
The brik is a culinary remnant of the Arabs' conquest drive, who founded the so-called Ottoman Empire in the Middle Ages. This also means that different versions of brik are appreciated throughout a large part of North Africa and the Middle East. As a result, brik is also known elsewhere as bric, börek, burek, warqa or malsouqa.
Traditionally, the dough for the brik is prepared by hand: dough is beaten with force onto a hard surface to make it as thin as possible. It is then baked briefly, which makes it tough and difficult to work with. Nowadays, pre-packaged sheets of brik are available in the Asian shop, but filo pastry or even spring roll pastry are also used. Convenience is king, so to speak.
The brik is so delicious that the basic idea has been adopted in many countries. In Spain, they know the empanada and even in England, they know how to sink their teeth greedily into the Cornish pastry. In Poland, the Jewish community has the pirog (or pirogi) on the menu. With a little imagination, even the well-known (and delicious) Viennese apfelstrudel can be counted in this category. But then the Dutch apple turnover is of course also a distant relative of the brik.
But do we have nothing in the low countries by the sea that really resembles the brik? No, is the somewhat sad answer. But at the same time, that is a great opportunity for this Tunisian delicacy.
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 5 potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
- 4 sheets filo pastry (thawed)
- 4 eggs
- 1 tin tuna, drained
- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- a teaspoon of harisasa if you like it spicy
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg white, beaten
- extra virgin olive oil (for frying) or - if you think that's a bit of a waste of your precious and expensive olive oil - sunflower oil.
Directions:
- Boil the potatoes until done, drain and mash them.
- If you like a spicier version, mix the harisa through the mash.
- Place the mashed potatoes on the pastry sheets and make a well in the middle. Crack one egg into each well and then divide the tuna, parsley, salt and pepper over it.
- Brush the edges of the pastry with egg white. Fold the dough sheets diagonally to form a triangular dough jacket and press the dough edges firmly together.
- Heat a layer of extra virgin oil in a wok and carefully place the briks in the hot oil. Deep-fry for 10 to 15 minutes until the briks are golden brown and cooked through.