I love pastries! Savory, sweet, spicy...doesn’t really matter, as long as they’re fresh and hot. When my son was a baby, I used to take him in his stroller for a walk in our neighborhood. We always had our must stop spots.The crane in the endless renovation site down the street, the fresh juice stall in the corner by the open air market, and, of course, Chaim's bakery, which from its opening day had become a pilgrimage site for us. Fortunately we were at the age that we could eat whatever we wanted as much as we wanted without affecting our pants size too much . Chaim would immediately give my son a freshly baked pastry, a small burekas or a croissant that just came out of the oven, which he kept nibbling while I emptied the shelves. It’s been a long time since I cut down on carbs, almost no pastries at all, but these stuffed buns I devoured as soon as they came out of the oven.
Ingredients
3 ½ cups flour
1 TBS yeast
1 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ cup warm water
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cups water
Filling
1 lb ground beef
1 eggplant
1 onion diced
3 garlic cloves minced
2 tomatoes diced
1 red hot pepper chopped (optional)
½ cup parsley chopped
½ cup cilantro chopped
4 sage leaves torn
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ras el hanut
½ tsp cardamom
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 TBS olive oil
Egg to brush
Sesame seeds
Heat oven to 425 f. Wash eggplant and place on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Roast for 40 minutes, flip half way through. Let chill a little, cut lengthwise and scoop out soft flesh with a large spoon and transfer to a strainer set in a large bowl. Chop into small cubes.
Place yeast, sugar and ¼ cup water in a small bowl until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Place flour and yeast mixture in a mixer bowl with kneading hook and stir. Add olive oil, salt and water and knead for 8 minutes. Place dough in oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours, until doubled.
Heat 2 TBS olive oil in a deep pan. Add onion and saute to golden. Add garlic and fry 1 more minute. Add ground beef and chop well with wooden spoon or spatula to ensure the meat is chopped. Fry until meat changes its color. Add all remaining ingredients and spices, mix well. Cook 10 minutes on medium heat. Let cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 400 f. Divide dough to ping pong size pieces. Roll each ball into a round disk. Place spoonful of filling in the middle of each disk and fold to make a round bun. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 25 minutes until golden.
