Ringing in 2015 with Sujuk Rolls

Thank you to everyone who sent emails, encouraging me to keep blogging. It took a long time. OK, a really long time, but I’m back. A lot has happened since my last post. Let me fill you in — I entered into an amazing relationship (right around the time I stopped blogging… go figure). I bought a house. I experienced the misery of a flooded basement (without a wet vacuum to help). I became a pro at fixing drywall. I traveled a bunch (Peru, Japan, and England). Now that the DIY projects have slowed down (fingers crossed!), I want to get back to blogging.

I’m going to keep today’s post short and simple. This is a quick hello and a delicious winter recipe — sujuk rolls. Sujok is a special Armenian sausage that I blogged about back in Syria. My host mom used to prepare sujuk in bulk and preserve it by wrapping the sausage in breathable cloth bags and air drying them on her balcony. Fortunately, this recipe doesn’t call for dried sujuk, which makes it a lot simpler.

One of the things that makes sujuk so special is the combination of all the fragrant spices. Home cooks in Aleppo eat sujuk for breakfast with their eggs. Sujuk also makes for a great topping on pizza (a twist on the ordinary sausage) and a legendary late night sandwich/snack. Sujuk rolls are popular appetizers at restaurants in Aleppo and are perfect for parties. Enjoy!

mise en place
mise en place
Colorful Sujuk Spices
sujuk spices
Fragrant Sujuk Sausage
sujuk meat
Authentic pita bread
thin pita bread
The thinner the pita, the better
open bread
Good pita-to-sujuk ratio
sujuk on bread
Roll tightly
rolling sujuk
Slice with a sharp serrated knife
cutting sujuk rolls
Sujuk rolls about to go into the oven
sujuk rolls going in the oven
Sujuk Rolls (سجك رولز)
sujuk rolls

Sujuk Rolls

10-12 appetizer servings

Components

  • 1kg fresh sujuk sausage
  • Thin pita bread
  • 1-2 tsp ghee, for pan frying

Putting them all together

  1. Prepare the sujuk as described in the recipe, but do not dry.
  2. Separate the pocket pita bread into two halves.
  3. Spread a thin layer of sujuk on the pita bread.
  4. Tightly roll the pita and sujuk into a log.
  5. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut the pita log into individual rolls.
  6. Melt ghee on a skillet. Pan fry each side over medium heat until crispy.

Notes: It’s important to use thin pita bread so that you have a good sujuk-to-pita ratio. For a healthy alternative, you can bake in a 400ºF oven for 12-15 minutes or until crispy.

Print

Not traditional, but fresh salsa on the side is great
bite of sujuk rolls

I hope everyone is either already celebrating in 2015 or getting ready to ring in the new year with those they love. I’ll be back soon with more recipes and stories <3

9 thoughts on “Ringing in 2015 with Sujuk Rolls

  1. Took me a while to catch up with your latest post. Another great recipe. Often wondered where you were (and your family) whenever Aleppo came up on the news. Looking forward to more news and recipes.

  2. Thanks, @syrahsuzie! Glad you like these. They’re delicious!
    Fortunately, I was able to evacuate very early in the conflict. Most of my extended family has left, too. It’s sad to see pictures of Aleppo today.

  3. These turned out reaaally good!! I’m so happy I stumbled upon your food blog! As a proud Syrian-American as well, I really enjoy trying my hand at these dishes and coming closer to my heritage that way. I drizzled some pomegranate molasses on top of the final product before serving, and it added a nice touch and contrast to the flavor. The flavor of the sujuk meat was so close to the flavor I remember back in Syria! When making the meat, I halved the proportion of cumin and allspice, and substituted it with “bharat sujuk (sujuk spices)” that my mom had from Syria. I also added a combination of sweet and hot red pepper from Syria (which is what I thought you meant with Aleppian red pepper), and a dash of white and black pepper. Thanks for the great, easy recipe! Looking forward to exploring more!

  4. I’m late to this party, but wondering whether these could be served at room temperature. I have a potluck coming up and wish to impress 😀

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