Rakakat Jebneh
رقاقات بالجبنة·(ruh-kah-kaht jeb-neh)
The Sunday Spread: Mezze & Memories
The smell of hot oil and parsley is the universal homing beacon of a Lebanese childhood. In Beirut, your grandmother might walk to the corner bakery for fresh rakakat dough, but in the diaspora, the secret to a shattering crust lies in the Asian supermarket freezer aisle. We are using wheat-based spring roll wrappers and a few non-negotiable tricks to keep the cheese from blowing out in the pan: aggressive wringing, a dusting of flour in the filling, and a mandatory stint in the freezer. Roll a massive batch on Sunday, freeze them solid, and fry them on a frantic Tuesday night for an instant, molten taste of home.
Before you start
Keep the wrappers damp.
Spring roll wrappers dry out incredibly fast; keep them covered with a slightly damp kitchen towel while you work through rolling the batch.
Ingredients
- Akawi cheese8 oz
- whole milk block mozzarella8 oz
- fresh flat-leaf parsley2 tbsp
- all-purpose flour3 tbsp
- water2 tbsp
- white onion1 tbsp
- white pepper1/2 tsp
- wheat-based spring roll wrappers25 med
- neutral oil1 qt
Method
- 01
Desalinate and wring the Akawi cheese.
Soak the Akawi chunks in cold water for 30 minutes to remove the heavy brine, drain, and then squeeze them fiercely inside a clean kitchen towel to extract all residual moisture.
- 02
Process the cheeses into a coarse crumb.
Place the wrung-dry Akawi and the mozzarella cubes into a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse, crumbly sand.
- 03
Build the cheese matrix.
Transfer the cheese to a bowl and fold in the parsley, onion, white pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the flour, which acts as a binder to keep the melting fat contained.
- 04
Mix the flour glue.
In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour with the water to create a thick paste.
- 05
Roll and seal the pastries.
Lay a wrapper flat like a diamond, place one heaping tablespoon of filling near the bottom point, fold the bottom up, fold the sides in tightly, and roll upward, sealing the top point with a dab of the flour paste.
- 06
Freeze the rolls.
Place the finished rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet without touching and freeze for at least 2 hours to ensure the cheese doesn't boil before the wrapper crisps.
- 07
Fry from frozen.
Heat two inches of neutral oil in a heavy pot to 375°F, drop the frozen rolls in small batches, and fry for 2 to 3 minutes until blistered and deeply golden.
Notes
Sourcing and substituting the cheese.
If you cannot find Akawi at a Middle Eastern grocer, substitute an equal blend of Queso Fresco and Feta alongside the mozzarella to mimic that salty, firm bite without losing structural integrity.
Do not skip the freezer.
Thermal shock is the grandma secret here; cooking from frozen allows the thin wrapper to shatteringly crisp in the exact time it takes the core to gently melt without blowing out.
From Cook Lebanese in America.