Here’s an easy appetizer that melds North African “brick sheets” and the classic French flavors of spinach and goat cheese all in one bite. To serve them as a main course, just shape them bigger — I’ll show you how.
What are bricks? / Qu’est-ce que les bricks?
I know it’s a strange name, but in the world of food “bricks” are very thin sheets of dough made from all purpose flour and water. Brick sheets, feuilles de brick in French, are usually round, large as a frying pan, and super pliable — until they dry out I guess. They look a lot like phyllo dough but are a different beast.
Bricks are not made using a dough per se but rather a liquid batter, as you can see from the tiny holes on the surface. Originating in North Africa, they have names as varied as their applications — breiks, beurecks, bestels, bastela, and pastilla. You’ll find them layered and filled like a meat pie, or folded over a savory filling into a square (much like a French buckwheat crèpe) or cut into strips and shaped into pretty triangles with both savory and sweet fillings.
I had a fair share of them growing up… For a quick and satisfying dinner, my parents often pulled bricks out of the fridge: stuffed one with an egg and some Boursin, or other goodies laying around, and fried them in butter or oil. So crispy and savory!
These spinach and goat cheese bricks are an ode to these oldies, although I stumbled upon this particular recipe later in life.
Sourcing bricks outside of France / L’approvisionnement
In France, with a significant part of the population rooted in Maghreb one way or another (see my Couscous Post), bricks are available at most grocery stores for a few euros.
They weren’t so easy to get in the US and after finding that anything online cost an arm and a leg to order, I turned to international markets. I searched high and low for the “brick sheets” of my childhood. Suddenly, my eyes landed on something that looked sort of similar — Spring Roll Pastry — and I grabbed a packet in a half-assed belief.
It turns out the thin sheets of pliable dough are very similar despite a slight difference in composition. The ingredients in this particular one are wheat flour, water, highly refined coconut oil, salt, and pea protein. Surely an assortment of GMO crops, but for something this occasional (and this thin), I looked the other way on the sourcing.
As DIY as I may be, I admit I’m not ready to make these impossibly-thin crepes myself. If you feel up for the challenge, Rachida on YouTube will show you how to make them.
Like most things, it doesn’t seem so hard to make, but it is yet another “tour de main,” sleight of hand, to acquire.
The spinach and goat cheese filling / La garniture
To any Greek spanakopita lover, this may feel very familiar, although you’ll find no dill or feta here.
You’ll only need 5 ingredients: bricks (of course), a couple handfuls of spinach, 1 egg, 4oz of goat cheese, and butter.
The spinach provides body and savoriness. It gets a quick steam in its own juice in a dry pan.
The goat cheese amps up the flavors and adds plenty of calcium to counterbalance the oxalic acid in spinach — win-win.
The egg acts as a binder, but also puffs up as it bakes, giving more airiness to these little crispy triangles.
The butter can either be brushed on the dough before shaping (which I find easiest) or it can be melted and brushed over the finished triangles before baking.
If you’re kitchen savvy, you might be wondering what to make of spinach stems.
The best solution I ever encountered besides composting them is found in Japanese temple cuisine. Simply blanching them and dressing them with a soy-sesame paste dressing is wonderful. The Kitchn has a recipe for it.
Shaping / Le façonnage
There are two main possibilities lying before us.
The first option is to cut each sheet of brick into strips 1 to 2 inches wide (however large is convenient for the size of your particular sheets). Then place a dollop of filling at one end and fold over to form a little triangle that gets thicker and thicker endlessly repeated until you reach the end.
This is a great “pastry” activity to do with kids. It will get them eating less sugar and more veggies while building their dexterity! It will also yield the perfect appetizer for any party.
Just remember it is very much like shaping dumplings; do not be tempted to put too much filling. Less is more. And, like with dumplings, try to keep the unused ones covered as you work or else the edges will dry out and the bricks will likely tear — oh no!
The second option is much lazier and how my mom (and her parents) always served bricks at home. Just place the whole sheet in front of you and heap some filling onto the center. Fold each side over the middle to make a little packet. Bake as-is and you have perfect one-serving spinach bricks to eat as a main course with knife and fork (or fingers).
Often, I’ll make little ones for the fun of it and then move to larger ones to speed up the process. Either way you fold them, these spinach and goat cheese bricks are really delicious and crispy all around.
Baking or frying / Rôtir ou frire
Bricks are easy enough to shallow or deep fry in some fat. But I find this makes them heavy and makes a mess out of my kitchen.
So I prefer to give them just the right amount of fat and slip them in a hot oven to crisp. If you’re feeling fancy, flip them half way through for a more even toasting. Then serve immediately because like most crispy things, they soften as they cool and absorb the moisture in the air.
If you want to make this ahead, you can make the filling and leave it in the fridge until ready to roll them up. Or fold the bricks and keep them in the freezer uncooked, then bake them up as needed.
This is an easy recipe that will get you well acquainted with bricks — or spring roll pastry. Let me know how you like them!
Bon appétit!
More wholesome recipes
Spinach Bricks
Ingredients
- ½ bunch spinach – about 4 oz
- 4 oz goat cheese
- 1 pasture-raised egg
- about 8 brick sheets – also called Spring Roll Pastry
- 2 tbsp butter – at room temperature
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. Wash the spinach in cold water and trim the stems (see post for how to use them for something else). Take the goat cheese and butter out of the fridge so they can soften.
- Add the spinach leaves to a small pan over medium heat, cover and let steam for 5 min. Drain any excess water and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a bowl, beat the egg, then add the goat cheese and mash with a fork. Season with only pinch of salt as the cheese also provides saltiness.
- Take only a brick out of the package at a time so it won't dry out. Cut it into 4 strips if making appetizers or leave it whole for a large serving.Place a strip (or full sheet) in front of you and smear it lightly with butter. Add about a tsp of the filling on one end and fold it over itself into a mini triangle, continuing to fold it over itself until the end of the strip.If making a large one, place about a quarter cup of the filling and bring each side over the middle.
- Place on a baking sheet (or steel pan) and bake for 15 min or until slightly golden around the edges. Enjoy hot.
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