The Ghazal Recipes

THE GHAZAL

Steps:

• Fill a mixing glass with ice and one mint leaf per serving.
• Pour in the gin, lime juice and rosewater.
• Stir for 30 seconds, strain into a chilled coupe and float mint leaves on top.

MOROCCAN GAZELLE HORNS (KAB EL GHZAL) (CORNES DE GAZELLE)

Steps:

• In a large chilled bowl, combine the butter, sunflower oil, flour, and salt.
• Using your fingertips, rub the flour and butter together until they look like flakes of coarse meal (Do NOT over mix).
• Pour 6 tablespoons ice water all at once into the mixture; toss together lightly.
• Gather the dough into a ball.
• If the dough crumbles, add ice water a few drops at a time until everything sticks together and forms a soft dough (up to 2 tablespoons).
• Divide the dough in half, dust each half with a little flour, and wrap in waxed paper.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (180°C, gas mark 4).
• Spread the almonds out in a shallow baking pan and toast them in the middle of the oven until they are lightly browned, turning them occasionally (8-10 minutes).
• Pulverize the almonds in a blender, nut grinder, or using a mortar and pestle.
• Then, using the back of a spoon, rub ground almonds through a fine sieve into a deep bowl.
• Add the sugar, cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon orange blossom water and knead with your hands into a stiff paste.
• Add the almond paste, butter, and egg, and beat vigorously with a spoon until mixture is smooth.
• Raise the oven temp to 400°F.
• On a lightly floured surface, pat half of the dough into a rough rectangle about 1-inch thick.
• Dust a little flour over and under the rectangle, and roll it out from the center to within an inch or so of the far edge of the pastry.
• Lift the dough and rotate it 90°; roll again from the center to within an inch or so of the far edge.
• Repeat - lifting, turning, rolling - until the rectangle is a little less than 1/8-inch thick (If the dough sticks at any point during the rolling, lift it gently with a metal spatula and sprinkle a little flour under it).
• Using a ruler and a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 3-inch squares.
• For each cookie, roll 1 teaspoon almond filling between your palms to form a cylinder about 2-inches long and 1/2-inch in diameter.
• Place a square of dough so that it's oriented as a diamond, and place the cylinder horizontally across it 1/2-inch down from the top point.
• Lift the top point up and fold it over so that it covers the filling.
• Then, starting with the folded edge, roll the dough up tightly jelly-roll fashion.
• Pinch the ends firmly closed, and gently shape the roll into a crescent.
• Arrange the crescents about 1-inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown (20 minutes).
• Transfer to wire racks and sprinkle them evenly with 1 tablespoon orange blossom water.
• One at a time, dip the pastries in the powdered sugar to coat them lightly, and return them to the racks to cool.
• While the first batch is baking, roll out and cut the remaining half of the dough, and repeat the process for filling and shaping.
• While the first batch is cooling, bake the second batch until golden brown (20 minutes).
• Transfer to wire racks and sprinkle them evenly with the remaining tablespoon orange blossom water.
• Roll in powdered sugar, and let cool to room temperature before serving.