Crispy Sesamini
Dear Labna friends, I apologize for the long absence recently: Manuel and I were busy preparing for “Jewish & the City” cooking classes until Monday, and as soon as I finished those, I had two university exams. I certainly had some very busy days!
The good news is that with this final rush of studying, I have completed all tests for my Master’s Degree, so now, beyond my thesis, I will have a lot of time to devote to Labna. In short, there will soon be many news on these pages, as well as, of course, many recipes!
Today, to start over with the right foot, I will give you a simple recipe to prepare crunchy sesamini, those energy bars that are somewhat between candy and a snack so high-calorie to even raise the dead. They are not hard to make, but I warn you, they are addictive, so go easy on them!
It occurred to me to prepare these sesamini during my vacation in Israel, because there, this type of crunchy snack is very common. Once back home, I thus went to work in my kitchen following the recipe of talented “The Graceful Kitchen” blogger Adi, who lives in Jerusalem.
Crispy Sesamini
Ingredients
- 300 g of sesame seeds
- 50 g of cane sugar
- 45 g of acacia or wildflower honey (vegans can use rice syrup
Instructions
- First, prepare what you need for the recipe; you want to have everything ready to work quickly when the sugar will be at the right cooking point.
- On the kitchen table prepare a sheet of parchment paper, or a silicone tray; next to it, a bowl of water, a wooden rolling pin, a silicone spatula, and a smooth-edged kitchen knife. Done? Let us move on.
- In a non-stick pan with a heavy bottom, melt the honey and sugar over low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves completely, takes on a nice golden brown color, and begins to boil.
- If you do not feel comfortable on the right sugar cooking point look at Adi's photos : if you follow it step by step, you cannot go wrong.
- Pour the sesame seeds into the boiling sugar and stir vigorously so that all the seeds are covered with sugar and become golden; never stop stirring, otherwise the sesame will burn.
- Quickly transfer the sesame onto the worktop prepared at the beginning, and spread it in a single layer of half a centimeter thickness with the help of the slightly wet rolling pin or, if you prefer, the spatula. I have found it more convenient and effective to use the latter, however, test to see what you prefer. The important thing is to work quickly and easily because the sesame will harden almost immediately, taking on the shape you created.
- You will not be able to realistically obtain a perfect rectangular block, but I am sure that someone will make a huge sacrifice to eat the little pieces left over!
- With the kitchen knife, cut the sesame block into many rectangular nibbles, always working quickly without losing any time. If you are having trouble cutting, heat the knife blade on a stove for a second, then go back to your work surface, and try again.
- Let the sesamini thus obtained dry and cool. When they are dry and easily detach from the work surface, wrap them individually or store them in a tin box, separating each layer of sesamini with a sheet of parchment paper.
- It is important to keep the sesamini well-sealed to keep them crunchy. If left out in the open, they become gummy. Do not say that I did not warn you!
