Znoud el sit

Ingredients

Ashta

• 1 litrewhole milk
• 200 mldouble cream
• 60 gcornflour
• 3 tablespoonssugar
• 2 tablespoonsrosewater
• 1 tablespoonorange blossom water

Syrup

• 400 gsugar
• 250 mlwater
• 1 tablespoonlemon juice
• 1 tablespoonrosewater
• 1 tablespoonorange blossom water

To wrap and fry

• 20 sheetsfilo pastry
• melted butter, for brushing
• neutral oil, for deep frying

To finish

• ground pistachios
• a little icing sugar

Directions

1. Make the syrup first so it has time to chill. Making the syrup takes ten minutes. Put the sugar and water in a heavy pan. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon juice to the pan. The acid stops the syrup crystallising later.
2. Bring it to the boil and simmer for ten minutes. It should thicken slightly and coat a spoon. Take it off the heat and stir in the flower waters. Let it cool completely and then refrigerate it. Proper ashta is skimmed from simmering milk over hours. Whisk the cornflour with a little of the cold milk. Work it into a smooth paste with no lumps.
3. Put the rest of the milk, cream and sugar in a pan. Heat it until it is steaming but not boiling. Pour a ladleful into the cornflour paste and whisk it in. Cooking it needs constant whisking.
4. Set the pan over a medium heat. Whisk without stopping as it heats. It will thicken suddenly after a few minutes. Keep whisking hard through that stage. Let it bubble for two full minutes. It should be extremely thick and hold its shape.
5. Take it off the heat and stir in the flower waters. Spread it out in a shallow dish. Press cling film onto the surface. That contact stops a skin forming. Keep the filo under a damp cloth as you work. Filo dries out and cracks within minutes. Lay one sheet on the board and brush it with butter.
6. Fold it in half to make a double thickness. Spoon a line of cold ashta along one short edge. Leave a clear border at each side. Fold both sides in over the filling. Roll it up tightly into a fat cylinder.
7. Brush the end with butter and press it closed. The seal must be entirely complete. Set each roll seam side down on a tray. Chill the finished rolls for thirty minutes. Pour oil into a deep pan to about six centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil. Heat it to 170C and check with a thermometer. Fry them for two or three minutes.
8. Turn them so they colour evenly all over. They should be deep golden and crisp. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. Syruping them is done immediately. Drop each hot roll straight into the cold syrup. Turn it once and leave it for thirty seconds only.
9. Lift them onto a rack over a tray to drain. Finishing them takes a moment. Scatter ground pistachios over the ends. Dust a little icing sugar over them if you like. Serving them is done warm or at room temperature.

Technique

• Ashta is the Levantine clotted cream, traditionally skimmed off simmering milk over several hours.
• The thickened milk version used here is what most home cooks make and is common in bakeries as well.

Substitutions

• Ready-made ashta is sold frozen in Middle Eastern shops.
• Thick pastry cream or clotted cream thickened with a little cornflour both work.

Variations

• Some patisseries bake the rolls rather than frying them.
• A version filled with sweetened ricotta is made in some households.
• Halawet el jibn is a related Lebanese sweet using the same ashta in a cheese dough.

History

The name means the lady’s upper arms, after the plump shape; a Beirut patisserie standard.

Frequently asked questions

What is Znoud el sit?

Znoud el sit is a dessert from Lebanon: filo rolls filled with ashta cream, fried and dipped in syrup. The name means the lady’s upper arms, after the plump shape; a Beirut patisserie standard.

How long does Znoud el sit take to make?

Znoud el sit takes 40 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 rolls. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Znoud el sit?

Yes, within limits. Ready-made ashta is sold frozen in Middle Eastern shops. Thick pastry cream or clotted cream thickened with a little cornflour both work.

What is the most important thing to get right in Znoud el sit?

Brush the end with butter and press it closed. The seal must be entirely complete. Set each roll seam side down on a tray. Chill the finished rolls for thirty minutes. Pour oil into a deep pan to about six centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil. Heat it to 170C and check with a thermometer. Fry them for two or three minutes.