Halva Sharieh -- A Lebanese Sweet Treat

My Persian friend M shared another of the sweets she likes to make, and this one I made correctly the first time around.  This is another halva that doesn't use sesame.

She shared a website that has the recipe she likes:  Click Here!

The translated version is pretty cute, because this treat uses pasta but the translation keeps calling it "poetry." 

Pasta!  In a dessert!  Not that it is THAT unusual but not what I think of when I think of for Lebanese food.  And in this case, it is used in what I think is an unusual way.  Here goes...

Halva Sharieh

1 bag Vermicelli (super thin!) pasta, 150 gram size
1/2 stick (1/8 lb or about 50 grams) butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
pistachios for decoration

M kindly gave me the pasta

This recipe requires careful preparation before you actually start cooking. 

(1)  You need to decide how you want to serve the final product.  For example, you might want to shape each piece into a little "nest" to hold the pistachio nut meats.  I chose to make the whole batch as one large, flat piece that I would cut up into individual servings.

(2)  Once you have decided the final shape, you need to decide what container the final product will sit on.  I chose a glass baking dish that was about 8 inches by 12 inches.

(3)  Butter that container well.

(4)  Open the can of sweetened condensed milk.  Note that you will use about 2/3 of the can.  You can measure it out or just estimate.

(5) Now for the fun part:  Without opening the pasta bag, use your hands to squeeze the bag, breaking up the pasta into small pieces.  The crunchy feeling is quite satisfying!

(6) Open the bag and pour the broken pasta into a bowl.

I broke this up even more after I put it in the bowl.  

Now it is time to cook.

Melt the butter in a pan that is big enough to hold all the pasta comfortably.  You want room to stir it without bits of pasta leaving the pan.

Add the pasta and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often.  You want it to get only lightly browned.

I cooked it in a large Dutch oven.

Turn off the heat, add the sweetened condensed milk, and stir well.

Allow the mixture to sit for about 1 minute.  The pasta absorbs the milk and the residual heat continues to cook the milk and butter together.

Then quickly spread the mixture into your buttered dish.  A buttered spatula or spoon helps with this.  I aimed for a uniformly thick layer across the dish.

Be willing to pat it flat

I used a buttered knife to cut it into pieces.  The mixture was still warm so some of the cuts closed when the mixture flowed a little, but it was no problem to recut them.  It helped to wiggle the knife side-to-side to make gaps.  Then I placed some pistachios on each one for decoration, and pressed them down a little.



Let the whole thing cool. 

The Verdict

I took it to a work gathering so I could get a variety of opinions.

Overall, it was well-received.  People enjoyed trying something different. 

General comments:

The crunch was surprising, in a good way!
The flavor was very much like caramel.
The nuts were a nice variation on the texture.
Some people thought it was too sweet and others thought it was just right.

I liked the sweet level if I ate just one piece.  Two pieces was too much.

The pieces were soft, so they bent a little when I picked them up.  But I was surprised that they weren't sticky on my fingers.  I liked that.

The pistachios didn't always stick to the surface, so that was a problem.  It might have been better to use chopped nuts and spread them on top before cutting, so they had a chance to stick before the mixture cooled.

I think it would have been okay to cut them into smaller pieces, especially for a gathering where a lot of other food was around, too.  I was reluctant to do that because I was using the large nutmeats and didn't want the pieces to look too crowded.

I also think it would have been good to use salted nuts.  The salt would have been a good contrast to the sweet.

So success!  This was quick and easy to prepare, traveled well, and tasted good.  Definitely poetry!

Plus it left me some sweetened condensed milk to put in my morning tea.  That is a happy thing.

Another Gadget Post -- A Pasta Cutter

I have this fun looking gadget in my kitchen that looks like this:

Note the orientation

How strange!  I thought about it and its parts to get a clue on what it does and decided it cuts pasta dough into strips.  My daughter searched the internet and confirmed my suspicions:  you can find it for sale listed as a vintage rotary pasta cutter or vintage noodle cutter.

The wheel width is not adjustable like some brands but if you aren't demanding a variety of noodle widths, you might be happy with this.  I wasn't quite sure how to use it but we decided to give it a try.  Of course that means we needed pasta dough!

