Part 31 (1/2)

Various recipes exist for almond paste. Some date back to medieval times. All are still very popular today. Many are traditionally cut into lozenge shapes. It is believed that the word ”lozenge” is derived from these Arab sweets made with almonds, the word for which is loz loz in Arabic. in Arabic.

ARAB PROVERB:.

”A year in which there are plenty of almonds and dates increases prosperity and life.”

Ora.s.s bi Loz Almond b.a.l.l.s Makes 22-24 b.a.l.l.s 2 cups ground almonds 1 cup superfine sugar 1 or 2 drops of almond extract (optional) About 3 tablespoons rose or orange-blossom water 12 blanched almonds or pistachio nuts to garnish (optional) Confectioners' sugar to roll the b.a.l.l.s in at the end Mix the ground almonds and sugar in a bowl. Add the almond extract if you wish (I prefer it without), and rose or orange-blossom water, and work well with your hands. The mixture will seem dry at first, but the almonds will release enough oil to bind the mixture. Knead to a soft doughy paste.

Shape into 1-inch b.a.l.l.s (the size of large marbles) and roll in confectioners' sugar. Decorate each ball, if you like, with a split almond or pistachio stuck on top.

Variations Instead of 1 cup superfine sugar, use 2 cups confectioners' sugar.

Do the same recipe with ground pistachio nuts instead of almonds and stick a whole pistachio on the top. These green b.a.l.l.s are heavenly.

Stuff the almond b.a.l.l.s with chopped pistachios. This is really superb. Make a little hole in each almond ball with your finger and fill it with chopped pistachios mixed with sugar.

Close the hole over the pistachios and shape into a ball again. Roll the b.a.l.l.s in confectioners' sugar and place them in small paper cases. Decorate the top of each ball with a whole or half pistachio which has been stripped of its thin skin to make its greenness apparent. * In Iraq, almond paste, colored yellow with moistened saffron powder, is flattened in a tray, cut into lozenges, and covered with gold-leaf paper. Thus adorned, it is sent to friends by a bride's family to celebrate her wedding.

ARAB WISDOM:.

”When I go to my house after a day of labor, the food tastes good to me though it be cheap. Does, then, the richest merchant in the city enjoy his quail and duck and partridges more than I enjoy my bread and dates? And can man be happier than I with my wife, for if there be not love, what pleasure has a man in a woman?”

Kahk bi Loz Almond Bracelets Use a paste similar to that given for almond b.a.l.l.s (preceding recipe). Mix 1 pound (5 cups) ground almonds with 1 pound (2 cups) confectioners' sugar. Add the white of 1 small egg, stiffly beaten, and just enough orange-blossom water to make a firm, dryish paste. (For a paste made with 2 cups ground almonds, use only half a small egg white and do not be tempted to use more.) Knead the paste well, and roll into thin sausages about 5 inches long. Bring the ends together and flatten them, making bracelets the size of small napkin rings. Decorate, if you like, with a few blanched almonds. Arrange on cookie sheets lined with baking paper.

Bake in a preheated 400F oven for about 10 minutes. The bracelets must not be allowed to color. They will be soft while hot but become firm on cooling. Lift carefully when they have cooled.

Variation For almond macaroons, roll into walnut-sized b.a.l.l.s, flatten them slightly, and stick a blanched almond in the middle of each.

Tamr bi Loz Stuffed Dates Makes about 50 * In North Africa the almond stuffing is colored green to give the semblance of pistachios, which are considered grander. You can of course use real pistachios. In North Africa the almond stuffing is colored green to give the semblance of pistachios, which are considered grander. You can of course use real pistachios.

1 cups ground almonds or pistachios cup superfine sugar 2-3 tablespoons rose water or orange-blossom water 1 pound dried dates (the soft California or Tunisian ones) Mix the ground almonds or pistachios and sugar in a bowl, and add just enough rose or orange-blossom water to bind them into a firm paste. Put in less than you seem to require, as, once you start kneading with your hands, the oil from the almonds will act as an extra bind. Alternatively, you can start with blanched almonds or pistachios and blend all the ingredients except the dates to a paste in a food processor.

