Warbat is a popular snack during the month of Ramadan. Sami’s childhood was spent crowding around the vendor selling them at the corner of the street. He’d barely make it home before the flaky pastry—dripping with thick and sticky syrup and sprinkled with vivid green crushed pistachios—was finished. The filling is traditionally made with ishta—a kind of thick milky silky cream—which is then drizzled with rose water or rose water syrup. Ishta is not always easy to find, though, so we’ve created a cream cheese filling instead.

　　Once assembled these should be served on the same day—as soon as possible after the syrup is drizzled over them.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 12 pastries

　　

Rose Syrup

¼ cup (60ml) water

　　½ cup (100g) sugar

　　1½ tsp. lemon juice

　　¾ tsp. rose water

　　

Filling

1 lb. (450g) full-fat cream cheese

　　2 tsp. cornstarch

　　¼ cup (50g) sugar

　　½ tsp. flaky sea salt

　　½ tsp. vanilla bean paste

　　

For Assembly

10 sheets (240g) good-quality filo pastry, each sheet 12 x 15-inches 

　　8½ Tbsp. (120g) unsalted butter, melted

　　2 Tbsp. pistachios, finely crushed in a food processor or by hand

　　1½ Tbsp. dried rose petals (optional)

　　

Rose Syrup

Step 1

To make the rose syrup, put the water and sugar into a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Mix well, using a wooden spoon, and then, once it starts boiling, add the lemon juice. Simmer gently for 2 minutes, then stir in the rose water and remove straight away from the heat. Set aside.

　　

Filling and Assembly

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

　　

Step 3

To make the filling, put the cream cheese, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean paste into a medium bowl and whisk well to combine. Set aside.

　　

Step 4

Spread out one filo sheet on a work surface and brush evenly with some of the melted butter. Top with another sheet and brush with butter again. Repeat the process until you have five layers evenly brushed with butter. As is always the case when working with filo, you’ll need to work fast when you start brushing and folding; the pastry will dry out if you don’t. You should have used about a quarter of the melted butter at this stage.

　　

Step 5

Now, using sharp scissors, cut the large layered sheet of pastry into 6 even squares, all 5 x 5-inches—you’ll need to trim the sheets to get even squares. Taking one of these smaller squares at a time, spoon about 2 tablespoons (35g) of the thick filling into the center of each square, leaving a 1-inch border clear around the edge. Fold the pastry diagonally in half to form a triangle, press on the edges without reaching the filling (so that it stays well sealed within the pastry), then brush all over with more butter.

　　

Step 6

Place all 6 triangle pastries on the prepared baking sheet and repeat the whole process (brushing one large filo sheet with butter, layering it five times, cutting it into 6 squares, filling and folding, and sealing each square) with the remaining pastry, butter, and filling.

　　

Step 7

Once all 12 pastries are made, bake for 22 minutes or until golden and crisp— some of them will pop open, but that’s okay. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Drizzle with the syrup, sprinkle with the crushed pistachios and rose petals, if desired, and serve.

　　Reprinted with permission from Falastin: A Cookbook by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley, copyright © 2020. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.Buy the full book from Amazon.