Moroccan Briouats: Egg, Cheese And Garlic-Filled Phyllo

Submitted by Madelaine Bullwinkel

Cropped Madelaine BullwinkelRecipe adapted from North Africa, The Vegetarian Table by Kitty Morse. This flexible recipe allows you to make individual triangles to serve as an hors d’oevre or in an 8-inch square pan if you wish to serve it as a side.

For the filling
7 large eggs
1 cup (4 ounces) freshly grated Gruyere cheese
12 cloves garlic, peeled, halved, germ removed
12 green olives, pitted
1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley sprigs
6 fresh mint leaves, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons sweet paprika

For the wrapper
1 stick butter melted
1/2 pound phyllo dough (10 sheets)

Method
Make the filling
1. Place 6 eggs in a saucepan and cover with an inch of cool water. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Immediately drain off the water, cool the eggs under cold running water. Peel and reserve.

2. Drop the garlic pieces, one at a time, through the feed tube of a food processor while it is running. Place the eggs and olives in the bowl and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the grated cheese, parsley, mint and paprika to the bowl and continue pulsing until these are finely minced. Pulse in salt and pepper to taste.

3. Finally add the uncooked, lightly beaten egg and process briefly until the mixture is a spreadable consistency. Transfer mixture to a bowl.

Make the triangles
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

2. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly. Open the phyllo dough package and remove 2 sheets. Close, wrap and refrigerate remaining phyllo. Lay the sheets out on a clean cutting board. Brush the bottom sheet with butter by lifting the top sheet and folding it in half on itself. Repeat with the other half. Butter the top sheet. Cut the full sheets into 6 strips about 3″ wide.

3. Place 1 tablespoon of cheese filling at the bottom of the first strip in a triangular shape with the base of the triangle along the bottom. Turn the cheese-laden triangle over so that the bottom edge of the strip is lined up with the left edge of the strip. Now fold the triangle up. Repeat this pattern of folding the triangle over then up along the length of the strip. Lay the triangle with the end of the strip down on the pan and brush the top of the triangle with butter.

4. Place triangles on an unoiled bake sheet for 10-12 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Let them cool briefly before serving.

Make the Briouat Pie
1. Line a Pyrex pie pan or 8” square baking pan with 4 phyllo sheets, buttering between each layer.

2. Fill the pan with the egg mixture and cover with remaining sheets buttering them so they adhere to one another. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from the oven, reverse the pie onto a sheet pan and return to the oven until this side is also golden, about 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

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