Tag Archives: raw dessert

Sesame Seed Halva

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halva-1

Halva is a traditional dessert made with sesame seeds and honey.

I have a long history of taking recipes and making them safe for people on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet which means removing all the industrial ingredients and working from whole food sources.

Halva was traditionally made with whole sesame seeds. In more modern times, tahini has been used as a time saving device. Working with whole sesame seeds really doesn’t take any more effort. The result is a less expensive Halva without industrial additives.

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Halva is an easy delicious dessert that can be ready in minutes.

2c whole organic sesame seeds
1 large pinch sea salt
2T local raw honey
1T homemade vanilla extract or 1T “spent” vanilla bean, minced
1-2T filtered water
1/3c organic pistachio nuts, cashews, or pecans, chopped (optional)
In a food processor add sesame seeds, salt, honey and vanilla extract. (If you make your own vanilla extract, use the “spent” vanilla bean in the halva for a richer flavor.) It takes a few minutes of processing for the sesame seeds to form into a ball. Add a small amount of water if necessary. Add the nuts and mix briefly. With damp hands work the paste into a ball and flatten onto a piece of wax paper. Slice and refrigerate before serving.

nutty-halva

If you like more texture in your Halva, add some chopped nuts.

Raw Fig Bars

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fig-bars-coffee-butter

This is what the fig bars look like when they are cut into 32 pieces. Having smaller servings of sweets, even naturally sweetened foods, is a good traditional practice that our grandmothers would have done. Modern serving sizes of sweet foods have doubled or even tripled in size.

20 medium sized organic dried figs, soaked
1c filtered water
3c organic walnuts, pecans or almonds, soaked and dried
1 large pinch sea salt
1/3c organic pastured unsalted butter

Boil the water and remove from the heat. Add the figs. Cover and let the figs soften in the hot water for about 20 minutes. With a food processor puree the figs. Add a small amount of water to make the fig paste stick together. Do not add too much water or the paste will become too sticky. Roll the fig paste into a ball.

With a food processor, chop the nuts until the nuts are a fine meal. Add the salt and butter. Process the nuts, salt and butter until you can form a ball with your hands. Split the nut crust into two equal sized balls.

Butter a 8″x8″ glass pan. Spread one ball of the nut crust on the bottom of the glass pan. Carefully spread the fig paste over the nut crust. If you are having trouble spreading the fig paste, wetting your hands with some water will make the job easier.

Crumble the second nut ball into very small pieces and evenly cover the fig paste with the second nut crust. Carefully pat-down with your hands. Refrigerate the fig cookies until they harden. First cut into 16 bars, then cut each bar in half for a total of 32 bars.

fig-bars

These Raw Fig Bars remind me of a commercial fig cookie called Fig Newtons. I used to enjoy these cookies as a child. My fig bars are minus the grain products, chemicals and sweeteners.