Cheesy Sambusak (Iraqi pastry)

Preparation time: 40 minutes  

Rising and Baking Time: 120 minutes 

Level of Difficulty: medium 

Kashrut Type: Dairy 

Our recipe for Sambusak stuffed with cheese is something between a pastry and a salty cookie. 

The cheese in the original recipe is Jivan cheese, which is sometimes a bit difficult to obtain. You can use cheeses that resemble it in texture, such as Iraqi or Circassian cheese (sold today in delicatessens and even in supermarkets) or even Tzfat cheese (a semi-hard salty cheese). If the cheese is relatively moist you should add a little flour to the filling. 

Decorate your pastry with seeds – regular sesame, black sesame, and poppy. You can even use ketchup! 

INGREDIENTS 

(Recipe yields 35-40 pastries) 

200 grams (1 2/3 cups) of flour 

50 grams (¼ cup) of soft butter 

150 ml (2/3 cup) of water 

10 grams of dry yeast 

1/2 teaspoon of sugar 

1/3 teaspoon of salt 

100 grams (1/3 cup) of finely grated Jivan cheese or a mixture of finely grated cheeses (as explained in the introduction to the recipe). 

1 egg 

A few tablespoons of sesame seeds 

Optional: a bit of black sesame, poppy seeds or sesame seeds 

PREPARATION 

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in a little warm water and set aside for about 10 minutes of fermentation. 
2. Melt the butter, and then mix in a bowl with the flour, water, and salt.  
3. Add the dissolved yeast, and then knead into a uniform, non-sticky dough. If necessary, add a little flour. Place in a warm place to rise for about an hour. 
4. Grate the cheese. Taste and add salt to taste.
5.                                                                                   Roll out the dough to a thickness of about half a centimeter, draw circles with a large glass or mug (diameter of 8-9 cm), place a heaping teaspoon of grated cheese in each one, fold in half and fasten the edges with your fingers. 
6. Arrange in a baking dish on baking paper, beat the egg and brush the pastries with it, sprinkle with sesame seeds (and other seeds if available) and put in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for about half an hour or until nicely golden.