To celebrate the release of the Dornish eCookbook, From the Sands of Dorne: A Feast of Ice & Fire Companion Cookbook
The flavor is simple, but delicious, with the rich buttery goodness of a shortbread, plus a little nuttiness added by the tahini. I (somehow) held onto a few of mine for several days, and while they began to harden, they were no less delicious. I could see these being fast favorites not only in Dorne, but also beginning to creep their way up to the capitol and over to Highgarden.
Helva Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 stick salted butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 Tbs. tahini
- 1/2 cup sugar
- pine nuts for garnish (optional)
Make a roux with the butter and flour over medium heat. When it starts to turn a slightly pinkish golden color, remove from the heat. Add in the tahini and sugar, and stir to completely combine. At this point, the mixture should start pulling away from the sides of the pan.
Using two large soup spoons, scoop up a portion of the mixture. Holding one spoon in each hand, press the bowls of the spoons together, squeezing out any excess mix. This should create an oblong shaped piece of helva. Repeat until all the mixture has been used up.
If you like, press a pine nut (or other nut of your choice) into the top of the helva discs while still warm. Helva will keep for several days, unrefrigerated.
I love your blog posts to my email! You are pretty much the only blog I receive updates from, because you don’t bomb my inbox with emails! I was actually missing your emails for a while, since you haven’t posted in a while. I love the recipes! :):):)
It’s also spelled ‘Havla’ and variants can be found throughout the Middle East. And most kosher stores and groceries will carry them.
Actually “Halva” is a Middle Eastern candy/dessert made mostly from sesame seed. It’s nothing like a bread at all and the ingredients are completely different.
Well, different in that you would use honey instead of sugar, egg whites, etc. the consistency is s bit different in the end…
Made these today for a group viewing of the season 5 premier!
They came out wonderfully- I think the next time I make them I may use powdered sugar for a finer texture, but that’s the only thing I’d change.
Purchased the e-booklet and I am excited to whip up the other Dornish-inspired foods! Thanks for compiling these inspiring recipes!
Definitely interesting taste and texture! It was sugary, nutty, and gritty. Will let it sit a couple of days and see how it tastes then. I have to comment that proportions in this recipe seemed kind of off. I assume a “stick” of butter is 4oz and that’s how much I used. After making my roux (which didn’t turn pink, but light brown), I removed it from heat and added the sugar and tahini. It was still gooey and I couldn’t get it into a formable mass, so I ended up adding an extra 1/2 cup of flour and honey to balance the sweetness instead of more sugar. The taste is similar to sugary treats I had from India. Not sure if this was how it was supposed to tune out, but it certainly wasn’t bad, just maybe not for everyone.