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Arabian Nights – Monthly Mingle 9

Here I am, probably the last one to bring her dishes to Meeta’s Monthly Mingle. I really thought I would never make it on time this month…I fell victim to the old combination of too much work, too much family (but I am happy about that one) and very little play time in the kitchen….isn’t it funny how our kitchen priorities are very different from our boss’s our customers’?..but yet, they are quite happy when we bring them half of whatever we have concocted that day!

I got quite excited when I read about the theme this month: an entire event devoted to Arabian Nights…and then I drew a blank…for about 2 seconds!I immediately thought about dishes and pastries from Morocco and Algeria and decided to bake 3 of my favorites. I had a hard time finding pastries and desserts from other Arabic countries so I am really looking forward to learn more and see what other bakers have come up with. I am also going to check out the library in the future to try to broaden my horizon.

Why Morocco? My parents were born there, mom in Oujda and dad in Rabat, in the 30s and 40s as children of military families, their parents were stationed wherever they were needed and ended up traveling quite a lot, much like nomads. (My dad continued the tradition and this is why I probably ended up here!) Although they did not stay in the country, the Arabic world always had a place in my family, in phrases and sentences, in memorabilia, furniture and of course cooking (just ask anybody about my Grandmother’s couscous).

The other reason behind Morocco is because of the vivid memories I have from a little “hole in the wall” bakery that was situated a block away from my University when I was doing my graduate work. I would go there with a couple of girlfriends and get a little pick me up around 4pm before hitting the books again. The owners loved our little group of 3 young plump chicks and we always ended up sampling more than reasonable but for us every free sugar honey dripping morsel was worth its weight in gold! I have yet to find anything close to what they had here in SC but that may not be a bad thing as all the pastries from that part of the world have a tendency to be overly sweet and I know I would develop diabetes in a flash. However, there are three pastries that stuck to my memory, and Meeta’s event was the perfect opportunity to revisit them. Common ingredients in Arabic pastries are nuts, dates, orange blossom flower water, corn meal, fillo dough, honey, sugar and butter. Only a few bites of each one of these would satisfy any sweet tooth.

Harissa from Oujda, adapted from Fatema Hal :

If you are familiar with the hot sauce ‘harissa’, do not ask me why this particular pastry is also called this way as there is nothing hot about it. I am guessing it refers to the cooking style, but if you know, please let me know in the comment box.

250 gr. ground almonds
125 gr. sugar
2 Tb. orange blossom flower water
2 Tb. honey
75 gr. butter

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a saucepan, mix together the sugar and orange blossom flower and boil for 2 minutes over medium heat. Do not caramelize, but bring to a syrup like consistency. Remove from the heat and stir in the almonds, butter, honey. Mix well. Pour into a 8X8 inch square pan and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the ovem, let cool completely and cut into losanges.
They are easier to cut if refrigerated for 1 hour.

Maancha (also spelled Mhencha) , Snake pastries:

Makes 8

16 sheets
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups almonds
1/4 cup melted butter + 1 Tb.
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
honey to drizzle

Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a food processor, grind sugar and almonds. Add orange blossom water and 1 Tb.butter. Blend into a smooth paste.
Stack 2 sheets of filo dough, brush with melted butter and place 1/4 cup of the almond paste and spread it down the center, in the shape if a thick pencil.
Roll the dough around the paste, and form into a snake coil. Repeat with remaining dough and paste. Brush evenly with buttter and drizzle with honey if desired. Bake for 10 minutes.

Date Snails, adapted from Celine:

Mine ended up looking like bear claws, because I could not get them to roll the right way. I’d rather come up with another solution than have something aesthetically weird. The following directions are given for making snails.

Makes 16-18

Dough:

1 lb all purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 Tb. sugar
2 TB orange flower blossom water
1 egg

Filling:

1 cup chopped, pitted dates mixed with a pinch of cinnamon and a dash of orange water

For the dough:
Mix all the ingredients together and add a little bit of warm water if necessary to obtain a smooth dough. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes to relax it.

Form the filling into little logs. Roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Put one log on the longest side and roll once over to encase the date filling.
Keep doing this with the remaining date logs and dough.
With scissors, cut slits into each log at 1/2 inch intervals, not cutting all the way through. Cut each log at 5 inch intervals and coil the dough onto itself to form a snail.Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

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Comments


Thistlemoon April 12, 2007 um 2:56 am

Wow those pastries look absolutely beautiful! Especially the date snails. I might have to try those out! I love Morroccan food!


