Zubereitung

1. 1

   Mix the flour and 1 tsp salt in a bowl, add 4 tbsp oil and rub it in with your fingers. Gradually pour in the water, knead everything for about 8 minutes into a firm, smooth dough and leave it to rest, covered.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until fragrant, then leave to cool and chop roughly.

3. 3

   Peel and finely dice the onions. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the pan and sweat the onions over a medium heat until soft and light golden.

4. 4

   Add the minced meat and fry over a high heat until crumbly and cooked through, breaking up larger pieces with a spatula, until no pink remains and the liquid has evaporated. Doneness test: break open a larger piece; it should be cooked through and at 70 °C. Stir in the red pepper paste, 1 tsp salt and the pepper and fry for 2 minutes.

5. 5

   Take the pan off the heat, finely chop the parsley and stir it in with the walnuts. Spread the filling out flat on a plate and leave it to cool completely, as warm filling softens the dough; if you keep it for longer than two hours, put it in the fridge.

6. 6

   Halve the dough and roll out each half on a floured work surface to about 2 mm thick. Cut out 12 cm rounds with a bowl or a cutter, knead the trimmings together and roll them out again until you have about 24 rounds.

7. 7

   Place a heaped tbsp of filling (about 25 g) on one half of each round, leaving a 1 cm border, fold the other half over and press the edge firmly together. Take the edge between your thumb and index finger, fold a small section diagonally inwards, press it down and keep moving along until you have a twisted rope edge; lay the turnovers on a floured baking tray.

8. 8

   For deep-frying, fill a tall, heavy pot no more than a third full with oil and heat the oil to 170 °C, measured with a kitchen thermometer. Keep a fitting lid to hand, keep children away from the hob and never add water to the hot oil; tap any excess flour off the turnovers.

9. 9

   Carefully slide 5 turnovers at a time into the oil with a slotted spoon and fry until golden brown and crisp, turning once; let the oil come back up to 170 °C between batches.

10. 10

    Drain the Şembûrek on kitchen paper. The filling is already cooked through and only needs to get hot: when you cut a turnover open, it should be steaming right to the centre; if not, fry the rest for 1 minute longer. Serve warm.

11. 11

    Tip: Unfried Şembûrek can be frozen side by side on a baking tray and then stored in bags for three months; add them to the 170 °C oil from frozen and fry for about 2 minutes longer until the filling is piping hot all the way through. Lemon wedges and Mast û xiyar — cucumber yogurt with mint go well with them. The filling can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge.