It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And what better way to celebrate than with the First Christmas Recipe Advent Countdown. 9 days left…
The second Christmas countdown recipe is almond pear!
Kathy Tsapples
These beautiful delicacies are traditionally made on Greek islands such as Hydra and Mytilene. It is a celebratory treat served at weddings, baptisms, etc. For baptisms, pink or blue ribbons with cloves are pinned to pears.
I always make a platter of amitalota arafusia (almond pear) for Christmas. I learned how to make it from my neighbors Milton and Dimi. He is from Mytilene. Milton’s sister Alexandra also makes them.
Today on GCT, I will show you how to make the most delicious almond pear.
material
- 1 kg almonds, blanched, dried and crushed
- 3 tablespoons fine semolina flour
- 3 egg whites
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup rose water
- 2 cups caster sugar
- Vanilla sugar 25g pack
- 2 cups pure powdered sugar
- cloves (as a garnish)
Method
- Dry the blanched almonds in the oven and finely grind them in a food processor. Combine the egg whites (lightly whipped with a fork), almonds, semolina sugar, caster sugar, vanilla sugar and half of the rosewater in a bowl and mix to form a pliable paste. Leave this mixture overnight.
- The next day, knead the paste again while adding honey. If the paste is too dry, add some rose water. If it’s too wet to shape, add a little semolina.
- Preheat the oven to 180℃.
- Shape a small amount of the paste into a pear shape and add cloves on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Once out of the oven, brush with rosewater and coat well with powdered sugar.