Levantine cuisine · Breakfast & Eggs

Mamounia

Aleppo-style semolina pudding toasted in butter and bound with syrup, served with cinnamon and fresh white cheese.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 150 g durum semolina
• 80 g butter
• 150 g sugar
• 600 ml water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 200 g fresh white cheese
• 2 tbsp pistachios
• 1 tsp orange blossom water
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

1. Bring sugar, water and a pinch of salt to a boil in a pot, boil vigorously for 3 min., stir in the orange blossom water and set the hot syrup aside.
2. Melt the butter in a wide pot over medium heat until it foams but does not brown.
3. Sprinkle in the semolina and toast for 6–8 min., stirring constantly, until it turns light hazelnut brown and smells distinctly nutty – this is the flavor core of the dish.
4. Carefully pour in the hot syrup in several additions, stirring briskly, as the mixture will splatter hard.
5. Keep stirring over low heat for 4–5 min. until the pudding has absorbed all the liquid and pulls away from the bottom of the pot, then let it swell covered for 5 min.
6. Spoon into bowls, dust generously with cinnamon, sprinkle with chopped pistachios and serve warm with crumbled white cheese.