Halva with Cinnamon - a kind of healthy sweet treat

Cinnamon Halva is a lovely dessert that is kind of good for  you

as it has semolina as the main ingredient.

Semolina is high in fibre and protein whilst having low GI. It is also a good source of vitamins E and B.

I made this recipe recently before leaving for work and a friend of my son who is of Greek origin said "this is not like any Halva I have had before, but it's good!" 

This is the first time I have made Halva but when we were children my mother would buy some for us to consume.  Mum's neighbour's Barney and Ilsa who would be almost 100 years old if they were still with us, were Jewish immigrants.  Barney was from Palestine and was playing soccer in Australia when World War II broke out and he was unable return to his home.  Ilsa was also from Germany but it is unclear how she arrived in Australia.

Every morning Barney, Ilsa, Moyna (my mother) and another buxom German lady Susie (Ron Crosby's wife whom we referred to as 'Bing') would gather most mornings at the small beach nearby for a quick swim and chat.  Susie liked to constantly sun bake topless which was quite unusual for a small town in the 1970's.
 

They were such characters with very interesting, varied stories. Ilsa was lucky to escape Germany and could tell of horror stories of concentration camps, the lack of food and provisions and how sad it was during the days of persecution.  This unique  couple also told brilliant, original stories of how it was for them growing up in Europe and the happy childhoods they had before war broke out.
 

Barney loved Halva but Ilsa was not a cook by any means so it was only when it could be purchased locally that Barney could enjoy this sweet delicacy.

When I came across this recipe in a Greek cookbook it brought back fond memories of Ilsa and Barney and I certainly had to make it, for their memory, as much as for my family and guests.

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Halva with Cinnamon

125g butter

1 cup (160g) semolina

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

2 1/2 cups (625ml) water

1 cup (220g) castor sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon
extra slivered almonds for garnish

Heat butter in a pan, add semolina and nuts, cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes or until semolina is lightly browned.  Remove pan from heat.

In a separate pan combine water and sugar, stir over heat without boiling, until sugar is dissolved.  Bring to boil, simmer, uncovered without stirring for 5 minutes.  Gradually stir  the hot syrup into the semolina mixture, add cinnamon, stir over low heat until smooth and bubbling, cook stirring for a further 2 minutes.

Remove from heat, cover pan with folded tea towel, then place on lid and stand for 15 minutes.

Grease base of  a 20cm round cake pan, cover base with baking paper, grease paper.  (I used multi baking paper on the base of a silicon round cake pan.)  

Spread mixture evenly into pan.  Place pan on wire rack, stand 5 minutes before turning Halva onto serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve.  
Sprinkle more slivered almonds on top for garnish. 

This recipe is from AWW Easy Greek Style Cookery Australian Womens Weekly cookbook.

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It is amazing how we remember people through food,

do you have a favourite recipe that evokes fond childhood memories?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Chilli Jam - as hot as you dare

With a long hot summer there are always chillies in abundance and almost everyone likes chillies.

Last Friday, during my weekly tennis match I was given a bowl of fresh birds eye chillies.

They were plump and bright red, smiling with happiness - oh wait, that was me - thinking of what to create with this gorgeously gifted bunch of chillies.

Vegetables and fruit are always better when given or received with no expectations.

After dinner last Friday night I was ready to create a chilli jam concoction.

This is the perfect Chilli Jam, with well rounded flavours to accompany all cuisines.

When two of the young adults in our house came down to snack on baklava for supper that evening 

I proudly pushed my bottle of chilli jam under their noses with pride, waiting for a positive reaction. They couldn't smell anything and looked at me in confusion.

Note:
It takes a week for the flavours to meld and the aroma to blossom but the taste is immediately divine.

Here it is, the best Chilli Jam ever ....

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Chilli Jam

2 whole bulbs of garlic, unpeeled, preferably organic

1 1/2 red onions, unpeeled

1 large cup birds eye or other red chillies (300g) 

1 cup vegetable oil  (250ml)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 200C and lightly squash the garlic bulbs with the flat of your knife to break them apart a little but not separate them.  Wrap the garlic bulbs in foil.  Also wrap the unpeeled red onions in another piece of foil.  Place fresh chillies in an oven proof dish.

Place all in the oven, the garlic and onions on top shelf with the open bowl of chillies on the second shelf for 20 minutes in total.  Roast for 10 minutes, turning over the chillies.  Check after another 5 minutes and toss chillies again.  After another 5 minutes they can all be removed.  You want the chillies to be slightly browned but not burnt.    Leave to cool before opening the foil packages.

Remove stems from the chillies but leave seeds intact.

Place chillies, onions and garlic into a food processor and puree until roughly blended.  Stir through the sugars and salt.

Heat vegetable oil in a large non stick saucepan over medium heat.  Pour in chilli paste and stir continually for 5 minutes until it is all blended and the sugar is dissolved.

Pour into a hot 400ml sterilised jar, topping up with all of the vegetable oil so it forms a barrier on top of the chilli paste to preserve the gorgeous jam.

Let cool and store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

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Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Limoncello - a delightful liquer best made at home

My hubby and I were intently discussing if Limoncello was an aperitif or a digestif....

The first time I tried Limoncello was on the morning of a dear friend's birthday when we popped over to share our birthday wishes and she had just created a new batch of Limoncello.  We sipped on our shot glasses, toasting our friend's birthday and I was informed that Limoncello was designed to "cut through the fat" after a meal, thus assisting digestion.  Our friends considered it to be a digestif.

The warmth of that one glass of Limoncello and the memories we shared remained with us all day.

Stored in a beautiful glass bottle they keep it in the freezer so it could be served icy cold.   Since then I have discovered other people keep shot glasses in the fridge and the Limoncello in the pantry so it is always served cool; but never over ice.

Just before Easter I was fortunate to be given a bottle of 90% grappa which was immediately put to good use for limoncello.

With some ripe lemons I made my own limoncello.  My dear Italian friends say that you must wash the lemons and peel the skin away within 2 hours of picking the lemons for maximum oil content.    I don't know that you need to be that serious as my liquer was purelu delightful and the lemons were store bought!  The exceptional lemon flavour is exquisite with just enough sugar to enhance the flavour while the alcohol adds a warm depth and undercurrent to this welcome digestif.

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Limoncello

750ml grappa (or vodka)
5 lemons
3 cups water, boiled and then cooled
2 cups white sugar

A large glass jar

Wash the lemons in warm water then dry.  Peel the skin thinly away, you don't want any white pith in this mixture as it can become sour.    Place lemon peel into the grappa or vodka in a large white jar.   Pour in the sugar and cooled water then stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Put on the lid tightly and store in a dark place for 5 days.
Remove, strain and bottle.
This will keep indefinitely.

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I made candied lemon peel with the lemon strips after they were drained and these were delightful.

Have you ever made your own liquer?  

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx