Apricot ice-cream with pistachios and pine nuts

September 14, 2009  •  Category:

 

I have had a hankering for this booza al-mushmush ever since I left Beirut a couple months ago. There is a couple  in Achrafieh (Beirut)  who make the most amazing Arabic ice-cream. Their place of business is smaller than most closets. If you walk by the street, you will see them  roasting almonds, hulling strawberries, chopping on the one and only marble board. They do not advertise, in fact, there is hardly a sign on the door, except for a handwritten one in Arabic with a list of flavors and prices by the kilo. Their name is Hanna, in case you happen to be in Achrafieh.


My favorite  is theapricot booza.  It is nicely studded with pine nuts and pistachios. I wanted to recreate it, like, today!

It took me all of  10  minutes of preparation and I am willing to bet  anyone who knows Hanna’s that mine is awfully close! Now I did have some apricot nectar in the fridge, sitting in a jug  and not getting consumed. I had made it using leftover amardeen sheets, soaking them in water overnight and throwing the mixture in the blender with several spoonfuls of sugar.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 250 g or half a package of amardeen or 1 quart or 1 pint of apricot nectar
  • sugar, to taste
  • 1/4 cup of pine nuts, previously soaked in water for 2 hours and drained
  • 1/4 cup of pistachios, peeled and chopped coarsely (soak in  hot water for 2 hours and peel)

METHOD:

  1. If using the sheets of amardeen, soak them the day before in water to cover by one inch.
  2. The next day, pour the whole mixture in a blender, adding sugar as you blend, one tablespoon at a time.
  3. If using the apricot nectar, don’t do anything! unless you want to sweeten it more, then add a simple syrup of sugar melted in water ( for instance, 1 cup of sugar in 1/2 cup of water, heat and boil for 3 minutes, let it cool)
  4. Pour the mixture in the ice-cream maker and let it churn happily until the mixture turns into a nice slush.
  5. Remove the ice-cream, place in a bowl and with a large wooden spoon, mix in the pistachios and the pine nuts.
  6. Place in the freezer for your subsequent enjoyment. Sahteyn!

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Comments

4 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Reply

    Marie says:

    I didn’t know to soak it, thank you for the ideas!

    On April 1, 2010 at 9:17 am

  2. Reply

    Afaf says:

    hi,
    i wanted to ask you if you can share a recipie of Boza araby – like the bkdash icecream store in damascus, it is available in jordan were i’m from but crave it all the time here in oklahoma.

    On April 3, 2010 at 1:41 am

  3. Reply

    Joy Betesh says:

    Hi,
    A question about the Amardeen sorbet….when using the amardeen sheets that have been soaked from the day before….do you add a quart of water to the amardeen

    On July 29, 2013 at 7:19 pm

    • Reply

      Joumana says:

      @Joy Betesh: Here is what I would do: break the amardeen in smallish pieces and transfer them to a bowl (glass or plastic); cover with water (barely) overnight. the next day, transfer to a pan, and over low heat, stir until the pieces are completely dissolved. Add the sugar (if using the whole package, one cup of sugar or more, to taste), and a couple of tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and one teaspoon of orange blossom water. Stir until the mixture starts steaming and the sugar has dissolved. Take away from heat. Refrigerate or freeze for one hour and run through an ice-cream maker if you have one or a blender a couple of times if you don’t. Add the nuts at the end. If using pine nuts, soak them first in water for one hour or two.

      On July 30, 2013 at 1:58 pm

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