Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
November 7
Saint Achillas
Saint Achillas' Story
Bishop and theologian who lived in an era of dispute in the Church. Achillas was the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, one of the most powerful cities in the world at the time. Succeeding as bishop a man named St. Peter the Martyr, Achillas ordained Arius, who was to begin the influential heresy of Arianism. When Achillas recognized the untruths in Arius' preaching, he took steps to defend the faith and was attacked by Arius and another heretical group called the Meletians. Achillas remained firm in the faith. A council held in Alexandria condemned Arius and forced him to flee to Palestine. Achillas, however, did not live to see this condemnation.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1099
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Achillas_of_Alexandria
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/st-alexander-confessor-patriarch-of-alexandria-5171
_-_Achil.jpg)
Prayer:
Visit:
Church of the Cave, Alexandria, Egypt
Carved into the Moqattam Hills, the main monastery hall can hold over 20,000 people and was named after the Coptic Saint Simon, who, according to legend, moved the Moqattam mountain in 979 AD as proof of the strength of his beliefs.
Recipe:
Feteer meshaltet
Layers of pastry dough rolled thinly and packed full with butter or ghee.
Egyptian fetter is very popular and enjoyed with honey, molasses or cheese.
Ingredients
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4 cups (540g) all purpose flour
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1- 1 1/2 cups tap water
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1 cup unsalted butter
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1/4 cup oil
Directions
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Mix the flour and salt then pour one cup of water and start kneading.
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If you feel the dough is still not coming together or too dry, gradually add the remaining water until you get a dough that is very elastic so that when you pull it and it won't be torn.
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Let the dough rest for just 10 minutes then divide the dough into 6-8 balls depending on the size you want for your feteer.
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Warm up the butter/ghee or oil you are using and pour into a deep bowl.
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Immerse the dough balls into the warm butter. Let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 550F.
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Stretch the first ball with your hands on a clean countertop. Stretch it as thin as you can, the goal here is to see your countertop through the dough.
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Fold the dough over itself to form a square brushing in between folds with the butter mixture.
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Set aside and start making the next ball.
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Stretch the second one thin as we have done for the first ball.
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Place the previous one on the middle seam side down. Fold the outer one over brushing with more butter mixture as you fold. Set aside.
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Keep doing this for the third and fourth balls. Now we have one ready, place on a 10 inch baking/pie dish seam side down and brush the top with more butter.
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Repeat for the remaining 4 balls to make a second one. With your hands lightly press the folded feteer to spread it on the baking dish.
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Place in preheated oven for 10 minutes when the feteer starts puffing turn on the broiler to brown the top.
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When it is done add little butter on top and cover so it won't get dry.
Note: some people also add 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar to the dough to help it brown nicely.
Serve with: Feteer meshaltet always served with honey, molasses, cheese varieties, chocolate syrup, hummus, harissa, and many dips. Honey, molasses, and a kind of mesh ( which is a very salty kind of cheese in Egypt) are the most popular traditional things to enjoy with feteer.
