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Lamb Samsa
Lamb samsa is a traditional Central Asian baked pastry filled with a rich mixture of chopped lamb, onions, and spices. This comforting dish features a simple unleavened dough that wraps around the savory filling to create neat, hand-held pockets. Baking them on a hot stone yields a crisp, golden exterior that contrasts beautifully with the tender, juicy meat inside. They make an excellent savory snack, appetizer, or casual lunch option for weekend gatherings. The addition of a little yogurt in the filling keeps the lamb incredibly moist while baking.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached, plus extra for surfaces
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ pound coarsely ground lamb or about ¾ pound bone-in lamb leg, shoulder, or chops (see Note on Texture)
- ¼ cup lamb fat if using ground lamb
- 1 packed cup coarsely chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons plain full-fat yogurt (see Note on Texture)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne (optional) 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- 1Measure out about 1 1/4 cups of water to use for the dough.
- 2Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse briefly. With the machine running, slowly pour the measured water through the feed tube until a solid dough ball forms.
- 3If mixing by hand, whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and stir in the water until a rough dough comes together.
- 4Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 4 minutes until very smooth. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and set it aside.
- 5Cut the meat away from the bone if using bone-in lamb. Trim away most of the fat and reserve it for later use.
- 6Measure out 1/2 pound of the lamb meat, which should equal about 1 tightly packed cup, and finely chop it with a sharp knife or cleaver.
- 7Finely mince 1/4 cup of the reserved lamb fat.
- 8Place the chopped meat and the minced fat together in a mixing bowl.
- 9Finely mince the onion and add it to the meat mixture. Spoon in the yogurt and stir everything together thoroughly.
- 10Mix in the minced garlic, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper until well blended. This creates about 2 packed cups of filling to set aside.
- 11Position an oven rack in the upper third of your oven and place a baking stone on it if available. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 12Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half with a knife or bench scraper, covering one half loosely to prevent drying.
- 13Divide the working half of the dough into 8 equal portions by cutting it in half repeatedly.
- 14Roll each portion into a smooth ball between your palms. Press each ball slightly flat, dust both sides with flour, and let them rest for 10 minutes.
- 15Roll one piece of dough into a 5 to 6-inch circle, and repeat with a second piece. Spoon a scant 2 tablespoons of the lamb filling into the center of the first circle.
- 16Bring two opposite edges of the dough up over the filling and pinch them firmly together.
- 17Bring the remaining open ends up to the center and pinch them closed, creating a ridged seam across the top of the pastry.
- 18Gently press the pastry to form a neat rectangular shape. Place it seam side up on your prepared baking sheet.
- 19Fill and shape the second dough circle in the same manner, placing it on the baking sheet with some space between the pastries.
- 20Continue this process with the remaining dough balls and the reserved half of the dough until you have formed 16 pastries.
- 21Set the baking sheet on the hot stone or directly on the oven rack. Bake for 35 minutes until the pastries turn golden brown.
- 22Carefully transfer the baked pastries from the baking sheet to a serving plate using a spatula.
- 23Allow the pastries to cool for 5 minutes before serving, as the filling will be extremely hot.