ZNOUD EL SETT RECIPE

Znoud El Sett (Arabic for Lady Arms) is ricotta cheese rolled in filo dough and then deep fried. It is not the healthiest dish (tons of sugar needed) but it is definitely delicious and makes a great treat to have every once in a while. In this recipe you will also learn how to cook the syrup called "atyr" that is eaten with Znoud El Sett. Some of you may also know atyr as the syrup that goes in baklava.

Get ready for some rolling and deep frying!

Ingredients:

15 ounces of ricotta cheese
16 oz. package of filo dough (if you can find a box that has them separated in 2 rows, you will only need one row which makes 12) but if you have to use the box with one roll you can roll the remainder of your filo dough onto wax paper and freeze in a freezer bag
Crisco

For Atyr (the syrup)
1/2 a teaspoon rose water (found in most Middle Eastern stores)
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Put 2 cups of sugar in a small pot and add 1 cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon of rose water, on medium low heat, stir with wooden spoon and let it come to a boil (about 10 minutes)
2. After 10 minutes, at this point syrup has been boiling and thickening, turn stove off and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and let cool off in pot
3. Cut filo dough in half vertically
4. Take two pieces of filo dough and put in front of you vertically, and take one and place horizontally towards the bottom facing you
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5. Place 1 tablespoon of ricotta (or more if you want) in center on horizontal part. With your fingers, spread it out
6. Fold the left side to center, fold right to center, and fold up the bottom up to where cheese is, and roll
7. Dip end of roll in tiny bit of water to hold into place
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8. Keep doing this until you are done using up the filo dough and/or your ricotta, if in a cool area, filo will dry quick, so use a dry linen cloth to cover filo as you work with it if needed
9. In deep frying pan, on medium heat, add a cup of crisco into pan to melt (you need enough to cover pastry while frying)
10. Once crisco is melted, carefully place each roll into pan, not too closely so they don’t stick together. If you didn't add enough crisco, you can gently turn them around to make sure each part gets covered, takes about 1 or 2 minutes on each side, remove when they are golden brown
11. Remove to a plate with a paper towel covering it
Sahtein! :)