This splendid Moroccan pastry filled with a ground almond paste is a very long coil, hence the name m’hencha, meaning snake. It is stunning to look at and exquisite to eat. In Morocco, it is made with the pastry called warka or brick (see page 29). This is available vacuum-packed and frozen in North African stores, but turns out tough if it is baked and not fried. It is better to use fillo pastry. I give very large quantities because it is the kind of thing to make for a great festive occasion, but of course you can make it smaller and reduce the quantities accordingly. The finished “snake” will be about 14 inches in diameter. If your oven is not large enough to take it, you can make two small ones. You need large fillo sheets measuring about 19 × 12 inches (and if the fillo is frozen, you will need to allow 3 hours for it to defrost, see page 9).

　　

Ingredients

serves 30 to 40

　　

For the filling

7 1/2 cups ground almonds

　　5 cups superfine sugar

　　2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

　　Less than 1 cup orange blossom water

　　A few drops almond essence (optional)

　　

For the pastry

1 pound fillo pastry

　　2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted

　　2 egg yolks for glazing

　　To decorate: confectioners’ sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

　　

Step 1

Mix all the filling ingredients together and work them into a stiff paste with your hands. Use just enough orange blossom water to bind the paste. Put in less than you seem to require, as once you start kneading with your hands, the oil from the almonds will act as an extra bind.

　　

Step 2

Take the sheets of fillo out of the package only when you are ready to use them and keep them in a pile (so they do not dry out) with one of the longer sides facing you. Lightly brush the top sheet with melted butter. Take lumps of the almond paste and roll into “fingers” about 3/4 inch thick. On the top sheet, place the “fingers” end to end in a line all along the long edge nearest to you, about 3/4 inch from the edge, to make one long rod of paste. Roll the sheet of fillo up over the filling into a long, thin roll, tucking the ends in to stop the filling from oozing out.

　　

Step 3

Lift up the roll carefully with both hands and place it in the middle of a sheet of foil on the largest possible baking sheet or oven tray. Very gently curve the roll into a tight coil. To do so without tearing the fillo, you have to crease the pastry first like an accordion by pushing the ends of the rolls gently toward the center with both hands.

　　

Step 4

Do the same with the other sheets until all the filling is used up, rolling them up with the filling inside, and placing one end to the open end of the coil, making it look like a coiled snake.

　　

Step 5

Brush the top of the pastry with the egg yolks mixed with 2 teaspoons of water and bake in an oven preheated to 325°F for 30 to 40 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned.

　　

Step 6

Let the pastry cool before you slide it, with its sheet of foil, onto a very large serving platter or tray.

　　

Step 7

Serve cold, sprinkled with plenty of confectioners’ sugar and with lines of cinnamon drawn on like the spokes of a wheel. Cut the pastry as you would a cake, in wedges of varying size. It is very rich and some will want only a small piece.

　　

variation

Step 8

For a pistachio m’hencha, use ground pistachios instead of almonds and rose water instead of orange blossom water. Although less common, this, too, is fabulous!

　　Arabesque