I seriously never thought this time would come and it snuck up way too fast. Susie Fishbein just wrote and published her final cookbook! That’s right, the author of the Kosher By Design series with eight (yup, I said eight!!!!) cookbooks is hanging up her hat with her ninth and final collection of picture-perfect food inspired by her travels. Susie has been traveling the world doing book tours, food demonstrations, book signings and touring with her family and this cookbook reflects what she has learned along the way. In Susie’s final cookbook, Kosher By Design Brings It Home, you’ll see recipes influenced by Italy, France, Mexico, Israel, America and even more locations across the globe. Besides her recipes, Susie also shares photos from her travels that will make you want to hop on a plane and fly all over the world.
I am so excited to have this opportunity to share one of Susie’s recipes from the new Kosher By Design Brings It Home and I just had to share one of her beautiful desserts. I have a major sweet tooth and the first thing I look at in any new cookbook is the dessert section. I’m going to admit something that I haven’t really told anyone before…I am afraid to work with phyllo dough!!! It’s just so delicate and beautiful and it intimidates the heck out of me. But Susie makes it seem so easy and that’s why I chose this recipe to share with you today. And helloooooo, halva and baklava in every bite?!?!? I’m sold!
The Kosher By Design Brings It Home release date is Thursday, February 25th so I’m celebrating with TONS of fellow bloggers and Instagrammers by hosting an incredible giveaway with Artscroll. You could win a $500 Visa Prepaid Gift Card, a Bosch Mixer or the Complete Set of SIGNED Kosher By Design Cookbook! You definitely want to enter this giveaway (below the Halva Baklava printable recipe). Good luck!!!
Kosher by Design Brings it Home Halvah Baklava
My all time favorite stop in Machane Yehuda and in the new Sarona Market in Tel Aviv is Halva Kingdom. I think I have sampled all 60 flavors, or maybe that’s just the dream. This business was founded in 1947 by the grandfather of the current shop owner, Eli Maman. After the expulsion of Jews from the Old City of Jerusalem, the family moved the shop to Machane Yehuda Market. The recipe of their famous halvah is from Morocco, and it is handÂmade with traditional methods from organic sesame seeds imported from Ethiopia.
This recipe, with its addition of halvah to baklava, is another gem that I learned at Te’amim Cooking School in Jerusalem (see page 16). The richness that the halvah adds to the baklava is outrageous.
Ingredients
Pastry
- 15 sheets (from a 1Âpound box) phyllo dough, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
- 1â„2 cup canola oil
Filling
- 1 cup roasted pistachios
- 1 cup roasted almonds
- 1 cup roasted pecans
- 1 pound halvah, chopped
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Honey Syrup
- 1â„2 cup sugar
- 1â„2 cup honey
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Prepare the filling: Place the pistachios, almonds, pecans, halvah, and vanilla into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal “S†blade. Pulse until ground but not a paste. Set aside.
- Prepare the syrup: Place the sugar, honey, water, and lemon juice into a medium pot. Over medium heat, bring to just a boil. Turn down to a simmer; cook for 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Place a sheet of phyllo lengthwise on the work surface. Brush with canola oil. Top with another layer of phyllo. Brush with canola. Top with a third layer of phyllo and oil. Roll all four edges 1â„2Âinch inward to make a frame. Brush rolled edges with oil.
- Spread a thick layer of the nut filling over the phyllo. Starting with a short end, roll up, jellyroll fashion; transfer to prepared sheet. Repeat, making 4 more rolled logs. Brush the logs with oil. Using a serrated knife, cut 4 diagonal slits across the top of each log.
- Bake, uncovered, for 12 minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven and immediately spoon the syrup over the logs. Slice each log into 4Â5 slices. Serve 2 slices to a plate. Drizzle with more syrup around the plate.
