Moroccan cuisine · Desserts & Sweets

Briouat bel Tmar

Fried pastry rolls with soft date paste, perfumed with orange blossom water and cinnamon.

Ingredients · for 6 servings

• 10 sheets warqa pastry (or filo pastry)
• 500 g dates (Medjool)
• 50 g butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp orange blossom water
• 40 g almonds
• 1 egg yolk
• 150 g honey
• 1 l oil for frying

Instructions

1. Pit the dates, chop them roughly and soften with the butter in a small pot over low heat for 5 min, mashing with a fork into a paste.
2. Finely chop the almonds and stir them into the date paste with the cinnamon and 1 tbsp orange blossom water; let cool completely until firm enough to shape.
3. Shape the paste into 20 thumb-thick rolls, cut the pastry into 8 cm wide strips and place one roll at the end of each.
4. Roll the strips up tightly, brush the ends with beaten egg yolk and seal firmly so no filling leaks out during frying.
5. Heat the oil to 170 °C (340 °F) and fry the rolls in batches for 2–3 min until golden brown and crisp all over.
6. Warm the honey with the remaining orange blossom water until lukewarm, briefly turn the hot briouat in it and drain on a rack before serving with tea.