Samsas

“Samsa is a traditional dish often made during Ramadhan. They are not like the samosas you frequently find, filled with spiced savoury meat. These are stuffed with a mixture of ground down nuts, sweet potato, orange and cinnamon. Doused in sweet syrup, they are then coated again with nuts. I like to serve mine with a simple strawberry coulis.”- Nadiya Hussain

Ingredients

For the filling

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1 orange, zest only (reserving the juice for later)

  • 100g walnuts, finely chopped

For the pastry

  • 150g butter

  • 270g pack of filo pastry, ready-rolled (7 sheets)

  • 100g pistachios, finely chopped

For the syrup

  • juice of an orange (see above)

  • 100ml water

  • 150g caster sugar

For the strawberry coulis

  • 227g punnet of strawberries

  • 100g icing sugar

  • squeeze of lemon juice

Method

  1. Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, place directly on to a microwave plate and cook for 10 minutes till very soft. You can also do this in the oven.

  2. Take out and leave to cool enough so they can be handled and then scoop out all the flesh and pop into a bowl. Mash to a smooth paste with the cinnamon, orange zest and walnuts. Set aside.

  3. For the pastry, pop the butter into a pan and melt till brown. As soon as it starts to bubble and brown flecks appear, you have browned the butter. Take off the heat.

  4. Preheat the oven to 190°C and have a baking tray at the ready.

  5. Cut the filo sheets down the length and create 14 strips of filo, leaving the sheets you’re not working with under a damp tea towel. Butter two sheets together. Take a dollop of the filling and place at the bottom of the end of the strip. Fold a corner over to create a visible triangle, encasing the filling.

  6. Now take the filled triangle and fold over again and keep going till you have a fully encased triangle. Make the other six and butter them all over with any leftover butter.

  7. Pop on to the tray and bake for 20 minutes.

  8. Make the syrup by pouring the orange juice into a pan with the water and caster sugar. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer till the syrup is thick and golden.

  9. Take the triangles out of the oven and dip straight into the syrup till completely coated, then coat with pistachios and set aside.

  10. For the strawberry coulis, put the fresh strawberries, icing sugar and lemon juice in a food processor and blend. Serve alongside the samsas as a dip or a drizzle.

Credit: Recipes from Rooza (Penguin Michael Joseph) by Nadiya Hussain, out 23 January available to pre-order and buy from Amazon. Rooza is Nadiya Hussain’s heartfelt culinary tribute to Ramadhan. This book invites you on a joyous and explorative journey through Muslim cuisine. It illuminates the rich rituals, traditions, and the incredible diversity of dishes from across the Islamic world.

Photo by Chris Terry

Aisling GilheanyComment