Layali Loubnan

Ingredients

Semolina base

• 1 litrewhole milk
• 150 gfine semolina
• 150 gsugar
• 2 tablespoonsorange-blossom water
• 1 tablespoonrosewater
• a pinch of salt

Ashta

• 500 mlwhole milk
• 250 mldouble cream
• 3 tablespoonscornflour
• 2 tablespoonssugar
• 1 tablespoonorange-blossom water
• or 400 g thick clotted cream

Syrup

• 200 gsugar
• 100 mlwater
• 1 teaspoonlemon juice
• 1 tablespoonorange-blossom water

To top

• 100 gpistachios, chopped
• 2bananas, sliced
• a little honey, optional

Directions

1. Add them gradually and taste as you go. Too much makes the pudding taste soapy. Put the sugar and water in a small pan. Warm it until the sugar dissolves. Bring the pan up to a full boil.
2. Add the lemon juice once it boils. Those sugars stop the syrup crystallising. Let it boil for about eight minutes. Do not stir it once it is boiling. Brush the sides down with water instead. Judging the syrup takes a look. Take it right off the heat then. Stir in the orange-blossom water.
3. Let it cool right down completely. The syrup must be cold when it is used. Warm syrup melts the ashta away. Make it first so it has time to cool. Pour the milk into a heavy pot. Add the sugar and the salt to it.
4. Warm it gently over a medium heat. Add the semolina in a slow steady stream. Whisk it hard as you pour it in. Those lumps never break down afterwards. Keep whisking as it comes to a simmer. Let it cook for about eight minutes. Stir it constantly the whole time.
5. Stir right into the corners each time. Do not stop stirring at any point. Taste a little to check for rawness. Cook it on if it still tastes raw. Flavouring it is done off the heat. Take the pot right off the heat. Stir in the flower waters gradually. Taste it well as you add them in. Pour it into a wide shallow dish. Level the top with a wet spoon.
6. Let it cool to room temperature. Give it at least four full hours. Press film onto the surface to prevent it. Mix the cornflour with a little cold milk. Whisk it into a smooth thin paste.
7. Put the rest of the milk and cream in a pot. Add all of the sugar into it too. Warm it gently over a medium heat. Thickening it up takes real care. Pour the cornflour paste in slowly. Whisk it hard as you pour it in. Bring it all up to a bare simmer.
8. Let it thicken for about three minutes. Judging the ashta takes a look. Stir in the orange-blossom water off the heat. Let it cool to room temperature. Press film down onto the surface. Refrigerate it until it is cold. Take the set semolina from the refrigerator. Spread the cold ashta evenly over it. Work gently so as not to break the base. Use a palette knife or the back of a spoon.
9. Spread it right out to the edges. Pour the cold syrup over the ashta. Pour it evenly across the surface. Use enough to wet the whole surface. Do not flood it into a deep pool. Slice the bananas over the top.
10. Scatter chopped pistachios generously. Drizzle a little honey if you like. Slice it just before you serve it. Serving it is always done cold. Cut it into squares in the dish. Lift them out with a wide spoon. It keeps two days refrigerated. Add the banana only when serving.

Technique

• The base pudding of semolina cooked in sweet milk is an old preparation, but the assembled dessert with ashta, syrup, nuts and banana is recent and was built up as a restaurant sweet; the atlas records that rather than claiming antiquity for it.
• Ashta is traditionally clotted cream skimmed from heated milk, which takes time and a great deal of milk; the version made by thickening milk and cream with cornflour is not the same thing, but it is what most kitchens now use.
• Orange-blossom and rosewater vary enormously in strength between brands, so add them gradually and taste as you go; too much makes the whole pudding taste soapy, which is the commonest fault with them.

Substitutions

• Thick clotted cream stands in for ashta directly.
• Fine semolina is essential, since coarse gives a gritty pudding.

Variations

• Some versions use only orange-blossom water and leave out the rose.
• Honey is drizzled over the top in some kitchens.
• It is set in a wide dish and cut, or layered directly into glasses.

History

Its name means Lebanese nights; a modern restaurant dessert built on the older semolina pudding base.

Frequently asked questions

What is Layali Loubnan?

Layali Loubnan is a dessert from Lebanon: chilled semolina milk pudding topped with ashta, syrup, nuts and banana. Its name means Lebanese nights; a modern restaurant dessert built on the older semolina pudding base.

How long does Layali Loubnan take to make?

Layali Loubnan takes 20 minutes plus chilling of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Layali Loubnan?

Yes, within limits. Thick clotted cream stands in for ashta directly. Fine semolina is essential, since coarse gives a gritty pudding.

What is the most important thing to get right in Layali Loubnan?

Add the lemon juice once it boils. Those sugars stop the syrup crystallising. Let it boil for about eight minutes. Do not stir it once it is boiling. Brush the sides down with water instead. Judging the syrup takes a look. Take it right off the heat then. Stir in the orange-blossom water.