I turned to my faithful The Great Food Processor Cookbook by Yvonne Young Tarr.

ISBN 0-394-73284-7

On page 365 you will find a simple recipe labeled

Pasta Dough

Yields enough to serve 4 to 6

3 cups flour
1 1/3 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup water

And water.

Combine flour and salt and sift together into container; turn machine quickly on and off twice.

Turn on machine and add eggs, 1 at a time, until both are well incorporated, then start the machine again and add enough water in a thin, steady stream to make a soft, well-formed, but not sticky dough.  Cover dough and set aside for 30 minutes.

Knead dough according to directions for your machine until it is smooth and elastic, then turn out onto a lightly floured pastry board.

Divide dough into 4 equal-size pieces; roll out, one piece at a time, into very thin, even sheets of pasta.  Sprinkle each sheet lightly with flour and cut into desired pasta shape.

No pastry board but a floured counter top worked great.

My Notes

I used my mixer with a dough hook to do most of the kneading and found I had to add a little more water to make the dough soft instead of stiff and hard.  Once I got the right amount, the kneading looked "right" in that the dough was being manipulated by the hook instead of just bouncing around the bowl.

To use the pasta cutter, I tried holding it and dragging it across the dough in a variety of ways.

This is wrong!  : )

This picture shows me using the cutter upside down.  Not intentionally but I realized that the metal "V" acted as a shield to keep the cut noodles from staying between the wheels as it rolled.

There were several other issues I had to deal with.  One was that the wheels didn't really roll well; this was fixed by a bit of cooking oil dribbled down the shaft and the wheels rotated by hand until they turned smoothly.  The other is that the shield kept rubbing against the wheels; that was just a matter of wiggling it back and forth until it fit over the wheels and snapped into place without touching the wheels at all.

To get it to work well, I had to push it hard against the dough and it still didn't always cut the dough through.  I suspect the wheels need some sharpening, which I didn't do, but I found the noodles separated easily with a gentle pull from my fingers.

After the noodles were cut, I hung them on a wire rack to air dry for at least 30 minutes (as recommended by the cook book instructions for cutting fettuccine).

For the second batch, we put the rack horizontally and let the noodles hang below.

The cook book recommended that we fix the noodles by cooking them "for 5 minutes in a large amount of salted water", which we did.  After they were drained, we dressed them with browned butter and minced Seer Torshi (see this previous post and the next one!).

The Verdict

I liked how it cut noodles into a sensible width and made many at one time.  It worked much better after I oiled the axle and properly aligned the shield over the wheels.  Oh yes, and it worked much better when I held it in the correct position!

The noodles themselves were tasty:  tender not chewy (I cooked them al dente) and with a mild flavor that showed off the sauce well.

Success!  I would use this gadget again, just making sure it is oiled and properly aligned.  The finished noodles are a good width for my needs and I think they would be excellent in a soup as well as with other sauces.

Historical Raviolis! The fourth filling (somewhat English)

See the previous post from September 1 for the dough recipe and first filling recipe, the September 15 one for the second filling, and also the October 1 one for the third filling.

My daughter and I decided to experiment with 14th and 15th century recipes for raviolis.  We had to redact the recipes ourselves, working from the lists given but having to figure out quantities by taste and goal.

We were working from a website that looked like a good class handout for a Society for Creative Anachronism workshop, called "Pasta Class" and found at this link:  http://www.katjaorlova.com/PastaClass.html

After successfully redacting three fillings for boiled raviolis, we decided to try a fried version.  The Pasta Class document lists some fried raviolis and some other books we perused mentioned them, too.  We wanted something sweet, so we adapted the recipe for Emeles, a medieval almond cake, as the filling.

England + Italy = Middle East

2.5 ounces ground almonds
1/2 ounce graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 tablespoons honey

Mix the ingredients well.  Like in the previous filling recipe, we chose not to use an egg to bind the mixture for two reasons:  one was that we made a small amount of filling and one egg might have been too much and the other was that the honey seemed to be doing a good job of binding by itself.  It went into the refrigerator while we worked on the dough.

