Kamal Mouzawak was describing a dessert his grandmother used to make, a sort of pudding made of rice and covered with walnuts and syrup. He was getting so lyrical about it, I was fascinated. I was picturing a grandma, wearing a  bun and an apron, stirring and stirring rice in a big pot until it was thick;  letting it cool outside in the terrace, ladling it out to her grandchildren, with the walnuts and syrup on top for a special treat.

I wanted to find that recipe.

In our world, where every food item under the sun is available at our neighborhood supermarket, from Italian cold cuts to Hungarian spices to Thai curries, I can’t help but be drawn to those recipes devised by people who had little at their disposal. A little rice, some nuts from the trees nearby, a bit of sugar.

I found a recipe in Nada Saleh New Flavours of the Lebanese Table, in which she describes an old-time dessert, made with rice mashed into a cream and a top layer of nuts and rose water jelly;  probably not Kamal’s grandmother’s, but it will do. I have adapted the recipe to simplify its execution.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of short-grain rice, such as sushi rice or risotto rice
• 2 1/2  cups of water (to cook the rice in)
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/4 cup (or so) of cream (can use a can of ashta, reduce the amount of milk accordingly)
• a few pebbles of mastic ( freeze the mastic for one hour, then  place in a plastic bag and grind up with a rolling pin till powdery)
• 1 (or more) tablespoon of rose water
• a handful of nuts, soaked in water (I also used some candied walnuts)
• 2   tablespoons of cornstarch (can use wheat starch instead)
• 1/2 cup (or more, to taste) of sugar

METHOD:

1. Soak the nuts in water.
2. Cook the rice in about 2 1/2  cups of boiling water until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes, and has absorbed most of the water; if there is still a lot of water left in the pot, drain most of it and replace it with milk and cream. Add a few tablespoons of sugar (to taste) and cook the rice some more, until the mixture is a moist and gooey mass. Add the mastic and stir to distribute the flavor evenly.
3. Cool the rice mixture a bit and pour into the food processor in batches. Puree until the mixture is smooth and velvety, adding more milk if needed. Cool in a serving platter or ramequins.

1. Sprinkle the nuts over the rice cream.
2. Make the rose water jelly; dilute 2  tablespoons of cornstarch in 1/4 cup of water. Heat 1 3/4 cups of water in a saucepan; add about 3 (or more, to taste) tablespoons of sugar, stir to dissolve; when the water starts to steam, add the cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until it bubbles and thickens; add the rose water and stir.
3. Pour onto the rice cream through a strainer. Cool and serve. (If the mixture does not thicken, it is fine to repeat the operation adding a bit more cornstarch and diluting it in water, then mixing it in)

NOTE: Mastic is imported from Greece and is used extensively in Lebanese sweets and even savory dishes; it is available online or at Greek or Middle-Eastern grocers; it comes in very small jars or pouches and consists of clear pebbles that come from the resin of a specific bush. Freeze the pebbles and grind them (they will not dissolve easily otherwise) or mash them with a bit of sugar in a mortar.

This afternoon was earmarked for some shopping in Beirut‘s new and glistening souks, a mall reminiscent of the most upscale ones  in the US. Unfortunately, as soon as we got to the garage, a  surprise was in store for us: a vehicle was parked in front of the  garage door, blocking our car. A derelict-looking thing too, not one of those resplendent BMWs, the #1 preferred car here, the car that says “ I am the King of the Road“.

No, this was a car that could have used a few months of tender loving care  at a body shop and upholsterer.

We looked around, hoping to spot the impudent driver. No one in sight, not even on a balcony. What to do? Go home and hope that in a few hours it will be gone? Alice (daugther) suggested getting in our car and honking nonstop to alert the neighborhood. I said:” Try it if you want, but  we are in Beirut here, nobody pays any attention to honking!

Fifty  feet away, I saw a man loitering about; I called him ” are you the driver of this car?”;  ”no, lady” he yelled back; he moved closer and leaned over the windshield, scrutinizing it ” Look, a phone number!”.

Sure enough, on the driver’s side of the dashboard, I saw a phone  number scribbled on a wrinkled tiny piece of paper in pencil. The man said to me ” See, all you have to do is call that  number  on your cell phone”.

He read the numbers out loud to me with  an Egyptian accent. ” Pfft! “, I thought, ” this guy seems to think it is that easy!”

A minute later, I heard a voice on the other end,  apologizing : ” I will be there in a jiffy, lady, I am in the Sabbagh  building across the street, just give me a minute!”.

