Jachnun

Ingredients

• 500 g plain white flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp honey
• 250 ml warm water, approximately
• 150 g non-dairy margarine or vegetable fat, softened; not butter
• For the accompaniments
• 4 eggs, whole, in their shells
• 4 ripe tomatoes, grated on a coarse grater to produce saluf; skins discarded
• 60 g zhug (green chilli paste), freshly made

Method

1. 1
   Combine the flour, salt, and honey in a bowl. Add the warm water gradually and mix to a smooth, pliable dough. Knead for 8–10 minutes until the surface is elastic and no longer sticky. The dough is ready when it passes the windowpane: a small piece stretched between the fingers holds a thin, translucent membrane without tearing.
2. 2
   Divide the dough into 6–8 equal balls. Cover and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. The balls should have relaxed visibly, flattening slightly under their own weight — a sign the gluten has slackened enough to roll without springing back.
3. 3
   On a lightly greased surface, roll each ball into the thinnest possible sheet — translucent in places, no thicker than 2 mm. Spread a generous layer of softened margarine across the entire surface. Fold the sheet in thirds like a letter, then roll it up into a tight cylinder. This is where the dish lives or dies: sheets rolled too thick will fuse into a bread-like mass during baking; only a near-translucent sheet, generously fated, will separate into the characteristic pull-apart, wafer-flaky layers.
4. 4
   Arrange the rolled cylinders in a single layer in a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid — a Dutch oven or cast-iron casserole is suitable. Place the whole eggs in their shells on top of the rolls. Seal the pot; if the lid is not tight, press a layer of foil between pot and lid. The pot must trap all steam for the duration of baking — no opening, no adjustment.
5. 5
   Place the sealed pot in an oven set to 100–110°C. Bake for 8–10 hours, undisturbed, overnight. At the end of the period, open the pot: the rolls should have transformed from pale dough to a deep, uniform mahogany brown; the kitchen will carry the smell of caramelised sugar and toasted pastry. The egg shells will have turned brown. No pale or doughy patches should remain — if so, reseal and continue for a further hour.
6. 6
   Remove the jachnun from the pot. Grate the tomatoes on a coarse grater, discarding the skins, to produce a loose, liquid saluf. Peel the slow-cooked eggs: the whites will be creamy and dense, the yolks a deep greenish-grey. Serve the jachnun immediately alongside the grated tomato, the zhug, and the eggs.