Fried date pastries

“Imqaret are a legacy from the Arab rule in Malta,” says cookbook author Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

📝 Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• Honey, for drizzling
• Salt flakes and vanilla ice-cream, to serve
• Pastry
• 250 gm Tipo “00” flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground aniseed
• 50 gm cold unsalted butter, chopped
• 1 tbsp sweet marsala
• 1 tbsp orange blossom water
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• Date and orange filling
• 300 gm pitted dates (see note)
• 1 tbsp orange blossom water
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 11: For pastry, combine flour, sugar, aniseed and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Rub in butter with your fingertips until coarse crumbs form. Stir in marsala, orange blossom water and egg and with a fork, mix to combine. Turn mixture onto a clean work bench and bring together to form a smooth dough (if it is not coming together easily, add 1-2 tbsp water). Wrap in plastic wrap and rest at room temperature (30 minutes).
2. 22: For date and orange filling, place dates in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water; set aside until softened (10 minutes). Drain. Transfer to a bowl; add remaining ingredients. Mash with a fork and set aside.
3. 33: Roll pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a 50cm x 12cm rectangle (about 2mm thick). Form the filling into an even cylinder along the centre of the pastry. Brush edge of pastry with water. Tightly fold pastry over and press edges to seal. Trim excess pastry. Flatten slightly, then cut diagonally into 4cm-thick pieces (Makes 12).
4. 44: Half fill a large saucepan with oil. Place over medium heat until oil reaches 180°C on a deep-frying thermometer. Fry in batches, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp (2-3 minutes). Drain on paper towel.
5. 55: Drizzle pastries with honey, scatter with salt flakes, and serve with vanilla ice-cream.