Tunisian Brik – Stuffed Phyllo Pastry with homemade harissa

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Wrapping Dough

1. 1
   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 Pastry Filling

1. 2
   Soak the dried peppers 30 minutes in hot water, drain and remove the seeds.

   Bowl
2. 3
   Grind the peppers in a food processor with the garlic, salt and black pepper.

   Food processor

   💡In a food processor, grind in short pulses and check between pulses: it's easy to go from coarse to paste. (Sesame for tahini, on the other hand, is ground continuously.)
3. 4
   Add the oil in a thin stream, while Tahini, until a smooth paste.

   Food processor

   💡The thin stream is everything: fat that goes in too fast can't bind, and the sauce breaks. For mayonnaise and hollandaise, if this happens, start with a fresh yolk and slowly add the broken sauce to it; if the sauce is too thick, thin it with a teaspoon of water.
4. 5
   In a bowl, mix the tuna, mashed potato, harissa, parsley and onion, and season with salt and black pepper.

   Bowl

To assemble

1. 6
   Lay out a pastry sheet and place tbsp heaping of the filling in the center. Make a small well in the filling and crack an egg into it.
2. 7
   Fold the dough into a triangle and seal well.
3. 8
   Heat the oil in a pan to 170–180°C (340–355°F) and Fry 2 minutes per side, until the pastries are golden and crisp.

   StoveSlotted spoonCandy/oil thermometerFrying pan

   💡Keep the oil at 170–180°C: too cold, and the food soaks up oil; too hot, and it browns outside before the inside cooks. Without a thermometer, dip the tip of a wooden spoon in the oil: when medium bubbles form around it right away, the oil is hot enough.

   💡Don't overload the oil: every piece that goes in cools it down. Fry one piece as a test, then the rest in several batches, and transfer to paper towels.
4. 9
   Drain on paper towels and serve hot.