Halva with a Rhubarb Compote

My halva with a rhubarb compote is a remake of a classic Greek dish. It's a beautiful winter dessert and one that I encourage you to make and enjoy.

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.

My 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.

Halva with a Rhubarb Compote

Author: Peter G

A traditional Greek dessert known as halvas gets enhanced with a rhubarb compote.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 30 mins

Cuisine Modern Greek

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

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For the rhubarb compote:

• ▢ 500 g rhubarb , cleaned, leaves removed, stalks chopped into even 3 cm chunks
• ▢ 125 g brown sugar
• ▢ 1 orange, zested
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the halva:

• ▢ 125 g butter, unsalted
• ▢ 1 cup semolina
• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 2 cups water
• ▢ ¾ cup walnuts, shelled
• ▢ ½ cup slivered almonds
• ▢ 1 orange, zested
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

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Instructions

 

For the rhubarb compote:

• Preheat your oven to 170 deg C.
• Place the rhubarb, orange zest and cinnamon in a baking dish and stir everything until well combined.
• Cover your baking dish and cook for 45 mins - until the rhubarb is soft and jam like in consistency.
• Allow to cool before serving.

For the halva:

• 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.

Notes

Any semolina will do. You can also substitute the butter with olive oil.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serve | Calories: 492 kcal | Carbohydrates: 68 g | Protein: 7 g | Fat: 24 g | Saturated Fat: 9 g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Souvlaki For the Soul

Made this recipe?Let me know how you went and tag @souvlakiman on Instagram!