Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
For 24 briks
- 24 brik sheets (or phyllo dough)
For the filling
- 8 medium potatoes
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 egg (raw to bind the filling, if needed)
- 400g (14 oz) tuna in water
- Salt, pepper
- Neutral oil (for frying)
Here’s a beautiful way to use brik sheets. This filling is traditional, but it can be adapted endlessly.
Preparing the filling
In a pot of lightly salted water, cook the peeled potatoes for about 15-20 minutes (a knife blade should come out easily). In another pot at the same time, hard-boil the 4 eggs for 10 minutes in boiling salted water.
While the potatoes and eggs are cooking, drain the tuna and flake it into a mixing bowl.
When the potatoes are cooked, mash them into a purée, season with salt and pepper, and add to the tuna (if the filling seems a bit dry, add the lightly beaten raw egg). Peel the hard-boiled eggs, cut them into quarters, and place them on a plate.
Shaping the briks
- Take a brik sheet and fold it in half (to have a double thickness), place a generous tablespoon of filling, add a small quarter of egg, and roll like a cone (or any other shape you like).
Cooking the briks
- In a pot, add neutral oil and a small piece of carrot (this trick prevents the oil from darkening!). When the heat is high enough, small bubbles form around the carrot—this means the oil is hot enough to fry the briks. Carefully place the briks 2 at a time and brown on each side before transferring them to drain in a strainer set over a plate.
Serve warm, with lemon.
Tips and variations
You can replace the tuna with ground meat, which will give you a filling very similar to meat pastels/banatages.
My little trick to keep the briks crispy after frying is to drain them on a strainer, so the excess oil passes through the holes and they won’t get soggy like they would with layers of paper towels.
To reheat them, you can put them in the oven for a few minutes.