GREEK HALVA RECIPE | GREEK DESSERT WHICH IS ALSO DAIRY FREE PUDDING!
I’ve slightly adapted my Greek Halva recipe which is a dairy free pudding, in this to include lots of crushed walnuts which I think adds a little extra texture and flavour to the Greek Halva and besides the crunch this is also a dairy free pudding which is great!
Author: Theocooks/Photo credit to theocooks.com
Ingredients
- Greek Halva Recipe Ingredients - filling:
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 cup semolina
- 18 walnut halves crushed quite fine
- Syrup:
- 1½ cups sugar
- ½ cup honey
- 3 cups water
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 5 cloves
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- STEP 1Syrup:
- STEP 2Add all the ingredients together with boiling water and pop into a saucepan on the stove bring to a light simmer and don’t touch it.
- STEP 3Don’t stir it, don’t even look at it – it’s very self conscience this syrup and will go grainy at the mere thought that someone has stuck a spoon in it!
- STEP 4While your syrup is discretely warming through make your filling.
- STEP 5Filling
- STEP 6Add the olive oil to a saucepan and get hot enough that when you drop a few grains of semolina into it they start to fry on the surface. Pour in all the semolina and stir it.
- STEP 7The filling is not self-conscience and is in fact an extrovert that demands constant attention! Keep stirring…
- STEP 8Keep stirring for about 5-10 minutes until it starts to turn colour, add the crushed walnuts and keep stirring until you get a nice deep golden colour (don’t let it burn it will go bitter).
- STEP 9Remove from the heat and let it cool for a few moments.
- STEP 10This is the bit to be careful with. Slowly start to pour in all the syrup. Did I say be careful? Because it is hot, surface-of-the-sun hot, hot like flowing lava from a volcano! It will bubble but let it settle for a moment and start stirring.
- STEP 11Keep stirring for about 25 minutes and it will suddenly start to thicken. Keep going and don’t stop – you want this really thick, to the point your hand hurts and when you push the spoon around the mixture stays put.
- STEP 12Once you’ve reached a point that it is super thick let it cool and pour into a dish (or moulds) and leave to cool for a few hours. If you want pretty ones like in my picture
- STEP 13I poured the halva mixture into a baking tray and used a pastry cutter to cut out little portions.
- STEP 14You can sprinkle some chopped nuts on top or even a tiny little pinch of sea salt flakes.
- STEP 15Goes well with a decent Greek coffee (or an espresso if you must)!
