Halva with dates, almonds and mastic
Halva with dates, almonds and mastic
Halva in a pot with dates, almonds and mastic mixed with an aromatic syrup using pomegranate syrup
Ingredients
150g split blanched almonds
380g semolina fine, 2 cups
1 cup light/mild extra virgin olive oil, or sunflower oil
100g dates, chopped
2 small mastic tears, crushed with 1 tsp caster sugar
Syrup
1.5L warm water, 6 cups
320g caster sugar, 1 ½ cups
5 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbs pomegranate syrup
Method
1. Dry fry the almonds on high heat in the pot you will be using for the halva. Stir often so that they don’t burn. Once they are ready put them in a plate and set aside.
2. In the meantime, prepare the syrup by combining all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and allow them to simmer for 5 min. Then take off the heat and set aside.
3. On high heat add the extra virgin olive oil and the semolina. Stir often for about 7 min until the colour changes to a darker slightly brown colour. Stir the browned almonds, chopped dates and the crushed mastic into the semolina.
4. Remove the cloves and cinnamon stick from the syrup. Slowly pour the syrup into the fried semolina, be careful as it splashes a lot. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the edges of the pot. Place the warm halva in a bundt tin. Allow it cool for 30 min and then place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to serve it chilled.
