This recipe is an effort to balance what is my seemingly never ending sweet tooth with something savoury. Readers of my blog will assume that due to the number of sweets that I make, that I have an achingly sweet tooth. Not so, really. I don’t eat sweets that often unless they are exceptional (Zumbo, Laduree or Herme) but my natural instinct is to go for savoury. Cakes and sweets are awfully pretty to look at and if you’ve read my About page, you’ll see that I think that they belong in an Art Gallery (true, look at Zumbo’s creations). But savoury is what I crave.
I have a deep seeded fear of deep frying. I burnt my arm badly when I was cooking as a teenager and ever since then I’ve been afraid of it. But things such a Briouats are wonderful because they allow you to have the buttery crispness of deep frying whilst cooking them in the oven. I shall investigate a similar way to do Spring rolls in the same manner although I am not a big Spring Roll fan.
I based these on the delicious Etli Borek pastries that we tried from Ottoman Cuisine at the Taste of Sydney event. The reason why I remember the name so clearly is that the man behind the counter made us all recite the name after him, thereby drumming it into our memories. Sure he was a bit odd, firstly telling us that it was snake but the trick worked. They are earth shatteringly crisp and buttery and serving them scattered with Pomegranate seeds, minted yogurt and sweet chili sauce is ideal. “Ras El Hanout” roughly translated to “Top of the Shop” whereby a spice store would do their own blend of the best spices. No two shops’ Ras El Hanout is exactly the same and I used Herbies Ras El Hanout which was gifted to us at the Allrecipes dinner, which contains a Moroccan blend of 23 spices including saffron. I upped the quantity to what was recommended as I felt it really enhanced the flavour and was over the moon with the flavour. I made these on a rainy night when the sky was dark even at 3pm and by the time I got these on the table 45 minutes after starting, it was pitch dark outside so I hope you’ll forgive the photography.
Beef & Olive Briouats with Pomegranate & Minted Yoghurt
An original recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Makes 12
- 1/2 brown onions finely diced
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 400grams beef or lamb mince
- 3 tablespoons chopped black olives
- 3 teaspoons Ras El Hanout
- salt and pepper
- 12 sheets of fresh filo pastry
- 100 grams butter
To serve
- Seeds from 1/4 Pomegranate
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
- Mint Leaves
- Sweet chili sauce
1. Fry onions in oil on medium heat until softened. Add olives, mince and Ras El Hanout. Cook until meat is cooked through and browned. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
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2. Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Cover filo sheets with a damp tea towel. Place baking parchment on two baking sheets.Taking on sheet, brush gently and lightly with butter all over and then place 2 tablespoons of beef on the diagonal at one end. Fold up sides and roll-it doesn’t have to be incredibly precise as long as it’s fairly even (and even so it’s not that crucial). Place on lined baking sheet and brush with butter.
3. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Slice in half diagonally and serve on a platter scattered with Pomegranate seeds and minted yogurt and sweet chili sauce.
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46 Comments | Add your own
The picture is beautiful with the red, green and white contrast!
These are gorgeous Lorraine – just as prettily arranged as any cake. Pomegranate seeds make everything glisten like rubies. I am afraid of deep frying, and I have not even burnt myself that way, so you are not alone.
They look great – and an extra advantage to everyone as they are cooked in the oven! I’ve cooked spring rolls in the oven, it’s quite easy – like this, and very tasty too.
Those look so wonderfully golden and flaky, it’s fantastic you can make that without having to deep fry! I have the same fear of it after having oil spit in my eye one too many times.
gosh these look wonderfully rich and spicy and more-ish. i can just imagine how well the yoghurt & pomegranate would cut through the fatty richness of the lamb. delish!
Fantastic! These look so simple and yet so tasty. I love the fact there’s not a million ingredients. I think I shall make these very soon. BTW, Herbie’s spices rock! The store in Rozelle is amazing.
They look crispy and delicious. And even better that they’re not deep fried!
Taking photos in the dark is such a pain, and dinner time is inevitably dark at this time of year. I love your mandala speckled with pomegranite though. It’s interesting to hear about he Ras El Hanout being so variable too.
These look fabulous Lorraine and even more so because they’re not deep-fried.
Definitely on the “must try” list.
I’m like you – while I love the aesthetic of beautifully prepared desserts I’m a savoury girl through and through.
