Prep 15 min - cook 15 min - serves 12
Persian Sesame Halva Ardeh
A simple Persian tahini halva set with sugar syrup and rosewater, pressed into a tin and cut once it firms.
Before you cook
The syrup needs to reach a real thread stage before it meets the tahini. Undercooked syrup leaves the halva soft and it never properly sets.
Rosewater is strong. Add it gradually and taste, because too much tips the whole thing towards tasting like soap rather than perfume.
Method
Warm the tahini gently over hot water until loose and pourable.
Heat the sugar and water together in a pan without stirring.
Cook to 110C on a thermometer, brushing down any sugar crystals.
Take the syrup off the heat once it reaches a light thread stage.
Pour the hot syrup into the warm tahini in a thin, steady stream.
Stir constantly as you pour so the mixture stays smooth throughout.
Add the rosewater gradually, tasting after each small addition.
Pour into a lined tin and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
Scatter the chopped pistachios over the surface and press lightly.
Chill for at least three hours until firm, then cut into small pieces.
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