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M’hanncha with date ice-cream

M’hanncha with date ice-cream

This recipe appeared in the October/November 2008 issue of Gourmet Traveller WINE.

Wine to try
2008 Innocent Bystander Pink Moscato, Victoria, A$13 (375ml)
Rosewater is the link between the dessert and the wine. It’s used in the pastry and there is also a hint of it in the aroma of the moscato – as well as freshly crushed grapes, lychees and fairy floss. Perhaps the Innocent Bystander is a little lightweight for the date ice-cream, but at a mere 6-per-cent alcohol, it’s a delightfully fresh fruity drink. Indeed, trying to match the sweetness of a dessert with a comparable wine is always a challenge. Sometimes it’s best to simply enjoy the food then drink the wine as a palate cleanser. The Innocent Bystander does that perfectly.

M’hanncha with date ice-cream

Serves 10
Date ice-cream
350g   dates, pitted and chopped
1   vanilla bean, scraped
2 cups   thick cream
1 cup   milk
6   egg yolks
Almond paste
180g   unsalted butter, melted and cooled
350g   blanched almonds, finely ground
½ tsp   almond extract
¼ tsp   mastic, finely ground
100g   icing sugar
4 tbsp   rosewater
Pastry
14 sheets   filo pastry
100g   unsalted butter, melted
1   egg, beaten
To garnish:   icing sugar and ground cinnamon


1 For date ice-cream, place dates, vanilla bean pulp, cream and milk in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl. Add the hot cream mixture slowly to the egg yolks. Puree in a food processor until smooth then return to the saucepan, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, over medium heat. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and chill in the refrigerator. Freeze in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions and place in the freezer until ready to use.
2 To make the almond paste and m’hanncha pastry, mix butter with almonds, almond extract and mastic. Add icing sugar and rosewater. Mix well then knead until smooth. Refrigerate until chilled. Remove from refrigerator and divide into 10 balls. Roll each ball into a 12cm x 1.5cm sausage. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until chilled.
3 Brush a pastry sheet with melted butter. Layer another sheet on top and brush again. Place an almond paste sausage 2cm from the bottom edge of the pastry, roll up tightly, tucking in the ends. Carefully make a tight coil in the centre of a baking tin brushed with melted butter. Repeat the process with remaining pastry sheets and almond paste sausages, extending the coil outwards.
4 Whisk the egg with ½ tsp cinnamon. Brush pastry top with egg and bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 180C or until golden brown. Transfer to a serving dish, allow to cool slightly then dust with icing sugar. Carefully drizzle with cinnamon to create two straight lines over the icing sugar. Serve warm or cold with date ice-cream.


RECIPE Andy Harris PHOTOGRAPHY William Meppem STYLING Sabine Schmitz DRINK SUGGESTION Peter Bourne

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