Bourma - Armenian Pastries

Baklawa Rolls

I have met few people who don’t love Baklava and even fewer who have ever made it. No wonder, it can be tedious to layer all the sheets of filo, one piece at a time and frustrating cutting the fragile pastry to create the stunning diamond shapes. Yet it is so rewarding and satisfying when you serve the perfect diamond of pastry perfection and think, if not to say out loud, “Look what I made!”

Well, rejoice, there is a much easier way to create the delicious nuggets of flaky crust, walnuts and simple syrup with the warm hum of cinnamon.

On a recent trip to Greece, we participated in a cooking class where we prepared this alternative version of baklava, so easy to prepare, though not in diamond shape, it is still a gem with the same great flavors - admittedly, not of the same depth and dedication to authenticity, but for a novice or when in a hurry, this is a great shortcut.

Armenian Bourma is how I first knew this dish, but our English speaking chef called it Rolled Baklava, probably because she didn’t want to challenge us with the Greek word “saragli”. We had come to learn during an amazing Food Walking Tour of Athens, that many of the most popular Greek dishes were actually Armenian in origin due to the Armenian Diaspora, following the Armenian Genocide by the Ottomans and the influx of immigrants to Greece beginning in 1914. The Greeks were happy to adopt the Armenian recipes the immigrants brought with them, once they sampled Baklava!

Armenian Bourma - Baklawa Rolls

24 sheets thawed filo pastry

3/4 cups melted butter

2 chops finely chopped walnuts, pecans or pistachios

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons powdered cinnamon

Atar Syrup:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1/2 small lemon

1 - 2 inch piece of cinnamon stick

-Place nuts in a food processor, add sugar and cinnamon and pulse until nuts are finely ground. (About 12 pulses or on high speed for 1 minute.)

-Place 2 sheets filo pastry on working surface. Brush well with melted butter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup nut mixture across the surface of the filo, leaving a 1 inch border around the edges.

-Lay a long thick-handled wooden spoon or 1 inch dowel, along one of the long edges and then roll the long edge around the spoon handle fairly tightly and continue to roll until the dough is rolled up completely. Place both hands on either edge of the filo wrapped around the spoon handle and gently squeeze both ends toward the center of the handle, similar to threading a curtain on a curtain rod, crinkling the bourma until it is about 5 inches long.

-Butter a large baking dish well on the bottom and sides, then place each bourma roll into the dish, seam side down, carefully removing the spoon handle. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to create about 12 bourma rolls. Place snuggly against one another as you set them in the baking dish so that little space remains between the rolls. Brush the tops of the rolls with the remaining melted butter so that all surfaces of the filo or covered with butter.

-Place bourma rolls into an oven preheated to 350 degrees and bake for about 25 minutes, until the rolls are golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

-Meanwhile, prepare the Atar syrup by placing the sugar, water and cinnamon stick into a medium saucepan. Stir well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir only until the mixture begins to boil as continuing to stir will create a cloudy instead of a clear mixture. Allow to boil over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and place the lemon half into the mixture. Let cool completely, then remove the cinnamon stick and lemon half and stir together.

-Drizzle the cooled syrup over the cooled bourma rolls and let sit at room temperature for at least an hour to allow the pastry to absorb as much of the syrup as possible.

-Remove the rolls from the baking dish and cut each into 3 pieces, about 1 1/2 inches in length. (If the bourma are still soupy from the syrup, place them on a cooling rack placed over a cookie sheet and allow excess syrup to drain for bout an hour.) Makes 36 pieces.

Brush 2 sheets of filo pastry well, with melted butter.

Sprinkle with nut mixture and lay a wooden spoon handle along one long edge of pastry.

Roll filo and filling carefully around spoon handle.

Pushing from both ends, scrunch the filo and filling toward each other to shorten to about 5 inches.

Lay bourma rolls closely to one another, seam side down, in a buttered baking dish.

Make syrup by boiling water, sugar and cinnamon stick together for 10 minutes.

Cut each bourma roll into 3 - 4 pieces.

Makes 36 pieces.

PERSNICKETY NOTES:

**Filo (phyllo) dough is sold in most grocery stores in the frozen foods department most often near the frozen berries and frozen pie crusts.

**Be certain the filo dough is completely thawed before using. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours when removing from the freezer. Dough can be kept in the refrigerator when brought home for the store for several days before using. If in a rush, you can remove one roll of the dough from the container at a time and zap for 45 seconds on high in the microwave. Let sit for at least 30 minutes and cool down completely before using.

**To store bourma, simply cover very loosely with foil at room temperature.  Do not seal in airtight container or bag and do not store in refrigerator as this will make the layers of dough soggy - what a shame to lose that marvelous crunch!  The best way to store it is in an open pan in a cupboard where flies or overeaters can't get to it.

**You can freeze bourma once they are assembled but before baking. Remove from freezer about 1 hour before baking and continue recipe as described above. (If frozen after baking, you loose all the crunch.)