250 g of halva with stevia
250 gr. herbal whipped cream
80 g sifted cocoa
1 shot of cognac
1 tbsp. cranberries
We put the halva together with the cognac and the cocoa in the blender and beat them until they are homogenized.
We beat the vegetable whipped cream until it becomes foamy and then we combine it with the halva mixture with gentle movements.
Add the cranberries and continue mixing.
Divide into balls and refrigerate for at least two hours
Serve with some cranberries.
The sesame is placed in small stone cisterns with salt water. There it swells, loses its skin and, together with all foreign bodies, ends up at the bottom of the cistern. The hulled sesame floats and is collected in coffins.
• It is washed two or three times to remove the saltiness and then baked. Roasting takes place in special roasters, something like “tubes” inside which special “wings” move the sesame so that it does not burn. The roasted sesame is ground by the millstones and the tahini is prepared. The tahini is placed inside a copper dish in the shape of a hemisphere called passimi.
• Sugar and water are mixed in a large cauldron and cooked on fire until the moisture is gone and the mixture turns into caramel. When the caramel reaches one hundred and fifteen degrees it is skilfully thrown into the passimi with the tahini.
• Then the makers put on the special ship’s cloth gloves, which reach above the elbows, and start kneading with their hands. "The gloves - says Nikolaos Gavrilis - are not fireproof, they serve to prevent the caramel from sticking to the skin and to reduce the temperature that reaches the hand.
• Kneading is particularly difficult because the temperature of the mixture is around eighty degrees, very difficult to bear and skillful manipulations and great patience are needed to achieve the best possible result in the quality of the halva." As for the other items, the almond, chocolate and cocoa are added gradually and kneaded together with the halva to go everywhere.
• Kneading takes about half an hour. Then the halvah, which is still hot and won’t lift a knife, is cut by hand into the passim, weighed and packed. “Many prefer it warm - adds Mr. Gavrilis - while the percentages of consumption are 50% with almond and 25% with chocolate and plain”.
It is a sweet treat that is very famous in the Balkans and the arabic countries. The name literary means “sweet confection” in Arabic
There are many types of the dessert but they are all plant based and that is the reason we eat them during Lent.
The most popular ones are the ones made from semolina and tahini. The one Maria posted is the one made from tahini
Maybe you can find some at World Market?