Beoreg with sujuk and cheese

June 24, 2011  •  Category:

 

Chef Ramzi in his The Culinary Heritage of Lebanon observes that Lebanon has no tradition of curing meat; meat curing was introduced to us by the Armenians who settled in the country and brought their traditions with them. Sujuk is one example and while the best sujuk can be found in certain Armenian outlets, making it the authentic way  is a secret that is not easily obtained.


A commercial grade of sujuk is available in Middle-Eastern stores. Here it can be replaced by any sausage of your choice, preferably one with a lot of paprika or a bit on the spicy side of things.

INGREDIENTS:

For the dough:

  • 2 cups of bread flour (or all-purpose)
  • 1/2 cup of whole-wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons of dry instant yeast
  • 2 teaspoons of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 3 Tablespoons of olive oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 3/4 cup of warm water (110F)
  • 1 tablespoon of oil to grease the bowl

For the filling:

  • 1 package of string cheese
  • 1 cup of chopped parsley
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 1 sujuk sausage
  • 1/4 cup of red pepper paste
  • 1 egg beaten with a teaspoon of water (to give a shine to the pastry)
  • 1/4 cup of toasted sesame seeds

 

METHOD:

  1. Place the yeast in a small bowl; add the sugar and 2 ounces of warm water and stir until combined; place in an enclosed space and let the yeast bubble up. Meanwhile, place the flours, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor or mixer. Mix to combine. While the machine is running, add the oil in a thin stream and process (or mix) until the mixture has absorbed the oil. Add the proofed yeast mixture and about 1/2 cup more warm water and process until the dough is compact and leaves the sides of the bowl. If needed, add a little more water. The dough should be firm and not sticky. Transfer to a work surface, knead a few seconds and place in a greased bowl, turning it around until the dough is coated with oil. Cover with a towel and place it in an enclosed and warm place for 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
  2. Filling: Cut the sujuk sausage in 20 pieces of equal size. Take the string cheese and shred it in the bowl of a food processor. Add the eggs and parsley and combine. Transfer to a bowl. Place the cheese, sujuk and red pepper paste nearby to assemble the beoregs.
  3. When the dough has risen, transfer to the work surface and deflate the gas bubbles by rolling it out into a large circle, about 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut 3-inch circles with a cookie cutter and place a sausage on each circle; dab a bit of red pepper paste on the sausage. Top with a generous tablespoon of cheese mixture. Pinch the ends to form a boat and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
  4. When all the beoregs have been assembled, brush them with the egg yolk and sprinkle them with some sesame seeds. Bake in a preheated 375F oven for about 10 minutes. Serve.

 

Comments

21 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Rosa says:

    Ha, what a coincidence that you posted a recipe using sujuk today too! I am bookmarking it. Those böregs look fantastic.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  2. kankana says:

    Beoreg looks so nice .. perfect little bite. And Cheese makes me happy all the time 🙂

  3. meriem says:

    Tes boereg sont excellents. Quelle belle idée de cacher la farce avec du fromage…

  4. Belinda @zomppa says:

    These look lovely and perfect!

  5. Lyndsey says:

    Mmmm what a wonderful savory pastry. They look so well done, another interesting treat from you, I love all that I learn here!

  6. Chris @ HyeThymeCafe says:

    Funny, I’m Armenian and learning Armenian dishes from you! 🙂

    I grew up making Cheese Boregs and Spinach Boregs, but I would never had thought to use either string cheese or sujuk in the filling. I still remember my grandfather making sujuk when I was little. I have yet to try it myself. Thanks for another great recipe to try!

  7. Chiara says:

    Sujuk is new for me but sounds good Joumana! have a lovely weekend…

  8. Banana Wonder says:

    This beoreg might possible be the best cocktail snack ever. I do love the sujuk… and your dough looks amazing! I need to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing.

  9. Angel of the North says:

    Wow – what a gorgeous recipe. What substitutes would you recommend for string cheese?

  10. T.W. Barritt says:

    I love these beautiful, savory bites that you create!

  11. TastyTrix says:

    Is beoreg roughly like a borek? Either way, it looks fantastic!! By the way I made a version of that Lebanese gaspacho at the cafe where I work and it sold out! Thank you for the inspiration. : )

  12. MyLittleExpatKitchen says:

    I love the look of these Joumana. Soutzouki is my favorite sausage!
    Magda

  13. deana says:

    Those look awfully good… sort of pizza/calzone-like, aren’t they? WOnderful with the cheese surrounding the meat. ONce again, a new dish for me!

  14. Jeannie says:

    You shape your dough so well round the fillings, I love the look of it:) Interesting new way to use sausages in bread

  15. Barbara says:

    Marvelous sausage and cheese mixture! I love that rather than being INSIDE the dough, the dough is around it and so beautifully shaped as well. Much like an open faced pastie. Very tempting, Joumana.

    (Was amazed to read you had bad food in Venice! My daughter and I took my granddaughter a couple years ago and had 2 fabulous lunches and 3 memorable dinners. But then, my daughter goes often on business and knows some wonderful restaurants. As far as the Moorea food is concerned, we thought it must be hard to find chefs….although Moorea and Bora Bora had the worst food, the rest of the trip was fine, not top gourmet, but pleasing enough. While we’re both foodies, we had ton keep reminding ourselves this trip was for dive destinations, not food.)

  16. Katie@Cozydelicious says:

    This looks amazing! Mini ones would be great at a party as an hors d’oeuvre. I wonder about using andouille sausage for a Cajun twist…. I have some in the freezer so might give it a try!

  17. virginie says:

    je ne connais pas du tout !!!
    merci pour ce partage

    bon lundi gourmand
    virginie

  18. Magic of Spice says:

    What a delight these would be at a party 🙂

  19. domi says:

    Ces petits beoreg on l’air délicieusement bons et moelleux….

  20. Little Cooking Tips says:

    This is truly amazing. Thank you for sharing this, we will definitely try this as we LOVE sujuk (we call it “soutzouki” in Greece).

    PS We also have published a sujuk recipe for a casserole dish that may interest you.

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