Brick with tuna and egg

The egg and tuna brick is an iconic dish from the Maghreb, mainly Tunisia. The word ‘brick’ refers both to the thin sheet of pastry used and the dish itself. It is traditionally filled with a mixture of tuna, mashed potatoes, herbs, spices and a whole egg, before being folded and fried to become crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a runny egg yolk.
Brick pastry with egg and tuna is very popular during Ramadan, when it is often eaten to break the fast at iftar. Brick pastry is also served at large family gatherings, weddings, or simply as a starter or main course at home, especially for convivial and festive meals.

Ingredients (serves 4)

8 Columbus eggs
8 sheets of filo pastry
500g potatoes
½ onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
200g drained tuna in brine
2 tablespoons chopped coriander or parsley
Ground chilli pepper
Salt and pepper
Frying oil

Preparation

Peel and boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes, until a knife can easily pierce them. Leave them to cool and cut them into 1 cm cubes. Chop the onion and coriander. Flake the tuna.
Mix the potatoes with the onion, olive oil, tuna and coriander. Season with salt and pepper and add a little ground chilli, to taste.
Heat the oil to 190°C in a deep fryer or simply in a wok.
Fold a sheet of filo pastry in half. Form a cone shape. Put two tablespoons of filling into the cone. Then crack an egg into it. Seal the top of the cone with a toothpick and place the filo pastry flat in the boiling oil.
Cook on both sides for a few minutes until the filo pastry is golden brown and crispy.
Drain on kitchen paper and repeat for the other sheets of filo pastry (you can easily cook two at a time).
Serve hot with a salad and lemon wedges.