Uzbek Somsa (Buttery Pastry filled with either meat or vegetables)
Photo: suplied
Pastry:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup water
1 tablespoon salt
200g butter (melted)
Mix the salt with the water until it is fully dissolved.
Add flour to this mixture.
Knead well for 10 minutes until the dough comes together and is smooth.
Cover and set the dough aside for 30 minutes to rest.
Roll out the dough into a large circle shape, approx. 0.25cm thick, on a floured surface. You will need a big surface area to do this so if the kitchen counter is too small, you can roll it out on a table.
Brush your melted butter evenly all over the dough.
Roll the dough very tightly into a long log (as if making cinnamon rolls). Be gentle so as not to rip it.
Cut approx. 4cm length pieces from the log.
Flatten each piece, cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This will make it easier to roll out the pieces without the dough being soft and sticky.
Make your filling (meat or vegetarian)
Meat filling
500g mince beef
500g-700g onion (depends on how juicy you want your filling to be, add more onion for more moisture)
2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon salt
Pumpkin filling
500g pumpkin cut into small cubes or grated in a food processor
300g onion finely diced/sliced
Same seasoning as above
Traditional uzbek somsa is almost always with either meat or pumpkin however you can experiment with other fillings if you wish such as chicken and mushroom or spinach and feta etc.
Making the Somsa:
Preheat oven to 180C
Take out the pieces of pastry from the fridge.
On a floured surface, roll out each piece into approx. 15cm diameter circle.
Put a tablespoon of your filling in the center.
Fold the pastry into your desired shape. We usually do triangles or crescents.
Once you have made each somsa, brush the tops of them with a beaten egg.
Sprinkle a little bit of whole cumin on the top.
Bake for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Make sure to check the bottom of the somsa for readiness too so it’s not raw and soggy underneath.
Enjoy while it’s hot!
