CRISPY & FLAKY Phyllo Goulash – Baklava but make it SAVORY

Today we’re making Goulash, the Savoury version of Baklawa. It’s essentially a meat or vegetarian filling sandwiched between two layers of Phyllo pastry. The top and the bottom are made up of 8+ individual layers of Phyllo with butter between them. I’ll show you how to make this using both Phyllo (Filo) or Puff Pastry.
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00:00 Intro + What is Goulash
01:13 Making Clarified Butter
02:44 Cooking the beef filling
03:54 Assembling the Goulash
06:53 Cooking the Goulash
07:38 Making Puff Pastry Goulash
09:09 Presentation and taste test
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Ingredients for Phyllo version:
1kg (2 lbs) Beef Mince
500g (1lb) Pack of Phyllo (Filo) pastry
250g (1/2 lb) Butter
150ml (2/3c) whole milk
2 Medium Brown (Spanish) onions
3 Garlic cloves
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tsp Salt
1 Large Egg or 2 Small Eggs
1/2 Tsp Pepper
1/2 Tsp Bharat (Optional)

Spinach Filling https://youtu.be/_TlALczzeEA

Directions for Beef Filling:
1. Dice the onions into small cubes and mince your garlic
2. Add Olive oil to a pan on medium-high heat and add the onions, Saute for 2-3 minutes
3. Once the onions have softened add the garlic and saute for 5 minutes until onions are opaque, add any other vegetables you want now
4. Add the Salt, Pepper & any other seasonings you would like to the onions, stir, then push to one side of the pan
5. Add the Minced beef to the pan and press in firmly, allow it to brown for 5 minutes
6. Break the meat into sections and flip, allow it to fry for 4-5 minutes before breaking it up into small pieces with your spatula
7. Mix the onions into the meat and cook until a deep brown colour, remove and set aside

How to clarify butter:
1. Place your butter in a pot to melt on high heat until completely liquefied
2. Allow it to come to a boil and it will foam up
3. Your clarified butter is done cooking when you can see the golden melted butter in the pot, pour out into a jug to cool
Note: Make sure not to pour out any of the cooked milk solids into the jug.

How to assemble the Phyllo:
1. Prepare a 9 X 12 inch (22 X 30 cm) deep baking dish by brushing the base and walls with clarified butter
2. Lay a phyllo sheet in the dish allowing any excess to run up the walls of the dish
3. Using a pastry brush, coat the sheet from corner to corner with a thin layer of clarified butter. (You must coat all the surface including any excess pastry)
4. Place another Phyllo sheet on top, and press out any air bubbles. Allow it to adhere to the sheet below it. Coat it in butter once more and repeat this process until you have a minimum of 8 layers of phyllo
5. Using a sharp knife, trim off any excess phyllo that is running up the walls of the dish
6. Brush your topmost layer of phyllo with butter, then pour on your meat filling. Spread it out into one even layer from edge to edge
7. Place a sheet of Phyllo on top of the filling and then repeat the layering/laminating process with a minimum of 8 layers of Phyllo
8. When adding your last layer of Phyllo, trim any excess off the walls before placing it, then brush the top surface with butter
9. Using a sharp knife slice your pastry into equal sized portions, use a ruler to get accurate edges
10. Whisk together your milk and egg into an egg wash and then pour it evenly over the Goulash
11. Bake in a 180c or 350f oven for 40 minutes, rotating at the halfway point. Remove when it is Golden Brown all over and bubbling
12. Allow to cool for a minimum of half an hour before serving (it will be really buttery, that will be reabsorbed when cooled)

How to assemble the Puff Pastry Version:

When making the puff pastry version, you only need to do about half to two thirds of the filling amount. You will also need 2-3 300g (10.5 oz) pre-rolled puff pastry sheets.

1. Prepare a 9 X 12 inch (22 X 30 cm) deep baking dish by brushing the base and walls with clarified butter
2. Add a layer of pre-rolled puff pastry to the bottom of the dish and trim off any excess
3. Add half of your filling on top of the pastry in an even manner
4. Lay another layer of puff pastry on top
5. Add the remaining fill on top of this layer of puff pastry
6. Add the last layer of pastry then slice into portions
7. Make an eggwash like above and then pour onto the dish
8. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the top layer puffs up well
9. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before eating.

Note: The bottom two layers will not puff up, due to the weight of the layers above them and the eggwash holding everything in place. If you want them to crisp up, then I suggest rolling out a single layer of Puff Pastry into 2 thin layers then using them for the bottom and middle.