Make a slit on one side of each date with a pointed knife and pull out the pit. Take a small lump of almond or pistachio paste, pull the date open wide, press the paste in the opening, and close the date only slightly over it, so that the filling is revealed generously. They keep well for weeks.

Halawa Tamr Date and Walnut Drops Makes about 50 * Blend in a food processor and reduce to a paste 1 pound dried pitted dates (of the soft, moist variety), then work in 1 pound coa.r.s.ely chopped walnuts. Shape into marble-sized b.a.l.l.s and roll in confectioners' sugar. They keep well for weeks and are good to serve with coffee. Blend in a food processor and reduce to a paste 1 pound dried pitted dates (of the soft, moist variety), then work in 1 pound coa.r.s.ely chopped walnuts. Shape into marble-sized b.a.l.l.s and roll in confectioners' sugar. They keep well for weeks and are good to serve with coffee.

Variation For an Algerian version with dried figs, blend in the food processor 1 pound dried figs, 1 pound pitted dates, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 tablespoon aniseed, then work in pound coa.r.s.ely chopped nuts. Shape into marble-sized b.a.l.l.s and roll in confectioners' sugar.

Halawa Mishmish Apricot b.a.l.l.s Makes about 50 * Use a natural, tart variety of dried apricots, not the sweetened or honeyed ones; they must also be soft. These keep well for weeks and are good to serve with coffee. Use a natural, tart variety of dried apricots, not the sweetened or honeyed ones; they must also be soft. These keep well for weeks and are good to serve with coffee.

1 pound dried apricots Confectioners' sugar About 25 sh.e.l.led pistachios to decorate Do not soak or wash the apricots, or you will produce a cream. Put them as they are in the food processor and blend them to a smooth paste, adding a very little water, by the teaspoon if necessary. Wash your hands and, wetting them or greasing them with a little oil so that the paste does not stick, take little lumps of paste and roll into marble-sized b.a.l.l.s. Roll them in confectioners' sugar and press half a pistachio on the top of each.

Variations Mix cup coa.r.s.ely chopped pistachios with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Make a small hole in the center of each apricot ball, put in a little of the filling, close the hole again, and roll in confectioners' sugar.

Work cup coa.r.s.ely chopped pistachios into the apricot paste with your hands.

Stuffed Walnuts Makes

20.

1 cups ground almonds cups ground almonds cup superfine sugar 2-3 tablespoons orange-blossom water, or more 20 sh.e.l.led walnuts or 40 walnut halves cup sugar Make a firm paste by mixing the ground almonds, superfine sugar, and orange-blossom water and kneading it with your hands. Take about 1 heaping teaspoon of the paste and press it between 2 walnut halves. Place these on an oiled surface (a marble slab, a plate, a pastry sheet will do).

Make some caramel by heating and stirring the sugar until it melts and turns a light-brown color. Pour a little over each walnut. When it is cold and hard, it will hold the walnut halves together. Place in little paper cases to serve.

