces froze off just walking from the car to the building. Today’s 20 degrees almost felt like a warm front.
So, have you ever had phyllo dough filled with meat? Phyllo is more commonly used for desserts, or feta cheese and leafy greens like this.
But, my family likes to fill it with lamb, er actually it’s me that loves it with filled with lamb. You can totally use beef if you like. This is an appetizer my mom used to make on special occasions. When she came home with 4 or 5 boxes of phyllo I knew it was time for these little meat rolls to happen. Or sometimes baklava, but that’s another post.
The filling is similar to what’s in these dumplings. Flavorful ground lamb sautéed with onion and aromatics with toasted almonds added in. Roll it all up in buttery phyllo dough, bake it and oh my goodness. The crunch of the baked phyllo, the aroma of the spices and toasty almonds…it’s a party in your mouth!
I bet you can’t eat just one.
Baklava Meat Rolls
Course: Uncategorized2
hoursIngredients
1 cup ground lamb (or beef)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons sliced almonds (or chopped)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 sheets of Athens fillo dough
Directions
- Prepare baking sheet: line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silpat.
- In a medium, non-stick skillet sauté the onions for about 2 minutes on medium-high. Add the spices and cook for another minute.
- Add the meat and sauté until no longer pink and cooked through. Set aside to cool.
- In the same skillet add a drop of olive oil and toast the nuts on medium until golden. Watch them carefully. They burn easily. Combine with the meat mixture and set aside.
- Cut the 6 sheets of dough in half crosswise. This will give you 12 squares. Work with one square at a time keeping the others covered with a sheet of plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel over the plastic wrap.
- Brush some melted butter on one of the squares, fold it in half. You now have a rectangle. Now butter the side facing you.
- Take 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture and spread it down the entire length of the fill dough close to the edge that’s closest to you.
- With your fingers break up any pieces of meat that are still chunky. You want the meat to be almost minced to avoid tearing the fillo dough.
- Now gingerly roll it up like a cigar. Brush a little more butter on the “cigar” as you’re rolling. Now roll the cigar into a coil.
- Place on the baking sheet. Do the same with the remaining 11 squares.
- Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes until dough starts to turn golden brown.
