afoona
Meat

Ouzi - Stuffed Rice Parcels – Dairy-free version

Crisp phyllo pastry parcels filled with rice and ground meat with nuts Dairy-free version: Canola oil.

⏱ 55 minMake ahead: 8 hr🍽 4 servings 🌍 Middle Eastern👩‍🍳 Afoona🧩 3 parts

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Wrapping Dough

  1. 1
    Cook the rice in the water until half-cooked, and drain.
    StovePotColander
  2. 2
    Thaw the phyllo dough in the fridge overnight, until pliable but still cold.
    Refrigerator
    💡Work with store-bought dough while it's cold: warm puff pastry gets sticky and won't puff in the oven, and phyllo sheets dry out fast, so keep the waiting sheets covered with a damp towel.

For the Meatball mix

  1. 3
    Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
    ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
  2. 4
    Add the onion and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep golden.
    ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
    💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
  3. 5
    Raise the heat to medium-high and add the meat. Press it flat over the bottom and leave it for 2–3 minutes without stirring, until a brown crust forms.
    Stove
    💡Brown ground beef in the pot without pressing it: leave it as one 'cake' for a few minutes until a brown crust forms, then break it into chunks. Deep browning = deep flavor.
  4. 6
    Break it up with a wooden spoon and fry for 5–7 more minutes, stirring, until no pink is left and the meat browns.
    StoveWooden spoon
  5. 7
    Add the baharat, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and black pepper and stir well.
    Stove
  6. 8
    Add the pine nuts and almonds and fry 1 minute.
    Stove
  7. 9
    Add the rice to the meat and stir.
    Stove
  8. 10
    Remove from the heat.
    Stove

To assemble

  1. 11
    Lay out a phyllo sheet, brush it with a little of the butter and place a spoonful of filling in the center.
    Pastry brush
  2. 12
    Wrap into parcels.
  3. 13
    Arrange in a pan greased with the oil.
    Baking pan
  4. 14
    Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (355°F) 25 minutes, until the pastries are puffed and golden underneath too.
    ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan
    💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
877calories
25 gprotein
96 gcarbs
42 gfat
● protein 12%● carbs 45%● fat 44%

Per serving (270 g), of 4 servings

For the Wrapping Dough · For the Meatball mix · To assemble ·

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⚖ About the ingredients

🔧 Tools needed (9) · 🍳 3 cooking vessels

  • Oven · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Toaster oven (Fits one small pan; good for small batches) · Air fryer (Small batches only, no runny batters) · Pot (Only for covered stews on the stovetop, no browning on top)
  • Refrigerator · Also works: Freezer (Chills faster; don't let it freeze) · Ice bath (Ice bath)
  • Stove · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Portable hot plate (one weaker burner) · Camping gas stove (One burner, outdoors) · Electric pressure cooker (multicooker) (One pot, no real shallow frying)
  • Frying pan · Also works: Wok (None) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Pot (High sides, slow evaporation and weak browning)
  • Pot · Also works: Deep skillet (sauté pan) (less liquid, faster evaporation) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Wok (For quick cooking)
  • Baking pan · Also works: Glass / ovenproof baking dish (None) · Disposable pan (None)
  • Pastry brush · Also works: Spoon / teaspoon (regular) (Spread with the back of a spoon, less even) · Paper towels (Paper towel dipped in oil)
  • Colander · Also works: Lid (a lid held slightly open over the sink, you lose a little) · Slotted spoon (for small amounts)
  • Wooden spoon · Also works: Silicone spatula (None) · Spoon / teaspoon (regular) (a regular spoon gets hot)

By the steps, as the recipe is built now: another version or addition can change the list.

🧩 Built from…

Store-bought dough → Fried Meat and Rice Filling → Fried onion → Ground beef fried with onion → Filled pastry

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