An Artist in the Kitchen

An artist in the kitchen? Well, that’s my profession. I am a writer and painter and I happen to do most of the cooking in our household.

I live with my wife, Christiane on a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea and lovely as that is (I could write pages about all the things wrong here. But would you believe me? After all, when all’s said and done, we choose to remain here)… yes,, lovely as that is, it does present a would be chef with it’s own set of limitations.  

For example: the recipe calls for fresh Coriander? Forget it! Fresh Parsley or fresh Dill are no problem. But Coriander? Comes as a powder in a small jar or, because I remember to buy the stuff in Athens, as whole seeds to grind at home. Forget anything that calls for fresh leaf Coriander…. Or improvise! And on the whole, that’s what I do.

Neither of us are vegetarian although I rarely cook meat at home. So you will find mostly Vegetarian and maybe even Raw Food thoughts in this blog. Repertoire? Pretty cosmopolitan really, although variations on traditional Greek, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes tend to be at the forefront.

Anyway, I’ll start this going with something sweet and a twist on a traditional Greek favourite. I have never got into the habit of writing recipes down in the past…. but I put  this together some time ago for a friend who just wanted to know how…..

You can find dishes called Halva in all sorts of variations anywhere from the Balkan countries (Greece, Albania, Romania etc) right across the Eastern world to South East Asia. This is my twist on what we call ‘Country Halva’ in Greece…….

Chocolate Halvas.

• 200gm Butter
• 1 cup: peeled and chopped Almonds
• 2 cups: Brown Sugar or Honey. I’ve seen recipes that suggest using more than twice this amount of sugar. Believe me, the quantity I use will satisfy most peoples sweet tooth.
• 5 cups: Water (A little less if you add the brandy or rum)
• 5 heaped teaspoons: Cocoa Powder (experiment!)
• 500gm coarse or fine Semolina (either will work, depending on your preference)
• Option: Soak a handful of Raisins overnight in Brandy (or Rum)

Put the butter in large saucepan and melt over moderate heat. If you wish you can add the almonds to the melted butter and fry them a little at this stage. Add the semolina and heat with the butter; it is important to monitor this and keep stirring it regularly so it doesn’t burn. 

Whilst the semolina is heating prepare the other ingredients. Mix the cocoa, sugar, almonds (if not already added) and raisins/brandy (if using them) in one bowl and measure out the water in another.

The semolina takes about 12 – 15 minutes to cook. It will turn light golden brown and become pleasantly aromatic. Keep stirring and do not let it catch on the bottom of the pan. Add the sugar, cocoa mix and stir so that it is thoroughly mixed in. Then…

Add the water steadily with one hand, stirring constantly with the other. The mixture will bubble and froth at first…. keep stirring! Once all the water is added continue to stir the mixture on the heat. It will start to thicken quite quickly. Then, as it is thickening but is still reasonably stirrable remove the pan from the heat and pour the mix into a mould. Shake the mould a little to make sure it gets into all the corners.

Leave to stand and cool. Once the halva is reasonable firmly set turn it out onto a serving plate.

Allow to cool – at least to a comfortable temperature before succumbing to the temptation to try it! It will keep (if allowed) for quite a while.

Enjoy!!!