The Holidays Are For Eating
SEARCH BLOG: HOLIDAYS
Cold-weather holidays are especially enjoyable around the Hall family because we keep alive an old recipe from my Armenian grandmother. Unfortunately, my German side is only represented by a strong appetite for veal bratwurst and German-style potato salad... maybe some sauerbraten... but that's not too bad in the summer.
But, back to the recipe.... It is quite simple:
- very thin dough
- lots of butter
- chopped walnuts
- honey
I used to roll out the dough the traditional way... on a broom handle. That consisted of a small lump of very rich dough [eggs, butter] rolled out paper thin. I've gotten lazy as I've gotten older and the family has gotten larger ... and the amount of pastry I have to make has gotten proportionally larger.
Now I use Greek Phyllo dough.... After chopping the walnuts and melting the butter, I lay out four sheets of dough and spread the butter with a small brush.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/SU5vH6Q1i5I/AAAAAAAACUo/xoj8LZ77g2c/s400/Christmas+Pastries+Armenian+Sarburma+001.png)
Then sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the buttered dough.
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/SU5vIgLv7EI/AAAAAAAACUw/7na9U8Eru_Q/s400/Christmas+Pastries+Armenian+Sarburma+002.png)
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/SU5vJ7GsYsI/AAAAAAAACVA/SNUnyPwrQz4/s400/Christmas+Pastries+Armenian+Sarburma+015.png)
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/SU5vJIPaG4I/AAAAAAAACU4/EC8grJplR6k/s400/Christmas+Pastries+Armenian+Sarburma+003.png)
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/SU5wNRYFyCI/AAAAAAAACVg/9BKGG61RjoY/s400/Christmas+Pastries+Armenian+Sarburma+004.png)
Note the presence of a large spatula which is needed a little later.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/SU5xKyMHdHI/AAAAAAAACVo/k3nIlctvLT8/s400/Christmas+Pastries+Armenian+Sarburma+006.png)
Pour the melted butter over the pastries so that the dough is wet, but not swimming in the butter. Usually, this is about 1 to 1-1/2 cups for the 12" x 18" tray.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/SU51Zd7devI/AAAAAAAACVw/Qc0e09mNtMw/s400/Christmas+Pastries+Armenian+Sarburma+010.png)
Then carefully tilt the pan and hold the pastries in place while you drain the excess butter from the pan. About 1/2 minute of draining should be sufficient.
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/SU5vLD6j2pI/AAAAAAAACVI/uzPcXV-8M7w/s400/Christmas+Pastries+Armenian+Sarburma+008.png)
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/SU5vhUybb8I/AAAAAAAACVQ/VBwesmWM2zg/s400/Christmas+Pastries+Armenian+Sarburma+005.png)
Let the pastries cool down and then drizzle honey over the strips in the pan.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/SU5vh9qV_aI/AAAAAAAACVY/VX5hDb0Gk1g/s400/Christmas+Pastries+Armenian+Sarburma+011.png)
Serve and enjoy. It won't matter if you are Armenian, German, Irish, African or whatever. You will love this.
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