By Raphael Giannelis
Small business owner and Mediterranean Food Hero from Lemnos Greece.
Learn more Raphael
Samsades
Samsades are a traditional Greek dessert made of golden pastry encased around nuts and soaked in a sweet, sticky syrup. This Lemnian twist uses a deeply rich sesame and almond filling.
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Prep: 1 – 1 1/2 hours | Cook: 40 minutes | Makes: 20 pieces
For the dough you’ll need:
- Nine spoons of wheat flour
- A pinch of salt
- A tablespoon of olive oil
- A tablespoon of vinegar
- Water as needed
For the filling you’ll need:
- 2 cups of sesame roasted and crushed or ground
- 1 cup of ground almonds
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp of ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp of grated nutmeg
- 4-5 tablespoons of dry bread crumbs
- 1 1⁄2 cups of brown sugar
For the syrup you’ll need:
- 3 cups of water
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 tbsp of honey
- 1/2 a lemon
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, adding the water in slowly and kneadig until a firm dough forms.
- Stretch the dough on a clean surface until it becomes a thin round crust. This is your phyllo pastry.
- Cut the pastry down the middle and brush with sesame oil.
- Spread half of your sesame mixture onto the pastry by hand.
- Use a rod (or something with pencil-like thickness) to roll the sheet on itself (with the rod in the middle) creating a tight roll. Starting with side that has the filling.
- Keeping the rod in place, push both ends intowards the middle with your hands. Your pastry should now bunched up, with clear ruffles visible.
- Remove the rod and cut into diamond shapes using a sharp knife.
- Place your samsades on an oiled baking tray in the oven at 200 degrees celcius for 45 minutes and set aside.
- Once cooled, pour the syrup over the sweets. They are ready to be served!
Did You Know?
[bctt tweet=”Sesame used to be so precious in Greece that it was offered as an in-kind payment for human labour. #MedFoodHeroes #RootedEveryday” url=”https://bit.ly/2Ukbn97″ prompt=”Tell a friend”]
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