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Hawawshi
Spiced beef stuffed bread
Hawawshi: Cairo's baked bread stuffed with spiced minced beef
Walk through downtown Cairo in the evening and you will smell hawawshi before you see it: round baladi breads split open, packed with minced beef, onion, green chilli and warm spices, then baked until the bread turns crisp and the fat from the meat soaks into the crumb. Street stalls sell it wrapped in paper with pickles and tahini; at home it is a quick Friday supper. Pitta works well if you can't find baladi bread. The mistake most people make is packing in too thick a layer of meat, so the bread burns before the middle is cooked; keep it about 1 cm thick. Chef's tip: squeeze the grated onion in a sieve before mixing it in, or the filling turns wet and the bread goes soggy.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 ⅛ lb minced beef (15–20% fat)
- 1 onionlarge, grated and squeezed dry
- ½ green pepperfinely chopped
- 1 green chillifinely chopped
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- ½ oz flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
To assemble
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp tahini sauce (optional)to serve
- 3 ½ oz mixed pickles (optional)to serve
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What you'll need
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 425°F (fan 400°F) and put a large baking tray in to heat up.
10 minStep 2: In a bowl, mix 1 ⅛ lb minced beef (15–20% fat), 1 onion, ½ green pepper, 1 green chilli, 2 cloves garlic, ½ oz flat-leaf parsley, 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp ground allspice, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper with your hand until evenly combined and slightly sticky.
Step 3: Cut a slit along one edge of each 4 baladi bread or large pitta breads to open a pocket. Divide the meat into 4 and spread it inside each pocket in a thin, even layer right to the edges, about 1 cm thick. Press the bread closed.
Step 4: Brush both sides of the breads with 2 tbsp olive oil.
Step 5: Lay the breads on the hot tray and bake for 10 minutes. Turn them over and bake for 8–10 minutes more, until the bread is crisp and deep golden and the juices bubble at the edges.
20 minStep 6: Check one: cut it open in the middle, the meat must have no pink left and read 160°F on a thermometer. If not, return to the oven for 3–4 minutes.
Step 7: Rest for 2 minutes, then cut each into quarters. Serve hot with 4 tbsp tahini sauce and 3 ½ oz mixed pickles.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does hawawshi take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of green chilli?
- A pinch of chilli flakes per chilli.
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