Flavored with the flagship product of Chios, mastic, “masourakia” is a typical sweet of the island that the locals would traditionally make for weddings, engagements and other festive occasions. Chef Kyriako’s mother comes from Chios, so of course we had to make it!

Ingredients

• 1 pack of filo pastry
• 150g butter

For filling

• 400g Masticha flavoured Hypovrichio (submarine)
• 500 grams of blanched raw almonds
• 2 egg whites
• 1 pinch of salt
• lemon zest

Syrup

• 250g of brown sugar
• A glass of water
• lemon peel
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

Start with the making of the syrup so that it is cooled down for later.

Grind the blanched almonds until chopped, not completely powdered.

In a bain-marie, melt the hypovrichio mastic sweet with a tablespoon of water to slightly dilute its composition so that it can mix well with the rest of the materials.

Mix the chopped up almonds together with the lemon zest and salt. Mix the ingredients with the hypovrichio until well combined.

Beat the egg whites in a gentle meringue until peaks form.

Gradually pour the meringue into the almond mix and with a soft spatula, gently fold the ingredients.

Roll out the sheets, cut crosswise into 4 and cover with a damp towel to prevent drying.

Next, get two square pieces of sheet. Spread the melted butter, fill along with stuffing on a thin string (pastry corn can help here).

Close the sides to seal the filling. Wrap in a tight roll.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celcius (air).

Bake for about 30 minutes at 160 degrees Celcius (air), until well browned.

Next, take them out of the oven and while hot, pour over with the cool syrup.

Allow them to cool in the pan.