AI-generated image
Pasteli
Sesame honey bars
Pasteli: chewy-crisp Cycladic bars of toasted sesame bound with thyme honey
Pasteli is one of the oldest sweets in Greece, and on islands like Sifnos and Andros it is still made in the home kitchen for weddings and feast days, sometimes cut into diamonds and served on lemon leaves. Toasted sesame seeds are bound in hot honey and set into a thin sheet that snaps cleanly but softens slightly as you chew, tasting of nuts and wild thyme. Common mistake: taking the honey off the heat too early, which leaves bars that stay sticky and bend instead of snapping. Chef's tip: test a drop of the honey in cold water; when it sets into a firm ball you can press without it flattening, it's ready.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz sesame seeds
- 2 ⅛ oz almonds (optional)roughly chopped
- 9 oz thyme honey
- 1 ¾ oz sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp sunflower oilfor the paper
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (1)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Toast 10 ½ oz sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 6–8 minutes, until pale gold and fragrant. Add 2 ⅛ oz almonds for the last 2 minutes if using. Tip onto a plate.
8 minStep 2: Brush a large sheet of baking paper with 1 tsp sunflower oil and set it on a board.
Step 3: Heat 9 oz thyme honey and 1 ¾ oz sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar melts, then boil without stirring for 6–8 minutes, until it darkens a shade and a drop in cold water sets into a firm ball (about 275°F).
8 minStep 4: Stir in the sesame and 1 tsp lemon zest quickly and keep stirring over a low heat for 1 minute, until every seed is coated.
1 minStep 5: Pour onto the oiled paper, cover with a second oiled sheet and roll quickly to an even 6–7 mm thickness. Peel off the top sheet.
Step 6: While still warm and pliable, cut into diamonds or bars with an oiled knife. Leave to cool and harden for 30 minutes, then snap apart. Store in a tin between sheets of paper.
30 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pasteli take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sesame seeds?
- Poppy seeds or finely chopped pumpkin seeds, same amount.
- What can I use instead of thyme honey?
- Maple syrup or golden syrup, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Russian
Undu walaluFried urad dal rings in treacle
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Greek village salad
A true Greek salad has no lettuce: just ripe tomatoes, crunchy cucumber, sharp onion and olives, dressed with good olive oil and dried oregano, with a whole slab of feta on top. Salt the tomatoes first and they'll make their own dressing.