- serves 4 people
- preparation 40 minutes
- cooking 25 minutes
- difficulty Mid level
Ingredients
- 350 g whole blanched almonds
- 200 g white chocolate, chopped
- 250 g halva, chopped
- 130 g panela sugar
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp rosewater
- 115 g melted butter
- melted ghee, for brushing
- 9 sheets filo pastry
- dried rose petals and yoghurt and lemon ice-cream, to serve (optional)
Syrup
- 100 ml sugar
- 20 ml rosewater
Chilling time: 40 minutes
Instructions
- Blitz the almonds in the food processor until finely ground, then remove and set aside. Add the white chocolate, halva, panela sugar and ground ginger to the food processor and pulse until finely ground with a few little chunks. Transfer to a large bowl and stir through the blitzed almonds, rosewater and melted butter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
- Working with 3 sheets of filo pastry at a time, and keeping the others covered to prevent them drying out, brush each sheet with a little ghee, overlapping the short sides by about 4-5 cm. Fold the filo pastry in half lengthwise and brush again with more ghee. Roll one-quarter of the chocolate halva paste into a long finger and loosely place along the bottom long side of the filo pastry, coming to about 4 cm from each end. Roll the pastry over to carefully shape the log, brushing with a little melted ghee as you go. Gently roll into a coil and tuck the ends underneath. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Repeat this process with remaining pastry and filling, adding to the coil each time. Brush the top with ghee, then refrigerate for 20 minutes to set.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Bake the m’hencha for 20-25 minutes or until golden and crisp.
- Meanwhile, for the syrup, place the sugar, rosewater and 100 ml water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and stand until cool.
- Remove the m’hencha from the oven and gently brush a generous amount of the sugar syrup over the top. Sprinkle with dried rose petals and serve with the yoghurt and lemon ice-cream.
Join Shane Delia and friends for A Middle East Feast on SBS Food and SBS On Demand.
Cook’s Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
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