Auntie Ayşe’s Cookbook
İrmik Helvası Sweet Semolina Dessert
Description: This is the first Turkish dessert Rebecca attempted to make. After about two weeks of being here, as an offering to the neighbors in hopes they would invite us into their home, we prepared it and put it on a plate. Ünzüle, ever gracious, did invite us in and portioned out some irmik helvası for the others in her family. Her husband said, “Is this an American dessert?” it was that unrecognizable! That being said, this dish might take a little practice!
Ingredients:
2 C whole milk
1 ¼ C granulated sugar
½ C unsalted butter
¼ C vegetable oil
¼ C pine nuts
1 C semolina
Directions: Get all your ingredients out before you start cooking, so they are on hand. (Especially when the pine nuts start becoming brown, you have to be quick so they don’t burn.)
Bring the milk, sugar and butter to boil in a medium-size saucepan. Set aside or keep on low heat. Put vegetable oil and pine nuts in a large saucepan and cook over low to moderate heat until bubbles form. After about 1 minute the pine nuts will be browned. Immediately add the semolina and stir vigorously for 3-6 minutes. (The goal is for a light, fluffy semolina so don’t over cook; it will begin to burn at about 10 minutes.)
Slowly add the milk, sugar, butter mixture to the nuts and semolina. (When the liquid mixture hits the oil it will spit, so take care.) Stir continuously over moderate heat for several minutes until thickened but still fluid. Pour into a shallow, 9-inch pie dish, and cool until set, about 2 hours. To serve, cut into pieces.
To make a sweeter, but less traditional version of İrmik Helvası, try adding mini-chocolate chips at the very end.
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This recipe has been adapted from Eat Smart in Turkey by Joan Peterson.
