Moroccan Snake

Somebody's first steps into the kitchen and food world were with Julia Child. Somebody's - with Elizabeth David. Maybe Alice Waters? Or Alain Ducasse? Keith Floyd? Farren Adria? Thomas Keller? Marco Pierre White?.. The list could go on and on, but my stop would be beside the name of Jamie Oliver. Even though he was not the one who taught me how to cook and how to put everything right in the kitchen, but he was definitely the one who demonstrated how to love the food. How to enjoy the process of making a meal, and how not obliging it really is. He showed the simplicity behind the kitchen stove,  the sincerity simmering in the pot of boiling water, and the elegance of home-cooking process. There was (and still is) something real about him that even the almighty television could't create on purpose. In between the perfectly written scenario there always was his modest and unsophisticated manner of playing around with his pots and pans that very often evoked the smile on my face. Full of admiration and esteem.

You may say that it's a mass production. And I wouldn't say no. The number of books and TV shows perfectly resemble that. Once Jamie got into the juicy direction, he fully dived into it: one TV show was replacing the other, the books were being printed and reprinted, and the whole action was encompassing everything that's possible: home-cooking, fast-cooking, comfort food, food for schoolchildren, dishes with fish, summer cooking, Italian Food, American food and its problems, European and North African cuisine, traditional Briton food and even the issues on chicken and meat production. I guess, this is not the end, but what's really important is that in the frenzy of this whole process Jamie's attitude didn't change. He somehow managed to remain the same humble and quite messy culinary icon. The one that I started liking. Or maybe it's just all about his accent and the way I want to see him...

Either way, I am still enjoying watching his culinary adventures. Especially the ones that shows something you're not used to and maybe would never be able to see. That's why Jamie's Food Escapes are being considered as one of my favorites. There he goes to Marrakesh, Athens, Andalusia, French Pyrenees, Venice and Stockholm and tries to get to know better the actual cooking traditions of each region. He makes  a Moroccan tagine with the ingredients gathered right in the local market. He tries to master a phyllo dough making which is eventually accepted to be an art of the professionals. He challenges himself to roll the perfect souvlaki sandwich as fast as the Greeks do. He goes searching for the truffles with a local Frenchman and in the end prepares a quick lunch in the middle of the forest. He helps making an enormous paella for the whole Andalusian village, and eventually gets into the very challenging relationship with  a traditional Swedish rotten fish.  Again, the naming could go on and on, because there is a lot more than that: way more unconventional tastes, specific techniques and multilingual process of learning.

But from the first episode I was inspired with traditional Moroccan snake-type pastry. If you want to see how Jamie makes it, you can do it here. However, I followed a slightly different recipe, which also resulted in an outstandingly crispy, buttery and generously sweet pastry. Shaped into the snake it surely may delight even the biggest dessert skeptic.

Phyllo Pastry with Almond Paste
adapted from The African and Middle Eastern Cookbook

2/3 cup (115 g) blanched almonds
4 oz (115 g) butter, softened + a little bit more for brushing
2 2/3 (300 g) ground almonds
6 oz (150 g) brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp orange flower or rose water
3-4 sheets of phyllo pastry
1 egg yolk

Toast blanched almonds on the pan or in the oven until they are golden brown. Let them cool and then grind in the food processor till you get coarse breadcrumbs.

Place the nuts in a bowl and add the ground almonds, sugar, softened butter, cinnamon and orange flavored water. Using hands for the mixture into a smooth paste. Cover with a plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease a 9-inch round baking pan.

Open out the sheets of phyllo pastry, keeping them in a pile and covered with damp kitchen towel so they do not dray out. Taking one sheet at time put them next to each other in a long line, and brush them all with a little melted butter.

Take the almond paste and spread it along the long edge of the pastry line. Roll the phyllo up into the roll the thickness of your thumb and form the snake rolling the pastry around itself.

Transfer the snake into the baking pan. Mix the egg yolk with a little bit of water and brush this over the pastry. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned.

Top the freshly baked pastry with a powdered sugar and cinnamon.