Levantine cuisine · Desserts & Sweets

Booza Arabieh

Pounded Arabic ice cream made with mastic and salep, stretchy and stringy, rolled in pistachios.

Ingredients · for 6 servings

• 1 l whole milk
• 200 g sugar
• 2 tsp salep (or 3 tbsp cornstarch)
• 3 grains mastic
• 200 ml cream
• 1 tbsp rose water
• 100 g pistachios
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

1. Grind the mastic grains with 1 tsp of the sugar in a mortar to a fine powder and mix the salep smoothly with 4 tbsp of the cold milk so nothing clumps later.
2. Heat the remaining milk with the rest of the sugar and a pinch of salt, stir in the salep mixture and stir over low heat for 10–12 min. until the mixture becomes noticeably thick and coats the ladle.
3. Stir in the mastic powder and let it steep for another 2 min., then fold in the cream and rose water and let the mixture cool completely to room temperature.
4. Pour the mixture into a shallow metal pan, cover and freeze for 3 hrs. until firm but still yielding to pressure.
5. Vigorously pound and beat the half-frozen ice cream with a heavy pestle or wooden spoon for 5–8 min. until it turns glossy and forms strings when pulled; repeat twice more at 45-min. intervals.
6. Shape the ice cream into a roll, roll it thickly in chopped pistachios and serve immediately sliced, while it is still stretchy and elastic.