A refreshing Middle Eastern dessert is the result of a cooking spree with my Israeli friend Einav. It is rich and sweet in flavour for the dates, beautiful and tasty for the use of whole green pistachios and exotic coconut.
Makes: 1 roulade of 25-30 slices
Preparation: 20 minutes plus 2 hours freezing
INGREDIENTS
250g date paste or pitted dates blended in a mixer until they become a paste
70g butter
½ beaten egg
150g whole shelled pistachios
Pinch of salt
1 lemon, grated zest
Approx. 30g dried/desiccated coconut
METHOD
Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the dates. Stir until it becomes a smooth paste.
Leave to cool for a few minutes.
The butter may appear split but don’t worry — this will change as soon as you add the egg.
Beat the egg with the lemon zest and salt and fold it into the date mixture until smooth.
Add the pistachio kernels and mix again. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Cut a sheet of foil approximately 35x45 cm and lay it flat. Top it with the same size sheet of cling film. Sprinkle half the coconut in a long line along the centre of the cling film.
Pour the date mixture on top of the coconut and sprinkle over the remaining desiccated coconut. Wrap it in the cling film and then the foil and gently roll to make a salami shape.
Freeze for at least a couple of hours.
Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Cut into slices of about 1 cm each and arrange on a serving platter.
This keeps in the freezer for several weeks so you can cut yourself a slice whenever you feel like having a little sweet treat.