We used graham cracker crumbs because I already had them handy.  Dried bread crumbs would work well, too.

The mixture turned out to look like what we expected for the Emeles:

Nutty, sweet, and spiced

We made a second batch of dough only this time I added a tablespoon of sugar to the flour.  By the way, I had to add a lot more flour to the recipe to get the right texture for rolling.  I am convinced the original recipe contains a typo.

We rolled the entire batch out into a rectangle, cut it in half, and covered one half with a damp towel to keep it from drying out.  

We scored the bottom dough and portioned out the filling.  Oops!  There was not enough filling for what we planned, so we used some of the leftover cheddar/bacon/chicken filling for the rest.

I should have doubled the filling amounts as I had first planned

Then we wet the scored edges and placed the top dough, pushing out the air and making neat little packets, then cut them apart.

This time I fried them a few at a time in about 1/4 inch of hot vegetable oil until they were a delightful brown on both sides and crispy.

Too many at once and the oil has a hard time staying at the right temperature

After that I drained them on paper towels and dusted them with a cinnamon and cardamom sugar mix.

The Verdict

This was incredibly tasty.  In fact, they tasted like mini-baklavas!  We were not expecting that and it was quite a treat.  They were crispy, spicy-sweet, and nutty with a depth of flavor from the honey.  They were not greasy -- I credit frying only a few at a time.

Success!

The only thing I would change is that we didn't roll the dough out to be as thin as we had for the boiled raviolis.  It wasn't translucent.  I think the raviolis would have been crispier if we had.  I'm not complaining, mind you!  They were delicious.  I would do it again to surprise people with the flavor.

One thought:  If I were feeling lazy or in a hurry, I might use purchased won-ton skins instead.  They are thin and pre-cut and I know they fry up well.

Historical Raviolis! The third filling (Italy)

See the previous post from September 1 for the dough recipe and first filling recipe and also the September 15 one for the second filling.

My daughter and I decided to experiment with 14th and 15th century recipes for raviolis.  We had to redact the recipes ourselves, working from the lists given but having to figure out quantities by taste and goal.

We were working from a website that looked like a good class handout for a Society for Creative Anachronism workshop, called "Pasta Class" and found at this link:  http://www.katjaorlova.com/PastaClass.html

This third filling was chosen partially because of the fun name and the rest because it was set up to accept most any kind of herb.  We chose basil.

Ravioli ready to serve of herbs fantastic, Libro di cucina, 15^th Century

If you want to make ravioli of herbs or of other things, take herbs and peel (take leaves only) and wash well; then boil it a little and pull them out and squeeze away all the water.  Chop with a knife and put in a mortar and take cheese fresh and strained, egg and spices sweet and strong and mix well together and make a paste.  Then take  thin pasta in the way of lasagne and take a large amount and make the ravioli.  When they are made put to cook and when they are well cooked powder above enough spices with good cheese and they are good.

Our Redaction

2 cups of basil leaves, lightly packed

1 ounce Provel cheese, softened*

1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese, shredded

1/8 tsp Poudre Fines**

*Provel is a St. Louis, Missouri specialty cheese that can be read about here.  You can use mozzarella or provolone in its place.  My daughter finds these wonders and brings them for me to try.   : )

** Poudre Fines is a medieval spice mix that came home with me from the Culinary Symposium I attended in March.  It is a blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, grains of paradise, pepper, and saffron, all ground.  

We used more basil than what is shown here.

To cook the basil, we treated it like spinach and cooked it with just the water that stuck from washing it.  The 2 cups reduced quickly to a little lump in the pan.  

After squeezing out the water, we chopped the basil to bits.  Then we mixed in the cheeses and spices.  We decided that our quantity was so small that an egg was unnecessary -- the Provel bound everything together well.  We chilled the filling and that made it easier to handle.

Well mixed after well chopped

We used one quarter of the pasta dough, rolled thinly and then scored as we did for the previous two recipes.  

Then they were covered and cut.  Using the same hot broth water from the other raviolis, we boiled them for just a few minutes.  

The Verdict

Success!  This was excellent, too.  Three great flavors in a row!  I love the taste of basil (it is one of my favorite herbs/spices and makes me happy just to sniff it) so this was fun to eat.  Of the three tasters, one said it was her favorite flavor, one said it was her second favorite, and the third thought the basil was too strong.  