Caramelized Nut Cl.u.s.ters Caramelized almonds, hazelnuts, and pistachio nuts were among the range of confectionery sold on the beaches of Alexandria when I was a child. Young vendors paced the sands carrying confections and sweetmeats in large, flat wicker baskets, chanting ”Fresca!” ”Fresca!” (I wonder if it originated from the Italian, meaning ”fresh.”) They balanced the baskets on their heads, resting them on a coiled piece of soft cloth, and sometimes carried a second basket perched on one hip and held at the other side by an outstretched hand. Their chant was echoed by that of other vendors, singing, ” (I wonder if it originated from the Italian, meaning ”fresh.”) They balanced the baskets on their heads, resting them on a coiled piece of soft cloth, and sometimes carried a second basket perched on one hip and held at the other side by an outstretched hand. Their chant was echoed by that of other vendors, singing, ” Casquette, baranet, pantofla, pastillia, chocolat!” Casquette, baranet, pantofla, pastillia, chocolat!” (”Caps, hats, slippers, pastilles, chocolate!”), or (”Caps, hats, slippers, pastilles, chocolate!”), or ”Gazouza, gazouza!” ”Gazouza, gazouza!” (”Fizzy lemonade!”). Some sold salted roasted peanuts and pistachios as well as confectionery, and gambled these in games of odds-and-evens with their customers. (”Fizzy lemonade!”). Some sold salted roasted peanuts and pistachios as well as confectionery, and gambled these in games of odds-and-evens with their customers.

To make nut cl.u.s.ters, put about 3 cups whole hazelnuts, almonds, or pistachio nuts (blanched or not) together in little heaps on an oiled marble slab or on a large oiled plate. Melt 2 cups sugar over very low heat, stirring constantly. Allow the caramel to become light brown, then pour it over the nut cl.u.s.ters. As it cools, the caramel will harden and hold the nuts together.

Alternatively, and more simply, the nuts or almonds can be thrown into the hot, light-brown caramel and stirred until they are all well coated. Pour the whole onto an oiled slab or plate. When it has hardened, crack it into pieces.

A less common variation is to simmer the nuts in honey instead of caramel until the mixture thickens. Sesame seeds are sometimes used in this manner.

Pickles and Preserves MEKHALEL.

Food preservation is a particularly important problem in hot countries, especially in isolated, nonagricultural areas. The processes used today by families, grocers, and street vendors are those inherited from their ancestors of the ancient Oriental and cla.s.sical civilizations, who had an even greater need for careful preservation in the days before easy transport, refrigerators, canning, and freezing. Although pickling was originally devised as a method of preservation, the result is so delicious that pickles are now prepared for their own sake, to be served as mezze or to accompany main dishes. They are usually eaten as soon as they are ready, and the pickling solutions contain less salt and vinegar than they would if they were made to last, which makes them more appealing.

Pickles are prepared in their season, and also throughout the year, since even when the vegetables are not in season in one area, it is now generally possible to import them from a neighboring country. Every home has its martaban martaban, or jars filled with various pickles, ready for eating at all times of the day.

My father has told me he remembers that when he was a child visiting relatives in Syria the women of the family devoted their time to pickling and to making jams and syrups whenever they had no parties, feasts, or other household activities to occupy them. Large gla.s.s jars were filled with turnips, onions, cuc.u.mbers, lemons, cauliflower, eggplants, and peppers. The family could hardly wait to start eating them, and often did so before the pickles were quite ready. A visit to the cellar or store cupboard to see how they were maturing and mellowing to soft pinks, saffrons, mauves, and pale greens was a mouth-watering expedition.

Grocers in the Middle East prepare their own pickles. It was customary in the past, and still is today, for them to offer customers a taste of their newly mellowed pickles as well as a sample of their cheeses and jams. This custom may have been motivated by the hope that the customer would not be able to resist taking some home; but any ulterior motive was well concealed behind a heart-warming affability and generosity. Some ”Roumi” ”Roumi” (Greek) grocers in Egypt would even insist on offering a second helping, regardless of whether there appeared to be any intention on the customer's part to buy. (Greek) grocers in Egypt would even insist on offering a second helping, regardless of whether there appeared to be any intention on the customer's part to buy.

A relative of my father's was known to go from one grocer to another, tasting here and there, a little of everything, dipping a large finger into a new batch of jam or honey, until he had satisfied his appet.i.te. No shopkeeper ever begrudged him, since they all regarded ”tasting” as a traditional and obligatory duty. They may even have been secretly flattered that this fat man visited them so often.

