Honey and almond nibbles
For centuries, food has served as a bridge between civilizations. When researching food history, there are many commonalities that can be both unexpected and remarkable. The Aryans, a Germanic people, had links with ancient Persia. I wanted to share this recipe because it comes from there. My aunt Thrity, who was married to a German cook over 50 years ago, passed it along to me. The topping is a combination of honey, milk, butter, and almonds, which is typical in many cultures. Walnuts, pistachios, or a combination of the three would be a Parsi dream.
Makes 12 squares in a 23 cm|9 inch pan
Preheat the oven to 170 C | 350 F
For the pastry
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
½ cup salted butter
1 egg yolk
½ tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
A dab of butter to grease the
pan
In a bowl, mix the ingredients listed for
the pastry. Using just the fingertips of the first two fingers and the thumb,
gently mix the pastry until it all comes together. Bring it all together and
make a ball. Press it down into the well-buttered baking pan. Bake this for 15
minutes, until it is just cooked through.
For the topping
3 tbsp butter
½ cup
sugar
2 tbsp whole
milk
1 tbsp
honey
1 cup sliced almonds
In a pan, melt the butter and sugar with
the milk. Add the honey, stir, and cook on low heat until it just begins to
boil and gets sticky. This will take just 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and
carefully mix in the almonds. Work quickly, as it will harden as it cools. Pour
this mixture over the baked crust and spread it as best as possible to reach
all the corners. Bake this for another 25 minutes. Remove and make cuts on the
pastry while it is hot. Let it cool before removing the nibbles.
Tips
This recipe can be stored well for up
to a week in an airtight container. It does not need to be refrigerated.
My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on Amazon.
The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022.
The Vegetarian Parsi, inspired by tradition is an award winning cookbook. It was published by Spenta Multimedia India and is available on Amazon India and through email order at thevegetarianparsi@gmail.com.
The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.
