Meat Fila

MEAT FILA - A HAMENTASHEN TWIST

I thought that meat fila was an appropriate food to make this time of the year as it is three sided just like a hamentashen. A hamentashen is a three sided jelly filled cookie eaten on the holiday of Purim to symbolize the "ears of Haman", the enemy who was defeated on Purim. Meat Fila  is a three sided meat filled pastry that could be a fun savory twist on the ordinary hamentashen, perfect to eat at your Purim Seudah (meal). (If you're having a dairy meal, the cheese fila would work great, too.)

I used the tadbileh recipe for the meat filling. Filling the fila can be fun when you do it with someone else, so Mike very graciously agreed to help me. I cut the fila dough in half and we got to work.

 If you have the patience and extra time, cut it into thirds, they're better smaller and make more. Trust me, these go fast and are a real crowd pleaser.

I filled a little cup with vegetable oil and we got to work. After a few attempts, I fired Mike and he quit at the same time. He just couldn't get the hang of it, though in retrospect his triangles were quite nice and next time I'm not letting him off that easy.  But it was an amicable parting and he kept me company the whole time. He kept me entertained by quizzing me about Freaks and Geeks, one of our favorite shows.

Mike's Fila - looks more like a witch's hat than Haman's ears!

Despite Mike's difficulty with folding the fila, it's actually quite simple. First, put the two piles of fila on top of each other. You want to work somewhat fast because the fila dough dries up when it is out too long and becomes difficult to work with. I covered the fila dough with the plastic that it came with to keep it moist. Take each piece, one at a time of course, and spread oil on it with your pastry brush and then fold in half.

Now put a little bit of tedbileh on each corner and fold into the shape of a triangle (up and down, like a flag). 

After they are folded place them on a tray. When they are all filled, brush the tops of the fila with oil and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

They are now ready to be heated up or frozen for later. Freeze them on the trays so that they don't all stick together and later move them into a Tupperware. Put wax paper between each layer so that they don't stick together.

MEAT FILA

What you need:
1)1 package of fila dough
2)Oil (pour a little in a small cup, you can add as needed)
3)1 recipe of tadbileh
4)Pastry Brush
5)Sesame Seeds (Optional)

Open the package of fila dough (usually it is sold in the frozen section, so make sure it is defrosted before you use it.) Cut the fila dough in half and place the 2 piles on top of each other.

Take one piece of fila and use the pastry brush to brush the oil onto it. Now fold it in half, using the oil to help seal it. Take a small spoonful of the tadbileh and place it on the end of the fila and fold over into a triangle and continue folding until you get to the end (it's like folding a flag.) Repeat with each piece of fila. As  you complete one, put it on an ungreased baking sheet. Put them on the tray with the points facing inwards, so that 4 filas make a square (like in the pictures above.) When the trays is full spread oil on top of all the fila and sprinkle sesame seeds on top (optional.) Now you can either bake or freeze them or both.

Freeze them on a tray so that they don't stick together. Then move them to a Tupperware and make sure to put wax paper between each layer.

Bake on 350 degrees on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 30 minutes or until slightly brown and toasty.