The Food Of Morocco
Tags: pastry sheets
Recipe Reviews
Zosia from Toronto, ON
After making couscous from this book using the Moroccan method, I thought I had found the one recipe I would never make again....until this one : ). But I had to try it once!
These are pastry leaves that are thinner than fillo, made mainly from high gluten flour (I used Robin Hood Best for Bread) and water with a little oil and cider vinegar/lemon juice included. The batter is whizzed together in the food processor and allowed to rest overnight.
The cooking method involves brushing a non-stick pan with the batter and allowing the steam from a pot of boiling water to heat the pan and cook the pastry. The pastry is then removed from the pan (it’s cooked on 1 side only), oiled and the leaves are stacked between paper towels. With the oiling, the leaf goes from slightly opaque to transparent.
I found the batter to be very glutinous and elastic and had difficulty spreading it thinly and evenly on the hot pan before it started to cook; I had more control when I worked with a slightly cooler pan off the heat. Even then, most layers weren’t perfectly even.
I found photos/instructions on Joe Pastry’s site.....he uses Paula Wolfert’s recipe and method except that he adds an extra ¼ cup water and doesn’t allow the overnight rest. His batter seems thinner, and smoother. Here’s the link: http://www.joepastry.com/2011/making-warqa-a-k-a-brik-pastry/
I made 20 leaves. I required 16 leaves to make “The Snake” (page 470) - 1 of my spares was used to patch the torn sheets : ).
This was 1 recipe where I found the author’s instructions to be very clear…..I just wish there were actual photos instead of drawings.
(edited 23rd March 2012) (0) comment (1) useful
Login or register to add your own review of this recipe.