M’hanncha (Snake Cake)
“‘The Snake’ is one of the glories of Moroccan confectionery, a treat not to be missed,” says Paula Wolfert in The Food of Morocco. This recipe is from her book and a good one to celebrate the end of Ramadan. I first learnt how to make it at Cafe Clock in Fes when I visited Morocco a couple of years ago.
Inroduction
About this Recipe
By: Sheridan Rogers
The “Snake” will keep several days in a cool place but is best re-heated before serving.
For a sweeter more luxurious version, drizzle with a little honey and scatter with toasted sesame seeds.
Ingredients
Serves 4 -6
For the Almond Paste:
- unsalted butter, 60g, melted and cooled
- blanched ground almonds, 250g
- almond essence, 1/2 teaspoon
- gum arabic (mastika), 2 small pieces ground together with 1 teaspoon caster sugar (optional)
- pure icing sugar, 75g, sifted
- orange blossom water or rosewater, 4 tablespoons
For the Pastry: - filo pastry, 6 sheets
- melted unsalted butter, 5 -6 tablespoons
- free range or organic egg, 1, beaten
- icing sugar
- ground cinnamon
For the Almond Paste: mix the cooled melted butter with the ground almonds, almond essence and ground gum arabic, if using. Add the icing sugar and fragrant water. Combine well and knead to a solid well-blended mass. Wrap in greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge.
Remove the chilled almond paste from the fridge and roll into 9 balls, approximately 40g each. Roll each ball quickly between your hands into a long cylinder, approximately 12.5cm-15cm length. Chill.
Preheat oven to 180C (160C Fan). Line a 2-cm-22cm springform cake tin with baking paper and brush sides with melted butter.
Spread out one of the filo pastry sheets. Brush with some of the melted butter. Cover with a second layer of pastry and brush with melted butter again.
Place 3 cylinders of the almond paste along the long edge, 5cm from the bottom of each sheet, and roll up the pastry lightly, tucking in the ends. Shape into a loose coil.
Place the coil in the centre of the prepared cake tin. Repeat with the remaining filo pastry sheets and cylinders of almond paste, extending the coil so that it looks like a coiled snake, to fill the tin.
Beat the egg and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Brush the top with the cinnamon-egg mixture and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Turn out onto a baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Invert again onto a serving plate. Dust with icing sugar and cinnamon, if liked. Best served warm.
Combine the chermoula ingredients in a food processor or blender and proccess until well combined.
Coat the fish steaks with the mixture, cover and marinate for two hours in a non-corrosive dish.
Preheat oven to 220 degC (200C fan-forced).
Prepare the vegetables: scatter the celery over the bottom of a tagine or overnproof dish, pour in the wine or water and lay the fish steaks over the top. Strew the red onion rings over the fish, then capsicum, tomatoes and potatoes in layers. Slice the skin of the preserved lemon and add to the dish. Scatter over the olives.
Mix a little water through any remaining chermoula and pour over the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 180C and bake a further 30 – 35 minutes or until fish and vegetables are cooked.
Serve immediately with steamed couscous.
Tip: for the Israeli couscous, sweat a small chopped onion in olive oil in a medium pan until soft (don’t let it colour). Add 1 cup Israeli couscous and stir well to coat the grains. Add 1 1/4 cups boiling stock or water and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, cover and turn down heat and simmer 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir through some chopped fresh parsley or coriander.