Aleppo Pistachio Harissa
This Aleppo-style pistachio harissa is a sweet semolina dessert made with sugar, milk, syrup, ghee, tahini, coconut, powdered milk, and baking soda. The dry ingredients are mixed first, then the liquids are added and the mixture is left to ferment for long hours. It is then baked in an oven at 180 to 200°C, soaked with hot syrup while hot, and left to cool before serving.
A sweet harissa dessert made with Aleppo pistachios.
Like a semolina-style syrup cake with pistachios.
This sounds like a dessert with a syrupy texture and pistachios on top or inside.
Ingredients
- 450 g or 3 cups Medium semolina
- 250 g Sugar
- 100 g Syrup (sheera)
- 2 tablespoons Ghee
- 2 tablespoons Tahini
- 1 tablespoon Coconut
- 25 g Powdered milk
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1½ cups, 300 ml Milk
- to taste Aleppo pistachios
- 1 cup Water
- 2 cups Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Citric acid
- 2 tablespoons for greasing the tray Ghee
- 1 tablespoon to 1½ tablespoons, added to the syrup Ghee
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the medium semolina with the sugar, coconut, powdered milk, and baking soda until the dry ingredients are well distributed.
- In the same mixing bowl, add the milk and syrup to the dry ingredients, then mix using fingertips only until the batter comes together, without overmixing.
- In a baking tray or pan, grease the bottom and surface with tahini so the harissa does not stick.
- In the mixing bowl, leave the mixture to ferment for 8 to 24 hours; it can be kept covered at room temperature.
- In the oven, preheat to 180 to 200°C with top and bottom heat.
- On the surface of the fermented harissa, sprinkle water, then distribute the Aleppo pistachios as desired and press them down so they adhere to the surface.
- In the oven, bake the harissa on the middle rack for about 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges begin to cook.
- In a syrup pot, boil the water with the sugar until the sugar dissolves completely.
- In the syrup pot, add the citric acid after the sugar dissolves, then let the syrup boil for about 5 minutes.
- In the syrup pot, add the ghee to the syrup once it is ready.
- On the surface of the harissa as it comes out of the oven, cut it immediately into the desired shape, wiping the knife with water between cuts.
- In the oven, return the harissa after cutting for about a quarter of an hour, until it cooks further.
- On the surface of the hot harissa, pour over the ghee, then pour over the boiling syrup while the harissa is also hot.
- Leave the harissa to cool completely before serving so the pieces set.