David Sievers
Spinach and potato bourek
Recipe from Le Souk
Adelaide gets a taste of Algerian food at Le Souk. As well as offering all day breakfast, Le Souk offers Melwi, an Algerians answer to toasted sandwiches, speciality couscous, and vegan and vegetarian friendly salads – all with an Algerian flare that’s unique in the Central Markets. At the centre of their menu is a series of home-crafted spice blends, which are luckily available to buy in-house, so you can recreate a taste of Algeria in your own home.
Recipe for spinach and potato bourek
Preparation time: 30 minutes | Cooking time: 20 minutes | Makes: 26 bourek
Bourek*
3 large floury potatoes (approx. 750 g), peeled and diced
40 g unsalted butter
11/2 teaspoons salt flakes**
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander**
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
5 cups (150 g) baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
190 g brik or filo pastry
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
Canola oil, for shallow frying
To serve
1/3 cup (95 g) Greek yoghurt
1 tablespoon harissa paste**
1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
*To add extra flavour to the bourek filling try adding fresh herbs (e.g. parsley, mint, dill), lemon juice and zest, cheese (e.g. grated haloumi, cheddar, gruyere), cooked onion, spring onions, nuts (e.g. pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, pistachios) or currants.
**Le Souk coriander salt and harissa are available from our stall and website.
For bourek, place diced potato in a steamer over a pot of boiling water, cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, drain and return potato to pot with butter, salt and ground coriander. Mash potato until mixture is smooth and set aside to cool.
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic, sauté for 2 minutes, before adding spinach and nutmeg. Cover and cook for 2 minutes or until spinach has just wilted. Remove from heat, place spinach mixture in a medium mixing bowl and set aside to cool.
Cut six sheets of pastry in half lengthways and then in half across, to create 24 rectangular sheets, roughly 14 cm wide by 20 cm long.
Place 1 tablespoon of potato mash along one 14 cm end of pastry, allowing a 1 cm border at each end. Place a strip of spinach beside the potato and fold the ends in over the mixture, to encase. Starting at the filling end, roll up to create a cigar and brush ends with beaten egg to seal. Repeat process with the remaining mixture.
Preheat oven to 130°C (110°C fan-forced).
Heat canola oil in a sauté pan, about 1 cm deep over medium heat. Shallow fry bourek, turning regularly for an even colour as pastry will brown quickly. Remove from pan and place on a tray in preheated oven to keep warm.
To serve, place yoghurt and harissa in a serving bowl, stirring gently to combine. Place bourek on a platter