Vanilla ice cream on a bed of crunchy phyllo with nuts

An easy and delicious dessert to enjoy the warm Summer evenings with friends and family. It doesn't take long to put together. Having already in the freezer some homemade or a good quality of store bought vanilla ice cream saves a lot of time. The crunchy phyllo goes so nicely together with the velvety ice cream and everybody will be thrilled!

Recipe from "Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 4-6 people):
10 thin phyllo pastry sheets
100gr. of butter, melted
200gr. of roughly chopped walnuts and blanched almonds
100gr. of Aegena unsalted pistachios (without the shells)
50gr. of brown sugar
vanilla ice cream
chocolate syrup

For the syrup:
250gr. of water
150gr. of granulated sugar
2 cardamom seeds

Method:
Preheat the oven at 190°C and line a spacious oven dish with baking paper.

Scatter all three types of nuts on the baking paper, sprinkle on top with the brown sugar and toast in the oven for 15 minutes.

Turn the heat of the oven down to 180°C and leave it switched on.

In a medium saucepan put the water with the sugar and the cardamom seeds on medium heat and boil for 10 minutes (counting from the moment the ingredients come to the boil). Take off the heat and leave the syrup to cool.
In the meantime, brush each phyllo sheet with melted butter and scatter on top with the toasted nuts. Then scrunch each phyllo sheet up with your hands and transfer on the oven dish you used earlier, putting the one next to the other. Put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until they are golden and crunchy.

Take the phyllo out and break big pieces off it with your hands. Place on a dessert plate and drizzle with some of the syrup.

Top with a couple of ice cream balls for each portion, drizzle with some chocolate syrup and serve immediately.