AYSH EL-SARAYA
LEBANON
The name of this Lebanese sweet is somewhat confusing. Saraya and seraglio mean both harem and a sultan’s palace. I am going for the harem translation as I cannot imagine a bread pudding being a sweet for kings, given what a modest ingredient bread is. It makes more sense to think of it as a sweet for concubines. I am being facetious here as I don’t know much about the origins of this dessert apart from the fact that it is totally luscious despite its being made from pretty simple, basic ingredients such as bread and sugar. The cream makes it luxurious and the slivered pistachios add a welcome crunch.
SERVES 4 TO 6
One day-old 8-inch (20 cm) round loaf white bread (about 14 ounces/400 g)
1¼ cups (250 g) raw cane sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¾ cup (180 ml) boiling water
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
1 tablespoon rose water
1¼ cups (300 g) Arabic clotted cream or English clotted cream
2 tablespoons slivered pistachios, for garnish (see Note)
1. Trim off and discard the crusts of the bread (or reserve it for making breadcrumbs). Tear the bread into rough 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces.
2. Combine ¼ cup (60 ml) water, the sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly so that the sugar does not recrystallize in places, until the syrup has caramelized to a golden brown color, about 15 minutes; be careful not to burn it. Gradually add the boiling water, stirring with a long-handled wooden spoon; the syrup will splatter when you add the water, so make sure you do this very slowly and cautiously. Take off the heat and add the orange blossom water and rose water.
3. Add the bread to the syrup and cook over medium heat, pressing down on the bread with the back of the spoon to mash it up and help it soak up the syrup, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it has absorbed the syrup.
4. Spread the bread into an even layer in an 8-inch (20 cm) round serving platter. If there is any syrup left in the pan, pour it over the bread. Let cool for about 20 minutes. Then, spread the cream over the bread, leaving a little of the edge showing. Garnish with the slivered pistachios and serve straightaway. If you want to refrigerate it, reserve the pistachio garnish until just before serving.
NOTE: Pistachios are used as a garnish, for both sweet and savory dishes, throughout the Middle East. In the Levant they are used in mostly ground form, whereas in Iran they are slivered into beautiful green sticks to add color and crunch to both rice dishes and desserts. You can, of course, cut whole ones into slivers, but it is much easier to source ready-slivered pistachios from Persian or Middle Eastern stores.