WHAT IS HALVA RECIPES

Steps:

• Line a 8”-x-8” pan with parchment paper. Place tahini and salt in a large bowl. Place a kitchen towel under the bowl — this will help when stirring.  In a medium pot over medium heat, combine sugar, water, and vanilla bean seeds. If you are using vanilla extract, add it to the tahini mixture. Give it a stir, then without stirring, bring mixture to 245°. Use a wet pastry brush to wipe down sides of pan as sugar crystals form.  Once mixture is heated to 245°, carefully and slowly pour syrup into tahini mixture while stirring and continue to stir until fully combined and mixture thickens. Careful to not over mix after it thickens or your halva will be too crumbly.  Pour mixture into prepared pan and smooth top. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours. Add cardamom to tahini mixture. After adding sugar mixture to tahini, stir in ½ cup of pistachios.  Pour mixture into prepared pan top with remaining ¼ cup pistachios, pressing them in and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours.  After stirring in sugar mixture to tahini, add chocolate to bowl and let sit for 30 seconds. Gently stir in chocolate leaving streaks.  Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours.  Add coffee to tahini with salt and stir until combined.  Heat and add sugar mixture as directed.

Steps:

• 1. Line a loaf pan or other mold with plastic wrap leaving a generous overhang on each side. Set aside. 2. Place the water, sugar, and salt in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to make sure the sugar is all dissolving. Once the mixture comes to a boil do not stir it again. Place a candy thermometer in the sugar mixture and cook to 248 Fahrenheit. While it is cooking use a pastry brush dipped in water to periodically brush down the sides of the pan to wash down any sugar crystals. 3. While the sugar syrup is cooking place the tehini in a small sauce pan and heat to 120 Fahrenheit. (If you do not have a second thermometer just heat it until it is quite warm to the touch but not hot.) Stir frequently to prevent it from burning. Transfer the warm tehini to the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a mixing paddle. Add the vanilla extract. 4. Once the sugar has come to temperature, immediately pour it into the mixing bowl. Turn it on the lowest setting and mix just until the mixture starts to look a bit grainy and loses some of its shine. Be careful not to overbeat the mixture or it will set in the bowl yielding a crumbly mess rather than a creamy finished candy. This should take no more than a minute. Immediately add the chocolate and mix just until the chocolate is swirled through. Working quickly, transfer the mixture to the prepared mold. Smooth down the top with a spatula and fold the plastic wrap over the top. Let cool at room temperature until set, approximately one hour. Store, well wrapped in plastic, in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Variations: Vanilla Halvah: simply omit the chocolate. Pistachio Halvah: omit the chocolate and add 1- 1 1/2 cups toasted unsalted pistachios to the mixing bowl with the tehini before adding the sugar syrup.