The “Fingers of Cyprus”

Ingredients

Phyllo

• 2½ cups flour, soft
• ¼ cup fresh butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons water

Stuffing

• 2 cups almond kernels
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• some cinnamon
• some rosewater

Frying

• peanut oil or olive oil
• orange peel

Syrup

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup honey
• ½ lemon juice

Garnish

• ½ cup almond kernels, roasted and grated
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Phyllo

1. Grate the flour with the butter, then add the salt, the lemon juice and the water little by little.
2. Knead all the ingredients until you have a smooth mixture.
3. Leave the dough to rest for approximately 1 hour.

Stuffing

1. Grate the almond kernels and add the sugar and the cinnamon.
2. Pour some rosewater, as much as is necessary in order to shape them.
3. Roll open the dough with the rolling pin to make a thin phyllo.
4. Cut the phyllo into small square pieces approximately 5x8 cm, then moist them with some water using a brush.
5. Place on each square piece one teaspoon of stuffing and roll the phyllo into a strip.
6. Pinch, using a fork, the two sides of the strip so the stuffing will remain in the roll.

Frying

1. In a large skillet, warm plenty of oil with the orange peel, then once the peel turns dark remove it and fry in a high temperature at first then medium later until the "fingers" turn golden brown.
2. Remove them with a fork and place them on absorbent paper and preserve them warm.

Syrup

1. Boil in a pot for 5 minutes the sugar with the water then pour the honey with some lemon juice and stir until the honey melts.
2. Sink the "fingers" in the warm syrup for a few minutes and remove.

Assembly

1. Combine the almond kernels with the cinnamon.
2. Place the "fingers" on a platter and sprinkle the mixture on top.