2 cups flour (1 cup bread flour, 1 all purpose flour)
pinch of salt
2 tbs vegetable shortening
1 beaten egg
about 1/3 cup of warm water (you may need less or more)
325g lean ground pork
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 finely chopped medium onion (as big as a mandarin)
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable oil for frying
1. Put your flour in a large bowl and add the salt. Add in the shortening, rubbing it between your fingers with the flour to combine it together. Make a well in the middle of your flour, and add your beaten egg. Begin to add your warm water in order to make a stiff dough. Knead the dough well for 10 minutes. Let the dough rest in a warm place for 1 hour.
2. While the dough is resting, prepare your meat mixture. Add the onion, parsley, pork and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and keep the mixture refrigerated until the dough is ready. 3. Once the dough is ready, cut a small piece of dough and on a pasta machine put it through the different stages (1 to 5) in order to make a thin pastry dough. With a large circular cookie cutter, make a small circle almost 4 inches in diameter. Place a small teaspoon of the pork mixture in the middle of the circle and spread it flat and thin with the back of your spoon. Leave about an inch of space around the edge of the circle. Then with your hands, begin folding the dough over to create pleats around the pork mixture in the center. See the pictures above for a better idea on what this should look like. Don’t cover the whole center which is filled with meat.
4. Once you have finished preparing all of the “bourekia”, heat your oil in a medium sized frying pan. Once the oil is hot (but not too hot – read the introductory paragraph above for tips), add about 7-10 “bourekia” at a time and deep fry them for about 2 minutes until each side is golden brown. Drain them on paper towels first before serving so that some of the oil can be absorbed.
I adore the way you’ve folded the pastry here, different from the shape I know; the half-moon/ravioli look. I’ll definitely give this method a go next time, so beautiful x