Koupes A Street Food From Cyprus Recipes

KOUPES (A STREET FOOD FROM CYPRUS)

Steps:

• Mix the bulgur wheat with the flour, oil, onion, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Then add hot water, gradually and mix again, adding water until there is no trace of water or bulgur. Cover and set aside until it has cooled.
• Meantime, heat the olive oil in a skillet and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the ground meat, salt, pepper and cinnamon and stir. Add ½ cup of water (or wine) and cook the minced meat until the fluids have evaporated.
• Remove from heat and mix in parsley. Set aside to cool.
• Knead the dough well by hand or in a stand mixer, using the dough hook. If using the mixer, transfer the bulgur in the bowl of your mixer, add the flour and mix on low speed, stopping a couple of times to push the dough to the centre, as the dough may stick to the sides of the bowl. Continue mixing and gradually increase its speed until the dough does not crumble and feels soft and sticky, when pinched. If needed, add some more water.
• Take a small amount of dough the size of a large walnut and form it into a ball. In one hand hold the dough and with your other hand using your index wet your finger make and make a hollow in the dough, elongating its shape and trying to make it as thin as you can without breaking it. When doing this, wet the fingers of your other hand as well. You can also make the shell with a meat grinder if it has an attachment to make koupes. When it comes out of the meat grinder stop when it is about 9 cm (3 ½ inches) long and cut it with a sharp knife. Wet your index and put it in the shell. Wet your fingers of your other hand and close the hole by shaping it into a pointed end.
• Insert a teaspoonful of filling. Use the back of a small spoon to gentle push the filling inside and continue adding leaving about a centimetre and a half (half an inch) void. Wet your fingers again and seal the opening. If the dough is not enough, just pinch a small amount of dough and wetting your fingers try and paste it together making pointed ends. If at any point you see the shell cracking, again wet your hands and by gently "massaging" it will stick together again. (At this point you can freeze them).
• Heat enough oil in a pot so that koupes are covered during frying. Fry them on high heat, preferably on a gas stove. Gently turn them around until golden on all sides.
• Place on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.
• Serve hot squeezing a few drops of lemon juice.