Home · Recipes · Greek semolina halvas with orange and cinnamon
Mediterranean and Middle Eastern · Desserts
Greek semolina halvas with orange and cinnamon
toasted semolina · orange syrup · cinnamon dust
AI-generated photograph
- Total1 hour 35 minutes
- Prep10 minutes
- Cook1 hour 25 minutes
- Serves8
A Greek pudding made with no butter, milk or eggs: semolina toasted in oil until nutty and golden, then soaked in an orange and cinnamon syrup and set in a mould. The cooking takes 25 minutes; the rest is time to set.
Contains: cereals containing gluten and tree nuts, as written. This recipe contains gluten, from the semolina (it is made from wheat), and tree nuts, from the almonds. Some dried fruit is treated with sulphites, so check the raisin packet.
Let's cook
- Make the syrup first. Use a peeler to take 3 wide strips of zest from the orange, leaving the bitter white pith behind. Put the sugar, cinnamon stick, orange strips and 500ml water in a pan. Squeeze in the orange juice.
- Bring the syrup to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to its lowest to keep it hot.
- Heat the oil in a second, larger pan on a medium heat. Add the semolina and stir it constantly with a wooden spoon for 12 to 15 minutes, until it turns from pale cream to a deep golden brown and smells like toasted nuts. Add the almonds for the last 2 minutes.
- Take the semolina off the heat. Fish the cinnamon stick and orange strips out of the syrup. Standing well back and using a long spoon, pour the hot syrup slowly into the semolina, stirring. It will hiss and spit, so take care.
- Put the pan back on a low heat, add the raisins if using, and stir for 3 to 5 minutes until the mixture is very thick and comes away from the sides of the pan in one mass.
- Spoon it into a 1 litre bowl or loaf tin, or 8 small cups, and press it down firmly with the back of the spoon. Leave it to cool and set for about 1 hour.
- Run a knife round the edge and turn it out onto a plate. Dust with ground cinnamon and cut into slices to serve.
Tips
- Coarse semolina gives the classic crumbly texture; fine semolina makes it smoother and denser.
- The deeper you toast the semolina, the nuttier the taste. Keep stirring so it browns evenly and does not burn.
- It keeps for 3 days, covered, at cool room temperature.
Swaps
- Nut free: leave out the almonds and add a handful of extra raisins.
- Walnuts: use 60g chopped walnuts in place of the almonds (still tree nuts).
- Less sweet: use 160g sugar; it will be slightly softer when set.
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Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
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