Shish Barak

Name: Shish Barak
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Lebanese
Ingredients: ¼ very finely chopped brown onion; ½ teaspoon 7 Spice (baharat); ½ teaspoon salt flakes, crushed; 150g lamb mince; 1⅓ cups Lebanese Yoghurt Sauce with herb mixture separate (330ml); 175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting; 110ml water

Shish barak are little meat filled dumplings cooked in yoghurt sauce, similar to Turkish manti. I find that the longer the dough rests the easier it is to work with, as the gluten relaxes so it’s less likely to spring back when you roll it out. You can rest it at room temperature for several hours or refrigerate it overnight and return it to room temperature before rolling; it freezes well too. If you have a pasta machine, you can use that to roll out the dough. Shish barak can seem fiddly to fill and fold at first as they’re so small, a bit like Italian tortellini which the shape resembles, but once you get in the flow they’re easy and fun to make. The raw dumplings freeze well too so it’s worth making a big batch to use for future quick meals; cook them from frozen in boiling salted water or simmering yoghurt. I like shish barak as a main course with vermicelli rice (see video below), but they also make an appetite-stimulating starter. Either way I love the full-flavoured pinot gris from Innocent Bystander with them, it has plenty of juicy fruit and citrus zest to balance the tangy yoghurt.

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a starter (makes about 44 pieces)

Ingredients

¼ very finely chopped brown onion
½ teaspoon Lebanese 7 Spice (baharat)
½ teaspoon salt flakes, crushed
150g lamb mince
1⅓ cups Lebanese Yoghurt Sauce with herb mixture separate (330ml)
1 cup water (250ml)
Vermicelli rice or saffron pilaf, for serving (optional)

Shish Barak Dough

175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
Pinch salt flakes, crushed
110ml water
Extra virgin olive oil, for rubbing

Method

Make Shish Barak Dough: Place flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer and make a well in the centre. Add water and use a wooden spoon to mix into a rough dough. Transfer to the electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic; alternatively knead by hand on a lightly dusted surface. Shape into a ball, rub lightly with oil, cover and set aside for an hour or more.
Place onion in a mixing bowl, add 7 Spice and salt and mix well.
Add lamb and knead with your hands to combine very well.
Roll dough out on a flour-dusted work surface until it’s quite thin (about 2mm thick).
Use a 5cm cookie cutter to cut out discs. Cover them with a clean, dry cloth and reroll the trimmings then cut out more discs.
Holding a disc on the fingers of one hand, place about ¼ teaspoon of the lamb mixture in the centre.
Fold the sides of the dough up to form a half-moon shape and pinch the edges together to seal firmly, pressing the filling gently to fill the parcel evenly.
Fold the halfmoon so that the tips come together and pinch firmly to seal (like a tortellini).
Place the parcel on a lightly floured tray, flattening the bottom slightly so it sits in place.
Repeat with remaining dough and lamb mixture then cover loosely and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Combine Yoghurt Sauce and water in a wide saucepan or high-sided frying pan over medium–high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Add half the dumplings, swirling the pan to ensure they’re all submerged, reduce heat a little, so the sauce is just gently bubbling, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until tender, swirling the pan occasionally to ensure they aren’t sticking.
Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove them to a shallow serving bowl.
Repeat with remaining dumplings.
When all the dumplings are in the serving bowl, increase heat under the sauce and boil rapidly for a couple of minutes, until reduced to a saucy consistency.
Stir in the reserved herb mixture and pour over the dumplings.
Serve with vermicelli rice or saffron pilaf if you like.