Living in Beirut can be maddening, charming, exciting, dangerous, fun and  all of these combined.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of risotto rice
• 1 small onion
• olive oil, as needed
• 1 large heirloom tomato
• a cup of porcini mushrooms, either fresh or dried (if dried, soak in hot water for 30 minutes)
• a few shakes of pink peppercorns and salt to taste
• one jiggle of white wine (optional)
• 1/2 cup of whipping cream
• 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (optional)
• a handful of pine nuts, sauteed in butter till brown or toasted

METHOD:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot; add the chopped onion. Stir until the onion is translucent (cover the pot to speed up the process).
2. Add the rice and stir for 3 minutes till the rice takes on the color of mother-of-pearl.
3. Add the white wine and let it simmer till it almost evaporates.
4. Add the tomato and the mushrooms and stir. At this point, add a couple  ladles  of water  (about 2 cups) and let it simmer, stirring from time to time.
5. Add some salt, pepper and some cream, let it simmer and meld into the rice.
6. Add the parmesan cheese last, stir and serve the risotto when it is cooked but still firm to the bite and all the rice, when stirred, moves in the same direction. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

I learned  to make this ice-cream from my mother; an ardent Francophile, she lived  almost twenty years in France in the seventies and eighties, touring the country forward, backward and sideways; when she cooked,  it was French cuisine. I saw her make this ice-cream one day in preparation for an upcoming party and was incredulous: How can something that good be so easy to make?

You will make this in three minutes flat and you don’t need a recipe, nor an ice-cream maker!

iI you want it creamier, add more cream! Sweeter? Add more sugar! Store the cream in the freezer and you are done! The day of the party, let it soften a bit and scoop out elegant balls on dainty meringue trivets, if you want. The taste is incredibly fresh, whether you use fresh or frozen berries. Here is the no- recipe, courtesy of maman.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 quart basket of strawberries or 1 pint strawberries and 2 pints raspberries or two bags of frozen raspberries or strawberries or a combination of both or some fresh raspberries and a bag of frozen strawberries or…..
• a generous cup of whipping cream, add more if you like it creamier
• 1/2  tablespoon of fresh lemon juice on the berries if you like
• 1 generous cup of sugar (or more if you like it sweeter)

METHOD:

1. If using fresh strawberries and raspberries, clean them.
2. Place the fruits in a blender, add the cream and sugar, (lemon juice if you like) and puree for about one minute or two.
3. Pour into a mold and freeze.

If using meringue trivets:

Use 3 egg whites and one cup of sugar and a dash of cream of tartar and salt; beat the whites with the cream of tartar, add the sugar gradually till  the meringue is shiny and stiff; place small mounds or pipe small trivets on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper;  bake at 250F  for a couple of  hours until totally dry.

NOTE:

Maman used crème fraîche, but since I live in the US, I used heavy whipping cream; feel free to play around with this recipe.

Three Minute Berry Ice Cream

Beirut is   an extremely social city; at holiday time, the family gets flooded with confections and pastries. Every day a new package lands at the door of my parents’ home in Beirut. So  anticipating eating these goodies throughout the day and night, I decided to make a simple, pared down dessert for Christmas dinner.

We have been getting a lot of apples from our orchard in the Shouf and quince are in season. I decided to make a quince and apple compote served with a tiny bit of whipped cream and a sprinkle of pistachios. That’s it!

Got the idea for combining apples and quince from Claudia Roden’s book of Middle Eastern Food.

INGREDIENTS:

For the quince compote:

• 2 large quinces (about 1 kilo)
• 1 cup of sugar (250 g)
• 1 1/2 cup of water (1/2 litre)
• juice of 1/2 lemon

METHOD:

1. Place the lemon juice, sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed pan. Bring to a simmer.
2. Peel and core the quince and place the peels and seeds and whatever bits you collect in the sugar mixture.
3. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the syrup is reduced and slightly thickened. The kitchen will be heady with the perfume of quince. Strain the syrup.
4. Cut the quince in dice or slices and place in the syrup, back on a medium to slow heat, for about 20 minutes or until the fruit slices are well cooked and tender. Turn the heat off and cool. The syrup will have taken on an orange-pink hue.

For the apple compote:

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 or 4  green  apples, small to medium in size
• 1 cup of sugar (250 g)
• 2 cups of water
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom water, 1 tablespoon rose water (or 1/2 stick vanilla)

METHOD:

1. Place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a heavy-bottomed pan (separate from the quince pan)
2. Bring the syrup to a slow simmer; peel the apples, cut in half and core. Place in the syrup.
3. Simmer for 15 minutes until the apples are tender. Add the flavoring at the end of cooking, if using the water and at the beginning if using the vanilla stick.

