Cheese Sambousek/ Cheese Borek

Those popular cheese sambousek/ cheese borek that hail from Lebanon and the Middle East are wonderful to eat out of the fryer! They feature a cheese filling encased in pastry and deep fried to flaky perfection. The incredible savory bites are crispy on the outside with a stretchy oozy cheese inside. For some reason, they have a reputation for being difficult. I have to admit, it takes time make these little cheese morsels from scratch, but they are really so worth it. The process involves making a buttery dough from scratch and cook the cheese filling on stovetop. Classically, they are are formed into a crescent shape like empanadas or a rectangle much like ravioli, and pan-fried to perfection. The crowd-pleaser cheese sambousek can be made ahead of time too!

Link to the printable recipe: https://hadiaslebanesecuisine.com/newsite/recipe-items/cheese-sambousek-fried-cheese-turnovers-cheese-borek/
Makes: 40 mini sambousek
Cuisine: Lebanese and Middle Eastern
My love of those cheesy oozy sambusek knows no bounds. Frying them guarantees a shatteringly crispy result, and the oozy, stretchy cheese filling makes them more so appealing — keep this recipe in mind, it is a total winner!

Ingredients:
For the dough
500 grams / 1 lb. 2 oz / 3 1/4 cups all-purpose-flour
1 teaspoon mahlab, optional
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoon sugar syrup or granulated sugar
100 grams/ 3.5 oz butter, room temperature
Water as needed, start with 1/2 cup or more to create a dry dough
For the cheese filling:
500 grams 1 lb 2 oz cheese, a mixture of mshallaleh, majdoola and mozzarella (you can use mozzarella alone, or a mix of mozzarella and Swiss cheese)
3 tablespoons sunflower or canola oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
a pinch of nigella seeds, optional
1//4 teaspoon mahlab, optional
To make the flour slurry:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 water

hello lovelies hadya from hadia’s Lebanese Cuisine here those popular cheese sambus that hail from Lebanon and the Middle East are wonderful to eat out of the fryer they feature a cheese filling en cased And Pastry and deep friy to flaky Perfection the incredible Savory bites are crispy on the outside with a stretchy Oozy cheese inside for some reason they have a reputation for being difficult I have to admit it takes time to make these little babies from scratch but they’re really so worth it the process involves making a buttery dough from scratch and cook the cheese filling on the stove tub classically they formed into a crescent shape like empanadas or a rectangular much like ravioli and band fried to Perfection the CL crowds pleaser cheese andus can be made ahead of time too my mouth is watering just thinking about it [Music] now let’s get started we’re going to be skipping the r Sorbo puff pastry and we will be making the dough from scratch this could be the closest recipe to a puff pastry dough it has taken overnight in the fridge but way more easier with no folding technique it’s buttery and Flaky with two layers of lamination learn it and use it in tons of recipes I call it my secret weapon make the dough combine M together the flour beaten egg white vinegar sugar and [Music] salt add water as needed to create a stiff dough start with half a cup and add as needed to end up with an elastic dough of one texture keep the dough firm and stiff and please don’t add a lot of water knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic about 5 minutes wrap in plastic wrap and let it stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes this is an essential part of the process now the next step is combining the fat with the dough the fat Smooths and moistens the texture and tenderizes the gluten formation add the butter and continue kneading thoroughly until the butter is completely Incorporated and the dough is smooth shiny and [Music] elastic cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight it can be refrigerated for up to 3 days it’s an ideal to use whenever a recipe calls for puff pastry the easiest alternative to puff pastry now see you tomorrow to make the filling add the sunflower oil to a sauce pan and warm it for a couple of seconds before adding the flour once the flour has been added mix it together with a whisk to form a paste and let it cook for 30 [Music] seconds add one cup of milk and whisk constantly to remove any lumps even if you still have lumps no worries they will dissolve totally with the cheese keep on Staring until the mix totally pick com [Music] up add the cheese and whis constantly over medium Heat [Music] [Music] to melt the cheese and you can add also Nella seeds whisk well to integrate everything together [Music] [Music] [Music] now remove the dough from the refrigerator after an overnight in the fridge and knock it back and remove from the bowl and divide it to two even [Music] portions Now using a rolling pin roll one dough at a time on a flowered work surface to 1/4 inch in thickness now the dough gets sticky so make sure you have more flour nearby as you roll use a pizza cutter and score it to squares now the exact dimensions are not important but the thickness is you can make them small or big as you wish [Music] fill the dough fill the squares of dough by placing a tablespoon of the filling in the center of each [Music] Square now make a flower by combining flour and water in a small bowl to a moderate thick consistency and brush the borders of each Square this is an extra step to bind the edges together with no leaking during frying [Music] fold two corners over the filling to make a mini [Music] rectangle Now using a fork crimp the edges of the sambus together to seal you want to make sure you have a tightly sealed turnovers to help prevent filling from leaking out while frying now these are now ready to freeze or you can add myella seeds to to garnish the center of your sambus brush the center of the with flour and water slurry and sprinkle with Nigella seeds if desired heat oil to an adequate frying temperature and [Music] ready slip a few sambuses and Fry until golden about 2 to 3 minutes but please don’t grow the frying B pan then flip when both sides are golden brown move the sambusa to a plate or something lined with kitchen paper towels and continue with the rest [Music] or alternatively you can form them into circles fill the circles of the door by placing a tablespoon of the filling in the center of each circle [Music] frying and carefully fold the circle in half make a half moon shape press the edges firmly to seal GM the edges with a back of a [Music] fork heat oil to an adequate frying temperature when you’re ready slip a few sambus and Fry until golden to 2 to 3 minutes and when both sides are golden move them to a plate line with kitchen paper tabls and continue with the rest I hope you enjoyed this episode give me a thumbs up and follow if you like our videos there are so many coming soon thank you so much for watching [Music]