Looks absolutely stunning!!
This is definitely a recipe for those who don’t like deep-frying. They look wonderful, though I’d be tempted to just eat the mince filling, it sounds so delicious!
It’s such a pretty dish! I’d love to try making it, but I can never really get the hang out of working with phyllo. Do you suppose spring roll wrappers could be a good substitute?
These look absolutely divine – love the lamb, yogurt, mint & pomegranate combination! Now tell me did you smack those seeds out with a wooden spoon like the ‘other’ Nigella?
I’m scared of deep-frying too! mostly because I have no idea what to do with all the leftover oil…it seems like such a waste to throw them away, but unhealthy to reuse again!
so I love love love this recipe! YUM!
yuuuummmmmmm! Now the tuna salad sandwhich I just made for lunch looks very unappatising! I want that instead!
I hear you on that neverending sweet tooth…these look like a great dinner to eat outside in the summertime with a simple salad!
Those are beautiful!
Lorraine, you’d love Filipino food then with their mix of sweet in savoury and savoury in sweet (although by the sounds of it, you are already quite versed in the cuisine).
I covered the launch of the Taste of Sydney event and tried Etli’s pastries… I believe they were the same. Nontheless, amazing.
As for your fear of frying, I have the same for caramel. Even burnt some of my head off last year!
I thought these looked familiar when I saw the photos. How did these compare to the ones at Taste? Is there much variance with those ones and the ones you’d made?
Forgive the photography? I would give my left arm for my photos to look half as good as yours!
Hmmm, they do look fantastic, the range of colors is great and I’m a fan of things buttery and crisp.
These savory pastries sound absolutely delicious! I love the combination of flavors here – can’t wait to try this!
How do you cook so wonderfully? I cant get past cooking eggs. I’m either too scared to try or I just know I’ll fail. The pastries do look yummy!
Waw,…Lorraine! these llok fantastic!!
What lovely colours & how well presented!
I bet it tastes fabulous! Now, I want a few to eat! Yum!
These look great. I can’t believe how quickly you prepared them!
These are lovely. You make it look so easy. I want one.
Hi Barbara-Thankyou so much!
Hi Cakelaw-Thanks so much! I love the look of pomegrante seeds on top of food
Ah good to know that I’m not alone!
Hi Anita-Yes an advantage for dinner party food too!
Ah cool good to know that it can be done with spring rolls 
Hi Steph-Thanks! They were so flaky and layered! Arrgh you poor thing-on your eye!
Hi shez-All the flavours work really well together!
Hi Linda-Yes it was much easier than I thought it would be
I’ve never been to the store itself (only buying the pouches from stores) but I should!
Hi Betty-thankyou! Yes I agree !
Hi Arwen-Yes I hate Winter because of the shortage of light! Yes it’s apparently always different according to where it’s from!
Hi Rachel-Thanks! I’d love to know what you think of them!
Yes I can admire desserts all day long but I love eating
savoury
Hi Feasting on Art-Thankyou so much!
Hi Belle-I tried some of it by itself and it was yummy!
Hi Midge-Thankyou!
Phyllo is good as long as it’s refrigerated( (I find frozen hard) and covered with a damp tea towel. Otherwise it tends to break too easily I find. I bet it would work well! 
Hi MsGourmet-Thankyou! Nope I don’t thawck the Pomegranate as it goes everywhere. I just cut it up into quarters or sixths and prise the seeds out. It doesn’t take that long!
Hi Sophia-Oh yes there’s that too! I don’t know what to do with it either! I just put it in a jar and dispose of it but yes such a waste!
Hi Tiffany-Hehe sorry! I had a similar lunch
Hi maris-Yes it would be great for summer although we had this in the throes of Autumn
Hi anna-Thankyou!
Hi Yasmin-I’ve tried a few things but I think I should really try more!
Oh yes hot sugar is possibly scarier than hot oil!
Hi Simon-They did taste different although they were more inspired by them than tasting exactly like them (they might have been deep fried at Taste of Sydney).
Hi Maria-Aww thanks, you are too kind!
Yes me too, buttery is good 
Hi 5 Star Foodie-Thankyou! I’d love to know what you think of it!
Hi Emma-Trial and error! I bet you’re better than you think you are!
Hi Sophie-Thankyou so much, you are so sweet!!
