Saragli - rolled Baklava

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Recipe's preparation

Saragli

Saragli is a rolled up version of Baklava which the traditional Christmas version which was made by my grandmother in Greece. My mother continued this tradition here in Australia and I would like to continue it for the next geneerations to come. 

Syrup

Place all the syrup ingredients in the TM bowl and cook for 25 minutes, 100 degrees, "Counter-clockwise operation" Speed 1.5. Do not place MC in the lid, allowing for some evaporation and the syrup to be stickier. 

Pour into a jug and set aside. 

Make this ahead of the filling, allowing it to cool down. 

Filling

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. 

Grease your baking tray with melted butter. 

Place the almonds, sugar and cinnamon into the bowl and chop for 6 seconds, speed 3. Pour out into a bowl and put aside. 

 

Take the filo pastry out of the packet. I lay it out flat onto a thermomat, rolling it back up whilst not in use so that it does not dry out. If you do not have a thermomat then cover the pastry with a slightly damp (but not wet) tea towel. 





Take one sheet of filo pastry and fold in half. Brush top two thirds with melted butter. Then sprinkle 1 heaped tablespoon of nut mixture over the butter. 

Place a thin dowel in the middle of the remaining bottom third of pastry. Fold the pastry below the dowel over and then begin to roll it up towards the top. Be careful not to tighten too much as you roll. 





Pinch the two ends and push ends in towards the centre so that you have a scrunched piece. Slide it off the dowel. 





At this point the Saragli can be arranged in a number of ways. My mother would coil it around in a round tray, starting from the outside and working towards the centre. 

You may like to arrange it in rows in a rectangular tray or even cut the piece in half and make individual coils (an ideal serving size). 

You may cut the longer pieces into individual bite size pieces (ideally 3 pieces).

Bake in a moderate oven for 25 minutes until the filo is browned on the top. 

Pour the cooled syrup over the saragli as soon as you take it out of the oven. Allow it to cool and also for the syrup to be absorbed into the pastry & filling before eating.