Quick Cheese Sambousk

There isn’t a family dinner gathering complete without a few plates of crispy melt in your mouth cheese sambousk. You can always expect to served cheese sambousk as part of the mezze. Before the start of Ramadan, we prepare these in large batches and freeze them to fry a couple for our iftar table everyday.

Recipe (makes amount in yufka package):

1 Yukfa triangles package or spring roll sheets

8 0z. Cream cheese or spreadable cheese, room temperature

1 cup shredded Mozzarella

1/2 cup Feta cheese, crumbled

a small bunch of minced parsley or dried wild thyme

Cooking oil for frying

Cornstarch paste: 1 tbsp cornstarch & 3 tbsp water

Directions:

Traditionally you prepare a dough and roll it thin to make sambousk, but since it’s already available in the frozen aisle, we prefer to purchase the dough to make the process easier.

1. To a bowl, add the cheeses and herb. Mix well and set aside.

In another small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water, set aside.

2. Place the yufka sheets on a tray (preferably choose sheets that look like a triangle). Using a spoon, scoop a spoonful amount of the cheese mixture and place it on the “bottom” wide side of the yufka sheets avoiding the sides.

3. Use your finger to spread the cornstarch paste on to the long sides of the triangle sheet.

4. Fold the bottom sides to the middle on top of the cheese and start rolling upwards. The cornstarch paste should help close it as you roll.

5. Set the roll aside on to a plate and repeat for the rest of the sheets.

Note: avoid adding to much cheese mixture in the sheets, it will melt out of the sambousk while frying.

6. In a deep frying pan, add enough oil to submerge the sambousk while frying. Fry at medium heat. Add a couple rolls at a time. DO NOT over crowd the pan.

7. Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden, then remove and place on a plate with a paper towel to catch the oil drippings.

Serve while warm.