ASSEMBLY:

Place an apple half with a bit of syrup in a small serving bowl; place a few pieces of jellied quince on top. Squirt a bit of whipped cream and drop a tablespoon of chopped pistachios.

I found out about this event a few days ago. Sounded very interesting especially since Turkey was the first country mentioned and I am going to visit Istanbul for the first time in December!

Prior to this dish, you would have mentioned pumpkin dessert to me, and frankly you would not have gotten a very enthusiastic response. NOT ANYMORE.  I guarantee that you will swoon (like I did) when you taste this! I am now going to have to serve it at Thanksgiving dinner, and that’s all there is to it! This dessert encapsulates all that one is looking for in a pumpkin pie, sweetness, richness, smoothness, the wonderful taste of a mellow fruit, with none of the unnecessary additions, such as a crust or eggs or extra spices. Pure flavor. Deep pleasure.

All that is required is roasting a few slices of pumpkin, caramelizing them with some sugar and placing a dollop of thick cream or kaimak on top!

Recipe is from Seductive Flavours of the Levant by Nada Saleh. She brought this recipe back with her from Turkey. I have always been awed by the legacies of the Ottomans who ruled our region for 400 years and had heard stories from my grandmother about al-atraak, as she called them. Not very happy stories I am afraid, but at least in the culinary realm, there is so much that we can be thankful for as  we learned a lot from their extraordinary culture.

I have adapted this recipe  by roasting the pumpkin slices instead of cooking them on the stove and using brown sugar.

INGREDIENTS: This quantity will serve 4

4 (or more) pieces of pumpkin, peeled and placed side by side in a pan

brown sugar (or white sugar) as needed (depends on how many slices of pumpkin you use), about 1 1/2 cup

cream: can be kaimak, or mascarpone, or homemade ashta or heavy whipping cream, whipped

METHOD:

1. Cut the pumpkin, starting at the top, and cut in smallish slices (about 5X7 inches)
2. Peel the pumpkin slices (I was feeling lazy and I left them un-peeled, OK, you just peel them later!
3. Place the pumpkin slices  in a pan large enough so that they can all fit in one layer
4. Cover the pumpkin slices very generously with sugar, cover the pan and let it sit overnight.
5. Heat the oven to 350F and roast the pumpkin slices, basting them with the sugar syrup every so often.
6. Bake until the pumpkin slices are thoroughly cooked and soft, about 45 minutes for 4 large pieces.
7. Turn the broiler on and let the pumpkin slices broil and caramelize for a couple of minutes.
8. Remove from the oven. Serve warm with a dollop of kaimak, or whipped cream or mascarpone cheese.

NOTE:

Kaimak is a thick cream that can be found in ethnic or middle-eastern stores. A good substitute can be mascarpone cheese.

Talk about an easy and delicious dessert! I had it in Beirut at a fancy restaurant and my friend Hoda vowed to try to  make it at home.  So, a few days later she invited me to come over to her place in Mosaiytbeh in West Beirut. She assembled it in a few minutes and then called her neighbor Marion and her daughter who was in town from London to come over. We inhaled at least five each! t is creamy, tangy, light and you can even say, good for you! It is the kind of dessert I would serve to children of any age without hesitation. What could be better than eating some apricots and a little cream?

Quantity will serve 6 people. Recipe is adapted from Seductive Flavors of the Levant by Nada Saleh

OK, here’s the ingredients:

1 lb dried apricots

12 oz granulated sugar

1 pint of water

1 Tablespoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of orange blossom water (optional) or rose water or both

1/2 lb of cream (more on that later, it could be store-bought kaimak or ricotta or homemade ashta)

4 Tablespoons of finely ground pistachios

METHOD:

1. Soak the apricots overnight in hot water to soften them.
2. Heat the water and sugar and stir to dissolve. Let it simmer for a while (about 10-15 minutes) then add the drained apricots and lemon juice  and cook until the syrup has  thickened. Add the flavorings if using and simmer a few seconds then turn off the heat.
3. Transfer the apricots to a serving platter and cool.

To assemble, split the apricots and fill each with about one tablespoon of cream. Drizzle some syrup over the fruit and sprinkle the ground pistachios. Sahteyn!

TO MAKE ASHTA: Refer to the post on Ashta

This recipe is from Anissa Helou’s Mediterranean Street Food

Simmer a pint of half-and-half with 2 slices of white bread (crusts removed), torn into tiny pieces. Stir the mixture on medium heat for about 10 minutes and then cool. The texture and taste is very close to the original ashta.