Name: Almond and sesame pastries (Samsa)
Yield: Serves 10 (makes about 30 pastries)
Cuisine: Tunisian
Ingredients: 200 g (7 oz) ground sesame seeds; 250 g (9 oz) ground almonds; 250 g (9 oz) icing sugar; about 30 sheets of 25 x 10 cm (10 x 4 in) gossamer-thin filo pastry; 2 egg whites; 4–5 tbsp rose water; 2 tbsp finely grated orange zest (optional); 250 g (9 oz) caster sugar; 500 ml (18 fl oz) water; handful of blanched almonds, chopped, to decorate; vegetable oil, for deep-frying; juice of ½ lemon; 1 tbsp geranium or orange-blossom water

Preparation info

Serves
10
(makes about 30 pastries)

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The North African Kitchen

By Fiona Dunlop

Published 2008

About

These delectable pastries can be served warm or cold. Originally introduced by the Ottoman Turks and now a Tunisian classic, samsa are usually served with mint tea to finish off a meal. Women often make them together, chatting as they roll up the pastry envelopes.

Ingredients

250 g (9 oz) icing sugar
250 g (9

Method

Put the icing sugar, almonds, sesame seeds and orange zest (if using) in a bowl. Add the rose water and 1 egg white and knead the mixture together to form a stiff paste.
Take a rectangle of pastry, place ½ tbsp of the mixture at one end, then fold to the left, then