Syrian Ouzi
This recipe is Syrian Ouzi, made with rice, peas, and small diced meat, with salt, black pepper, ouzi pastry sheets, almonds, and pine nuts according to the official description. The chef explains an additional method that includes soaking the rice, using ghee or oil, adding sugar with the peas, and placing whole peppercorns in cheesecloth with the rice. After cooking and combining the filling and rice, the ouzi pastry sheets are filled and baked in two stages until golden, then served hot with yogurt and cucumber salad and greens.
A Syrian rice-based dish, often baked or wrapped in pastry, usually served as a main dish.
Like spiced rice in a pastry shell.
Ouzi is a good make-ahead dish because the rice filling can be prepared first.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo Rice
- 1 kilo Peas
- 1 kilo and as desired Small diced meat
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Salt for cooking the rice
- 1 teaspoon Salt for sautéing the meat and peas
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper for sautéing the meat and peas
- 1 bundle Ouzi pastry sheets
- as desired Almonds
- as desired Pine nuts
- for each cup of rice, 1 tablespoon of ghee or 1 tablespoon of oil Ghee
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Sugar
- a few peppercorns Whole peppercorns
- 1 piece Cheesecloth / gauze cloth
- for soaking the rice half an hour ahead or two hours ahead Lukewarm water or cold water
- for the rice: for each cup of rice, 1 cup of water Water
- for the salad Yogurt
- for the salad Cucumber
- optional for the salad Garlic
- for the salad Dried mint
- for serving Green onions
- for serving Arugula
- for serving Radishes
Instructions
- Soak the rice in a pot or bowl of lukewarm or cold water half an hour ahead or two hours ahead.
- Sauté the meat in a pot with ghee or oil until it absorbs its moisture.
- Add the salt to the pot of meat after its liquid has dried up.
- Add the peas to the pot of meat and stir them together.
- Add the sugar to the pot of peas to preserve their green color.
- Add the salt and black pepper to the pot of meat and peas while sautéing.
- Make a small pouch from cheesecloth in a pot or bowl, put whole peppercorns inside, tie it, then drop it into the pot with the rice.
- Lightly toast the rice in a pot with ghee or oil.
- Add water to the pot of rice, using 1 cup of water for each cup of rice.
- Add the salt for cooking the rice to the pot of rice.
- Leave the pot of rice over high heat until it begins to boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting.
- Leave the pot of rice until the water dries up, then leave it to steam over low heat.
- Spread the rice in a bowl or on a plate and leave it to cool.
- Fry the almonds and pine nuts in a frying pan, or have them ready for use.
- Gently mix the rice with the peas and meat in a large bowl.
- Add the almonds and pine nuts to the mixing bowl and stir them in.
- Lightly grease the small bowls or molds with ghee.
- Divide the ouzi pastry sheets into pieces suitable for the size of the small bowl.
- Cover the ouzi pastry sheets with a damp cloth in a bowl or on the work surface so they do not dry out.
- Place two ouzi pastry sheets in a plus-sign shape inside the small bowl.
- Fill the small bowl with the rice, peas, and meat mixture.
- Wrap the pastry sheet around the filling to form a bundle, then turn it out onto a baking tray greased with ghee.
- Brush each bundle with ghee on the outside.
- Place one raw almond or a whole almond on each bundle, as desired.
- Bake the bundles in the oven with bottom heat at 200.
- Move the bundles to a higher oven rack when the bottoms brown.
- Turn on the top heat of the oven at 150 until browning and golden color are complete.
- Prepare the yogurt and cucumber salad in a bowl by mixing yogurt with cucumber, salt, and dried mint; garlic may be added as desired.
- Serve the bundles hot with the salad and greens.