Brilynn April 12, 2007 um 3:41 am

I just bought orange blosson water with no clue what to do with it, problem solved!


Mercedes April 12, 2007 um 3:54 am

Oh my, you made kleeja (that’s what we call date snails in Syria)! I love them.
I agree, it’s such a pity there is a lack of good Arabic food and Arabic pastries in the U.S.


Elle April 12, 2007 um 4:55 am

Even though they do look a bit like bears claws, the date snails are very appealing.


Meeta K. Wolff April 12, 2007 um 5:52 am

you did make it and what a brilliant job too. Helene trust you to always think sweet ;-). Glad you joined and I appreciate the belly dancing offer!


MyKitchenInHalfCups April 12, 2007 um 5:59 am

You always manage! I’m in awe again…those are each beautiful. I so wish I had one of each.


Gattina Cheung April 12, 2007 um 9:56 am

I crazy for anything with dates, I’ll come back for your date snail/claw! Helene, rose water is earier for me to get, would you suggest I replacing it?


Veron April 12, 2007 um 12:09 pm

I love mediterranean pastries. They taste so good with tea. OMG I love them all.


Anonymous April 12, 2007 um 1:41 pm

oh gosh. I love North African and Middle Eastern pastries, especially those that make use of filo dough. Those date snails look scrumptious!


Alanna Kellogg April 12, 2007 um 1:50 pm

Just beautiful!


Lis April 12, 2007 um 2:18 pm

Holy cow they all look fantastic! I’m especially taken with the Harissa.. it looks like candy!

Mmmm bacon brittle…

(I’ve got bacon brittle on my mind, can you tell?)

Your pastries are beautiful – just like you!
xoxo


Patricia Scarpin April 12, 2007 um 2:45 pm

Helene, there are so many delicious pastries here I don’t know where to start! 🙂

I’d love to make at least one of there. They look incredible and with almonds and orange blossom water one just can’t go wrong!


Warda April 12, 2007 um 4:23 pm

La Harissa est ma preferee, chez nous on ne l’apelle pas ainsi mais Kalb el louz (coeur d’amandes). J’ai demande a mon pere pourquoi dans quelques regions elle est appele Harissa, il n’en sait absolument rien mais il va demande a un ami a lui qui s’interesse aux origines des mots dans la culture arabe et il va me rendre la reponse.
Tes gateaux sont une vraie reussite. Tu as fais honneur a ta maman. Si un jour tu cherches une recette de patisserie de l’afrique du nord comme ghribiya ou autre tu n’as qu’a me demande j’en ai pleins chez moi.


Anonymous April 12, 2007 um 5:16 pm

Hi Helen! Absolutely gorgeous entries! I’ve never tried any of them, but they are so intriguing, I will definately bookmark them.


Anonymous April 12, 2007 um 7:38 pm

You are absolutely brilliant…I would have had no idea where to start with this theme. Great job!


Helene April 13, 2007 um 2:54 am

Jenndz: Thank you! The date snails are all gone!

Brilynn: you van use orange water in cakes and pastries, crepes and such instead of vanilla. The flavor is quite strong out of the bottle, but not quite as such once baked.

Mercedes: thanks for giving it a name. I am looking forward to learning more about Syrian food.

Elle: thank you!

Meeta: I am practicing my belly dancing skills just for you!

Tanna: thank you! Everything was delicious.

Gattina: rose water would work, the flavor would be completely different though.

Veron: they were indeed delicious.

Veuvecliquot: I am on the lookout for more recipes using filo because I have about a roll and a half left!

Alanna: thank you!

Lisa: it does take like candy and gets gone just as fast.

Patricia: I hope you get around to making one.

Rose: merci pour l’information, je savais que je pouvais compter sur toi!

Gilly: thank you! They were delicious. They were not complicated, just a little time consuming.

Kristen: Since I did not oewn any Arabic cookbooks, I relied on the internet and the library.


Gattina Cheung April 16, 2007 um 10:33 am

Helene, thanks! I will try to get orange blossom water first then 😀


Anonymous August 12, 2007 um 8:44 pm

Harissa means anything that is mashed or pulverized. In this case, almonds. In the case of the, more familiar, condiment, chillies are mashed into a paste.


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