A traditional Lebanese dessert.

In Lebanon, this is usually the specialty of some known sweets shops like AlHallab. You would rarely make this recipe yourself as it is easier and tastier to just buy it.

But when you’re living abroad, you start craving those flavors from back home. And this is how I ended up trying this recipe.

Difficulty: Easy

Cooking Time: Up to an hour

Ingredients

You will be needing the following ingredients:

Cheese dough:

• 500 g Mozzarella (or Lebanese Akkawi cheese if you can find it)
• 1 cup Fine Semolina
• 1 tablespoon of Rose water
• 1 tablespoon of Orange flower water
• 1/2 cup of simple syrup (see below)

Filling:

• 250 g Ricotta cheese (Or homemade arishe)
• 250 g Mascarpone
• (Optional) 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar

Simple syrup:

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup water
• Juice of half a lemon
• A splash of Orange flower water (according to taste)
• (Optional) A splash of Rose water (according to taste)

Some optional ingredients:

• Pistachios for garnish

Tools

• Pots
• Large tray

Notes

An alternative way of presenting this dessert is to skip steps 6 and 7.

Instead of forming cubes from the dough, you can keep it in the form of a ball and let it cook. When cooled, rip it apart into random long, thick strings. Place the ripped pieces in the bottom of a large dish, sprinkle pistachios and a bit of simple syrup over them. Then, cover them with a layer of the cheese-filling mixture. Garnish with pistachios.

Instructions

1- Prepare the simple syrup and let it cool down. To do so, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Let them boil for about 5 minutes, add the lemon juice, rose water, and orange flower water, and then remove from heat.

2- Prepare the filling and set it aside, in the fridge. Mix the ricotta (or arishe) with the mascarpone until well combined.

3- Cut the mozzarella into small pieces. Over low to medium heat, place the mozzarella cubes in a pot and stir them until completely melted. Be careful not to burn the cheese.

4- To the melted mozzarella, add the semolina and mix until well combined. Be careful not to burn the semolina.

5- Add half a cup of the simple syrup you previously prepared, the rose water and orange flower water, and mix well. At this stage, you should have a dough that is easy to model and work with. Remove from heat.

6- Add some simple syrup to a large tray and put the still hot cheese dough over it. Spread it as much as possible so that it becomes an even thin layer.

7- Cut the dough into cubes. Add 1 tablespoon of the filling mixture to it and then wrap the dough over the filling to obtain the shape from the pictures.

Serving Suggestions

Garnish with pistachios and serve with the simple syrup.