I thought the cheese moderated the basil flavor well and gave a creamy texture to the otherwise herbaceous mouth feel.  I liked it plain but also with a light dusting of grated Parmesan cheese.

We did these three fillings as boiled raviolis.  The fourth, in the next post, was fried.

Maccharruni con Pesto Trapanese (Sicily)

The wonderful thing about having my daughter visit is that we break out the cookbooks and start planning what we want to cook together within just a few hours of her arrival.  We have been talking about pasta and want to try making ravioli but our first foray together into my new kitchen was to make this Sicilian pesto sauce.  It is an interesting variation on what we know as a standard pesto.

It comes from what is becoming a favorite book, A Mediterranean Feast by Clifford A. Wright.  I find myself drawn to the simplicity of the recipes and how they are presented with the history of each area.  The types of ingredients appeal to me, too, as I love tomatoes, basil, lamb, mint, chicken, and fish.

ISBN 0-688-15305-4

On pages 468 - 469 he describes life in Sicily in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries.  Their cuisine focused on fresh vegetables and seafood, fava beans and chickpeas, eggs and cheese.  Almonds, olives, and bread were available.  Meat, though not common, increased in quantity over those centuries and included beef, castrato (castrated lamb), salt pork, and veal.  Mr. Wright speculates that tomatoes "probably came to Sicily between 1510 and 1540, when Sicily was under Spanish rule."

I have an abundance of basil both inside my kitchen and out on my patio and need to use it up.  The sauce in this recipe caught my attention because it is not your standard basil pesto recipe:  instead of Parmesan or Romano cheese and pine nuts, it uses almonds and fresh tomato puree.

Macaroni with Pesto in the Style of Trapani

Salt
1 pound macaroni
4 ounces blanched whole almonds
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 small bunch fresh basil (40 to 50 large leaves), stems discarded
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh tomato puree (not canned), without skins or seeds

And salt

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, salt abundantly, and add the pasta.  Drain the pasta when al dente.

2. Meanwhile, grind the almonds, garlic, basil leaves, salt, and pepper together in a food processor.  Slowly add the olive oil in a thin stream through the feed tube while the machine is still running and process until smooth.  Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the tomato puree.  Toss the macaroni with the sauce and serve.

My Notes

I felt lazy and did not blanch the almonds.

My four garlic cloves consisted of two big ones and two medium-sized ones while the basil had a lot of small leaves so we used closer to 60 leaves.  I used about 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and less of salt.

The fresh tomatoes were peeled, cut in half length-wise, cored and seeded, then chopped into chunks to make them easier to process.

The puree was a pretty pink and the pesto mixture never got smooth really but the almonds were fine-textured.  Mixing the puree into the pesto lightened the entire mix.

Puree

Basil, garlic, almonds, salt, and pepper

With the olive oil added

The final sauce

The Verdict

We were both disappointed in the flavor of the pesto sauce.  It had mostly a garlic bite and we couldn't really get much basil or tomato flavor out of it.  The almonds added body to the whole thing and I liked that very much.

It is a good sauce for macaroni as it sticks to the pasta and coats it well.

I cannot call this a success but I strongly suspect the problem was with my ingredients.  I want to try this again with tomatoes that are mushy ripe, basil that is younger, and less garlic.  I also would add more salt and pepper.  I'm not sure if I would try blanching the almonds or not as I like how robust the unblanched ones made the sauce.

Mr. Wright's notes say, "Traditionally, cheese is not served with this dish."  We found that adding grated Parmesan cheese to our pasta at the table improved the flavor, which we probably would not want to do if the pesto was more flavorful.

One aspect my daughter pointed out was that the dish was visually very dull.  She wanted more color in it.  I wanted to add chunks of fresh, ripe tomatoes, too.

LATER:  While I was eating the leftovers I realized that the flavor was better (the garlic was not as pronounced and the almonds came through more) but what I really wanted with it was olive oil soaked, sun-dried tomatoes.  That would have made it more visually interesting and bumped up the excitement of the flavor.