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300 g pitted dates
1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds, crushed
120 ml orange juice
150 g butter, melted
50 g almond paste
finely pared zest of 20 kumquats or 1
orange, blanched and
finely shredded
8 sheets of filo pastry, each 20-cm
square
icing sugar, to dust
Sauce:
juice of 4 oranges
juice of 2 lemons
180 g sugar
15 cardamom pods, bruised
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Method:
Mince the dates in a blender or
mini-processor, then transfer to a small pan. Add the cumin
seeds, orange juice and 100 g butter. Cook on a low heat for
15-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, stir
in the almond paste and kumquat or orange zest, then set aside to
cool. Brush one sheet of filo pastry with
butter, lay another sheet on top and brush again with butter.
Put two spoonfuls of date filling along one side and roll up the
pastry to enclose the filling; twist the ends like a toffee wrapper to
seal. Place on a greased baking tray and brush with butter.
Repeat to make another 3 pastries, then rest in the fridge for 20-30
minutes. Bake the pastries in the preheated oven for 10-12
minutes until crisp and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. To make the sauce, put the orange juice,
lemon juice, sugar and cardamom pods in a heavy-based pan. Heat
gently to dissolve the sugar, then boil to reduce to a thick syrup.
Allow to cool. To serve, dust each pastry with icing
sugar, cut diagonally in two and arrange on a plate. Drizzle
with the citrus cardamom sauce.
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