Honey-coated almond briouates

Start by preparing the almond paste in advance. If using skinned almonds, first place them in a large pot of boiling water and remove from heat immediately.

Let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes then drain the almonds. Let them cool for a few moments, then peel them by pinching them between your thumb and forefinger: the almond will come out of its skin on its own. If you let them cool too much, the skin will dry out again and stick to the almonds.

The day before, rinse and drain the blanched almonds. Pat them dry with absorbent paper, spread them out on a clean cloth and let them dry for a few hours. They must be perfectly dry before being ground. Grind them to a fine powder in the bowl of a food processor, mix and grind again. Pour the powder into a large salad bowl.

Finely grate the lemon zest and add it to the almond powder. Then add the eggs and orange blossom water, mix carefully, then knead the almond paste with your hands until you obtain a homogeneous mixture. Shape the almond paste into balls and flatten them slightly: they should be 3 cm in diameter and 8 mm thick. Reserve them on an oiled tray.

Now prepare the briouates:

Cut each sheet of brick into three 5 cm wide strips. Trim

one end square and the other at an angle. Spread a strip of dough in front of you, place a ball of almond near the edge of the vertical side, fold the dough over the ball and continue folding in one direction, then the other, so as to form a triangle, until the other end.

To close the briouate, insert the pointed end into a fold of dough, as if closing an unsealed envelope. Reserve the briouates on a tray as you prepare them and continue in this way until the almond paste and pastry sheets are used up.

At this stage, you can freeze the briouates in a plastic container while waiting to fry them. If you fry them immediately, heat the 30 cl of peanut oil in

a non-stick frying pan and brown as many briouates as it can hold, for approximately 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until they are golden and crispy.

Drain them on absorbent paper.

Prepare the syrup: combine the sugar, honey and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir over medium heat to dissolve the sugar well. Reduce the heat and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice, mix and cook for another 10 minutes over very low heat.

Remove from the heat, add the orange blossom water and mix carefully. The syrup should neither darken nor thicken too much.

Once all the briouates are fried and cooled, dip them in the hot syrup. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a serving dish. You can sprinkle them with toasted sesame before serving with mint tea.

source: la-cuisine-marocaine.com