Home
Recipes
Cheese sambousek

Platter of sambousek

Cheese sambousek

Name: Cheese sambousek
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Makes 24
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 200g feta crumbled, or Kashkawan stretchy cheese, grated; 2 tbsp nigella seeds; 1 tbsp plain flour plus extra for dusting; 300-400g sambousek or filo pastry sheets cut into 8-10cm wide strips; 500ml vegetable oil for frying

Soha Darwish

Save recipe

Makes 24

Easy

Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 15 mins

0 reviews

loading...

Sambousek, or sambusek, are crispy fried filo triangles filled with cheese or meat and a Ramadan favourite. They can be prepped ahead, frozen, and fried just before Iftar for an effortless appetiser

Vegetarian

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Kale with chana & coconut

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.70 ratings

Chicken pakoras

A star rating of 5 out of 5.6 ratings

Shorbet lesan asfour (orzo pasta soup)

A star rating of 5 out of 5.2 ratings

Soha Darwish says, "Halfway through the soup course we start eyeing the food laid in front of us and we usually seek a bite-sized appetiser to nibble on while finishing the soup. On most occasions it will be fried filo pastry triangles called ‘sambousek’, that have a filling of either cheese or meat. My favourite is a white cheese similar to feta with nigella seeds. The combination is just magical and so easy to master. Usually, sambousek is prepared ahead of Ramadan and frozen in batches (which is very convenient for busy home cooks) then fried minutes before Iftar."

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

200g feta

crumbled, or Kashkawan stretchy cheese, grated
2 tbsp nigella seeds
1 tbsp plain flour

plus extra for dusting
300-400g sambousek or filo pastry sheets

cut into 8-10cm wide strips
500ml vegetable oil

for frying

Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.

Nutrition: per serving

kcal81
fat4g
saturates1g
carbs8g
sugars0.4g
fibre0.5g
protein3g
salt0.32g

Method

step 1

Mix together the cheese and nigella seeds in a bowl until combined. Tip the flour into a second bowl and gradually whisk in 250ml water, then set aside.
step 2

Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and lay out one pastry strip. Add 1 tsp of the cheese mixture close to the top corner, then start folding into a triangle until you reach the lower end of the strip.
step 3

Brush the end of the pastry strip with the flour and water mixture and seal the triangle. Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment and repeat with the remaining strips and mixture.
step 4

Pour the oil into a large saucepan, filling it no more than halfway. Heat until the oil reaches 180C on a cooking thermometer or a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds, then cook in batches of 6-8 for 1-2 mins on each side until golden all over. Transfer to a wire rack lined with kitchen paper and serve warm.

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

0 reviews

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access for just £6. Find triple-tested recipes that take the stress out of deciding what to cook, spend less time planning, and more time enjoying the season.

Subscribe now