Restaurants like to display a vividly colorful a.s.sortment of pickles, sometimes placing them on their windowsills to lure customers in. Pickle jars are also a feature of the street. Squatting on the pavements of busy streets, vendors sell homemade pickled turnips swimming in a pink solution, or eggplants looking fiercely black and s.h.i.+ny in enormous jars. Pa.s.sersby dip their hands in, searching for the tastiest and largest piece, and savor them with bread provided by the vendor, soaking it in the pink salt-and-vinegar solution or the seasoned oil. Some can only afford to dip their bread in the pickling liquor and sit in the sun, rapturously savoring the treat. When the pickles are finished, the vendor sometimes sells the precious liquor as a sauce for rice.

Hamad M'Rakad Preserved Lemons Preserved lemons lend a unique and distinctive flavor to North African dishes. You find the softened lemons in jars, or sold loose in street markets. They are now also common fare in the south of France. You can make them yourself. They take about 4 weeks to mature and can last a year. When they are ready to use, the pulp is scooped out and thrown away-only the skin is eaten. You can use small limes with thin skins, or ordinary lemons with thick ones. There are three common ways of making them.

Lemons Preserved in Salt and Lemon Juice In this method, which is considered most prestigious and gives the best results, no water is used. You will need cup salt for 1 pound lemons. This works out at about 4 tablespoons salt for 4 lemons.

4 lemons (choose them with thick skins) 4 tablespoons sea salt Juice of 4 more lemons, or more Wash and scrub the lemons. The cla.s.sic Moroccan way is to cut each lemon in quarters but not right through, so that the pieces are still attached at the stem end, and to stuff each with plenty of salt. Put them in a gla.s.s jar, pressing them down so that they are squashed together, and close the jar. Leave for 3-4 days, by which time the lemons will have released some of their juices and the skins will have softened a little. Press them down as much as you can and add fresh lemon juice to cover them entirely. Close the jar and leave in a cool place for at least a month, after which they should be ready. The longer they are left, the better the flavor. (If a piece of lemon is not covered, it develops a white mold which is harmless and just needs to be washed off.) Before using, rinse to get rid of the salt and scoop out and discard the pulp.

Lemons Pickled in Brine This is the same procedure as above, but instead of adding lemon juice, cover the lemons with brine made by adding 2 tablespoons salt to warm water. Lemons prepared this way take longer to mature. Some people pour a little oil on top as a protective film.

Lemons Boiled in Brine and Preserved in Oil This quick, unorthodox method gives very good results in 4 days, and the lemons last for months.

With a sharp knife make 8 fine-superficial, not deep-incisions into the lemon skin, from one end of the lemon to the other. Put the lemons in a large pan with salted water (about 8 tablespoons salt for 8 lemons) to cover. Put a smaller lid on top of them to keep them down as they float, and boil for about 25 minutes, or until the peels are very soft. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh, pack the skins in a gla.s.s jar, and cover with olive or vegetable oil. They are ready to use after 4 days, or even sooner.

Tors.h.i.+ Left Pickled Turnips Makes 2 quarts * The most popular pickle of the Arab world is turnips turned pink with cherry-colored beet juices. Huge jars of these pickles adorn the streets and decorate the windows and counters of cafes and restaurants. In Egypt the turnips are pickled in brine alone, or with just a little added vinegar. They are ready to eat within 4-6 days and should be eaten within 6 weeks. * The most popular pickle of the Arab world is turnips turned pink with cherry-colored beet juices. Huge jars of these pickles adorn the streets and decorate the windows and counters of cafes and restaurants. In Egypt the turnips are pickled in brine alone, or with just a little added vinegar. They are ready to eat within 4-6 days and should be eaten within 6 weeks.

2 pounds small white turnips 1 raw or 2 cooked beets, peeled and cut into slices 3 cups water 3 tablespoons salt 3-4 tablespoons red- or white-wine vinegar Peel the turnips and cut them in half or quarters. Pack the pieces in a clean 2-quart jar interspersed with slices of beet.