If you live in Sydney, you would have noticed the howling winds the last few days. These are the times I am glad I am a "balding individual"! LOL! Yesterday I made a quick dash to the shops and you should've seen how many "out of place" hair do's I noticed. But I digress...
The point is-it's winter time. Yes. It's cold.
I don't get all these experts on the evening television rambling about the harshest winter etc...Just be thankful we don't experience winters like the ones in Europe and the United States. Naturally with the weather being the way it is I'm still craving comfort and warmth. I wanted to play around with a Greek classic today. Halvas.
The version I linked to was made ages ago and utilised some pretty unique ingredients.
Today's version is a little different in that I decided to serve my Greek halva with rhubarb.
Yes. Rhubarb.
Pin itMy thought process went something like this.
Halva=quite sweet. Rhubarb=tart.
The rhubarb provides a wonderful tartness against the sweetness of the halva.
I baked mine in the oven with a little brown sugar, some orange zest and a dash of cinnamon. (this allowed the rhubarb to have a "tinge" of sweetness).
The halva has orange and cinnamon too and in the end we end up with this glorious medley of winter flavours!
I'm also proud of the fact that I didn't stuff up the rhubarb. This was my first time cooking with it and I loved how it turned out once it was baked. This rhubarb compote is beautiful served over some Greek yoghurt for breakfast.
I also wanted to point out a few things about the halva. The first time I made it I was adamant about using "coarse semolina". This time I used the fine version and it still worked out beautifully. I also used butter this time instead of olive oil and I think I prefer it this way.
I served my halva slightly warm with a little of the rhubarb compote on the side.
The only thing missing was a good dollop of Greek yoghurt.
Pin it- 125 grams of unsalted butter
- 1 cup of semolina
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 2 cups of water
- 3/4 cup of shelled walnuts
- 1/2 a cup of slivered almonds
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
- Rhubarb Compote
- Adapted from Hoglet's recipe here
- Melt the butter over a medium high heat in a saucepan.
- Add the semolina and continue stirring until the semolina turns into a lovely toasted, golden colour. Do not over cook this as it will taste bitter.
- Add the sugar, spices and nuts and give everything a good stir.
- Add the water very gently and stir continuously.
- The halva is ready when it has thickened and comes away from the sides of the pan.
- Pour into a 16cm large dariole mould and cover with a plate until it has cooled slightly and set (I did this for 10 mins).
- Turn onto a plate and serve it up with some rhubarb compote.
Any semolina will do. You can also substitute the butter with olive oil.
Pin it