Hi Julia-Thanks! They’re surprisingly quick to do!
Hi Bethie-Thankyou! They’re so easy, honest!
OOhh yummm but not too big an olive fan but loving the minted yogurt ^^! and these must be much healthier than deep frying then so can eat more of them = yayyy!! Sorry to hear about the incident though
i’m also dreadfully afraid of deep-frying, but i do so love the taste it yields. if i can get that without the danger of oil splashes, i’m all for it. lovely recipe!
Oh man, I’ve also been dreaming of this since eating it at the Syd Taste Festival too (as well as the betel leave dish from Sailors Thai)! What a coincidence haha. Thanks so much for this recipe -now I can finally try making this myself =)
It’s so beautiful! I always crave for sweet stuff after every meal…
They look like great appetizer food.
woo these look very yummy! And I certainly remember one from Ottoman @ taste of sydney – that was one of my favourites from that day
We didn’t realize how great beef pairs with salty/sweet until we had beef, raisin and green olive empanadas…So good! This is another one that looks just as great.
I could totally eat those!!
I really want to try this recipe. Thanks so much!
I’m a sucker for stuff like this — anything that has meat filling wrapped in flaky pastry.
I have made baked spring rolls a few times, Lorraine, and they turned out just as good as their deep-fried counterparts. Thai paper-thin spring roll wrappers that come in square sheets work best, in my opinion. Just be sure to brush some oil on the surface before you bake them.
The only down side is that baked spring rolls lose their crunch much more quickly. Luckily, the solution is that you have to eat them all while they’re still warm and crunchy out of the oven. I don’t have problem with that.
I should make it tonight. It’s rather hard finding pomegranate in Tokyo, what would you suggest as a substitute?
Hi FFichiban-Oh you can easily leave the olives out
But wow, I thought you liked everything! Thanks yes it’s scarred me for life!
Hi grace-Sadly me too! So I always order something if only for the texture contrast (or so my excuse goes
). Thankyou!
Hi Jenny-Yes the food there was amazing wasn’t it!
You’re welcome!
Hi Pigpigscorner-Thankyou! Yes I like something sweet to end a meal but snacks are usually savoury
Hi Cate O’Malley -thanks it definitely is!
Hi Yas-Mine too! I even ate them when he said they were snake
Hi The Duo Dishes-Oh yes empanadas are a great taste sensation! I love the singular olive in the middle too!
Hi Jenn-Wonderful! If you do I’d love to know what you think of it!
Hi Leela-Yup I am too. Oh great! Next time I make them I’m going to do them baked then!
Ahh yes a good excuse to eat them quickly huh? Not a problem! 
Hi Taiko-Hmm good question! I think you could perhaps do without a fruit as I can’t really think of another fruit like it. Apart from maybe Yuzu segments perhaps? I don’t know if they would work but they’re refreshing!
Ah these look beautiful – just like the ones from Ottoman Cuisine! Will definitely have to try this.
I hate frying too and avoid it like the plague – especially when I see the “authentic” burn marks on my father’s forearms from restaurant cooking!
I could not even tell they were not deep fried because they have the nice golden deep fried brown.
I use to have a fear of grilling after a grill took off my eyebrows and front of hair. Deep frying can be scary especially if it is heavy water item because it just pops, hisses, and acts generally pissed off.
nicely done!
Hi Forager-Thankyou! They’re not exactly like them taste wise but I am pretty happy with them!
Oh your poor dad, did your dad own a restaurant? I always wished my parents did 
Hi Jeff-Thankyou! And LOL I love the way you describe it as “hisses acts generally pissed off”. That’s it exactly. You poor thing-the incident with the grill sounds scary!
oh wow. My mouth is just watering!
I actually have a problem with deep frying as well.. Never used to untl last year when a whole vat of boiling fell on my feet, arms and hands. It was terrible. I went to the hospital for it.
My finger got the worst of it as my skin started to blister and fall off almost immediately.. It was really scary.
Hi ArtemisIII-Thanks! Ouch, your poor thing, that must have been absolutely terrifying!
Yes, it was. My finger was in a cast for weeks, and took ages for the skin to grow back.
I won’t be doing any shallow frying or deep frying in the near future, that is for sure.
Hi ArtemisIII-I don’t blame you at all. That would absolutely scar me for life!
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