Arabian cigars
Crisp fillo cigars filled with walnuts, almonds and cinnamon, soaked in a lemon and spice syrup. Makes 15
Thin, crackly rolls of buttered fillo pastry wrapped around a filling of walnuts, almonds, sugar, cinnamon and clove, baked until light golden and then bathed in a warm syrup scented with lemon rind, cinnamon and cloves. Like little baklava fingers, sweet and nutty. Serve with coffee or mint tea; they keep well for a few days.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 15
Ingredients
For the pastry
For the filling
For the syrup
For the topping
Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Keep the 5 sheets fillo pastry covered with a damp tea towel until you use it, so it does not dry out and crack.
Step 2: Boil 3 ⅞ oz caster sugar, ½ cup water, 1 lemon rind, 1 cinnamon stick and 2 cloves in a small pan until the syrup reaches one-thread consistency (a drop pulled between finger and thumb makes a single thread; see the sugar syrup recipe), about 5 minutes. Keep warm.
5 minStep 3: Mix 5 ½ oz walnuts, 2 ⅞ oz blanched almonds, 2 oz caster sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and ¼ tsp ground cloves for the filling.
Step 4: Heat the oven to 300°F and grease a baking tray. Cut 1 sheet of fillo into 3 wide strips and brush each strip with 2 ⅛ oz butter.
Step 5: Spoon 1 heaped teaspoon of filling into a pile at one end of each strip, leaving a 3.5 cm border.
Step 6: Fold in the long sides, brush with butter and roll up tightly into a cigar shape. Repeat with the rest of the fillo and filling to make 15.
Step 7: Place the cigars on the tray, seam side down, and brush with the remaining 1 ⅜ oz butter.
Step 8: Bake for 25–30 minutes until light brown. Cool on a wire rack.
28 minStep 9: Arrange the cigars in a single layer in a shallow dish, remove the cinnamon stick and cloves from the syrup, and pour the warm syrup over. Leave to cool and soak up the syrup.
Step 10: Sprinkle with 1 tbsp blanched almonds, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tbsp slivered almonds before serving.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 15 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arabian cigars take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 15 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of walnuts?
- Pecans or chocolate chips, same amount.
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