Serves 6

Egyptians have been eating Um Ali for hundreds of years. Clifford A. Wright tells the story well:

One day while hunting in the Nile delta, the sultan developed a ravenous appetite and stopped in a small village. The peasants wished to please the sultan, so the best cook of the village, Umm Ali, pulled out a special pan and filled it with the only ingredients she had around: some dried wheat flakes, sultanas [raisins], nuts, and coconut. She covered it with sugar and milk and put it in the village’s oven.

Excerpt from A Mediterranean Feast

As simple as can be, this sweet, milky blend of pastry, nuts, raisins, and coconut flakes will be a distinct addition to your Egyptian Global Table.

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry, baked
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup coconut chips (or 1/8 cup shredded coconut)
1/8 cup sugar

1 cup whole milk
1 cup half and half

Method:

Bake the puff pastry according to package directions. It will turn into a giant, greasy pillow. Try not to lay your head on it.

Once cool (and, ideally, stale brittle and dried out), break the pastry up into small pieces and put in a 2 quart casserole.

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Toss on the raisins…

… the slivered almonds (feel free to use pistachios if you’d like)

… and coconut chips (aren’t they beautiful?)

Dust with sugar and drizzle on the half and half and milk. Be sure to spread it evenly over the entire casserole.

Bake until the milk is bubbling and the top is browned. This could be anywhere from 15-20 minutes and will depend on how dry your pastry is, how browned it got in the first cooking and so forth. Just keep a keen eye on it.

Ali’s Mother | Umm Ali

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As simple as can be, this sweet, milky blend of pastry, nuts, raisins, and coconut flakes will be a distinct addition to your Egyptian Global Table.

• CourseSweets
• LifestyleVegetarian

Servings	Prep Time
6 people	10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings Prep Time 6 people 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Ali’s Mother | Umm Ali Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe As simple as can be, this sweet, milky blend of pastry, nuts, raisins, and coconut flakes will be a distinct addition to your Egyptian Global Table. CourseSweets LifestyleVegetarian Servings Prep Time 6 people 10 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Servings Prep Time 6 people 10 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry , baked
• 1/4 cup whole almonds (slivered)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup coconut chips (or 1/8 cup shredded coconut)
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup half and half

Servings: people

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Instructions

1. Bake the puff pastry according to package directions. Once cool (and, ideally, stale brittle and dried out), break the pastry up into small pieces and put in a 2 quart casserole.
2. Preheat the oven to 425F.
3. Toss on the raisins, slivered almonds, and coconut chips. Dust with sugar and drizzle on the half and half and milk. Be sure to spread it evenly over the entire casserole.
4. Bake until the milk is bubbling and the top is browned. This could be anywhere from 15-20 minutes and will depend on how dry your pastry is, how browned it got in the first cooking and so forth. Just keep a keen eye on it.
5. Serve hot… on a cold day.