Tunisian Almond Cigars

Name: Tunisian Almond Cigars
Yield: Makes Eight to Twelve
Cuisine: Tunisian
Ingredients: 1 egg, lightly beaten; melted butter, for brushing; icing (confectioners’) sugar and ground cinnamon, for dusting; 250 g/9 oz almond paste, prepared according to the instructions opposite (reduce the amounts of all ingredients by about a third), or ready-made; 15 ml/1 tbsp rose water or orange flower water; 5 ml/1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1.5 ml/¼ tsp almond extract; 8–12 sheets filo pastry; mint tea or black coffee, to serve

Preparation info

Makes
Eight to Twelve

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Complete Guide to Traditional Jewish Cooking

By Marlena Spieler

Published 2016

About

A variation on M’hanncha, these pastries are a great favourite of the Jews of North Africa, especially Tunisia. Serve them with a small cup of fragrant mint tea or strong, dark coffee.

Ingredients

250 g/9 oz almond paste, prepared according to the instructions opposite (reduce the amounts of all ingredients by about a third), or ready-made
1

Africa
Tunisia
Dessert
Pastry
Mediterranean
Vegetarian

Method

Knead the almond paste until soft, then put in a bowl, and mix in the egg, flower water, cinnamon and almond extract. Chill for 1–2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Place a sheet of filo pastry on a piece of