Briouats

Serves 4-6 as a starter or more as a mixed mezze or snack

If you're not tempted to try your hand at making warkha, some delis and specialist shops sell it. Otherwise filo will do the trick but is not as flexible to work with. If you are using filo make sure you keep it covered with a cloth as it contains no fat and will dry out very quickly.

4-6 sheets of filo pastry or warkha pastry
2tbsp olive oil
500g minced lamb
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
¹/2tbsp freshly grated root ginger
¹/2tsp paprika
1tsp ground cumin
¹/2tsp ground cinnamon
¹/4tsp ground black pepper
15g raisins, soaked in warm water overnight
1tsp tomato purée

If you're not tempted to try your hand at making warkha, some delis and specialist shops sell it. Otherwise filo will do the trick but is not as flexible to work with. If you are using filo make sure you keep it covered with a cloth as it contains no fat and will dry out very quickly.

4-6 sheets of filo pastry or warkha pastry
2tbsp olive oil
500g minced lamb
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
¹/2tbsp freshly grated root ginger
¹/2tsp paprika
1tsp ground cumin
¹/2tsp ground cinnamon
¹/4tsp ground black pepper
15g raisins, soaked in warm water overnight
1tsp tomato purée


150ml beef stock
2tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Salt
50g melted butter
1tsp icing sugar mixed with 1tsp ground cinnamon

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan until almost smoking. Fry the lamb and onions with the ginger, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper and a good pinch of salt on a high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato purée, raisins and stock and cook on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until the liquid has completely evaporated. Stir in the coriander, remove from the heat and season with a little more salt if necessary before leaving to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/ Gas mark 6.

Unroll the pastry and cut a 7cm-wide strip down the length – about 30cm – of the sheet. Once you become adept at this you can lay out a few strips at a time but to begin with you should probably do them one at a time so they don't dry out.

Brush the strips of pastry lightly with melted butter on one side, then put a couple of teaspoons of the lamb mixture in the middle of one end of the strip, about 4cm in from the end edge. Fold over one of the corners to form a triangle of pastry over the filling, fold this triangle down over the remaining strip of dough, then fold it across, and then down again, leaving a final triangle of dough to fold on to the parcel which now consists of three layers of pastry.

Repeat with the rest of the meat filling and pastry, placing the parcels on to a lightly buttered baking tray. Brush them with butter and bake for about 15 minutes until golden. Leave to cool for a few minutes then dust them with the icing sugar and cinnamon.