I’m not sure why this dish made me think of this memory but when I was in high school and college and would find myself back home with the family for the holidays, my mom at some point switched from a doing a roast or some large meal for New Year’s Eve to more of a hodge podge of appetizers. It varied each year but there were always some staples (meatballs, chicken wings and twice-baked potatoes). Maybe it was this introduction to a variety of fun finger foods that lead to one of my preferences as an adult for small/shared plates and the appetizer section of many restaurant menus. I don’t know that I like to commit to one large meal and my desire to “try a little bit of everything” lends itself to this strategy. So what does this have to do with my choice of dish for Uzbekistan? Well…a little bit of everything!

As part of this cooking challenge, I’ve made a few things that resemble this Uzbek dish, an empanada probably being the closest. The dough was incredibly simple, though I’m not sure I got the dough as thin as needed to get flaky layers with the texture a bit more like an empanada as opposed to a phyllo pastry. The filling was ground beef with onions and a few spices. The end result was very savory, almost like a beef stew or if you ask Matt, a cheesesteak without the cheese (note to self to maybe add some next time).

Bottom line: I think these are a great dish to have on hand for a finger food party. I think they are pretty kid-friendly, not too spicy, and pretty easy to execute.

Recipe I used: https://www.gastrosenses.com/blog/uzbek-samsa/

Overall Level of Effort: 2

Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Would Make it Again? Yes

Additional Notes: As far as making your own dough for a dish like this, I think this was on the simpler side of things and even if the consistency was a bit off, it still tasted great. So if you want to dip your toe into making dough for something like this, this may be a good starter recipe.