Alani

Ingredients

Fruit

• 20whole sun-dried peaches with the stone removed through the stem end (about 400 g), or 20 dried peach halves
• 400 mlwarm water or weak black tea, for softening

Walnut filling

• 250 gwalnut halves, lightly toasted and cooled
• 120 gcaster sugar or 100 g honey
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• ¼ tspground cardamom
• ¼ tspground cloves
• 2 tbspwater or peach soaking liquid, only if the filling will not hold together

To serve

• Armenian coffee
• a little icing sugar, optional

Directions

1. Rinse the dried peaches, then soak them in warm water or weak tea for 1 to 2 hours, until they are pliable enough to open without splitting. They should bend, not flop; oversoaked fruit will not hold its shape when dried again.
2. Drain the fruit and stand it upside down on a rack for 20 minutes so the cavities dry, then pat the outsides dry.
3. Grind the walnuts in a food processor in short pulses, or pound them in a mortar, to a coarse meal with a little texture left. Ground to a paste, the filling turns oily and heavy.
4. Mix the walnuts with the sugar and spices. Squeeze a handful: it should just clump. If it stays loose, add water a teaspoon at a time.
5. Open each peach at the stem end with a finger or the handle of a small spoon and pack the filling in firmly, using about a tablespoon per fruit, until the peach plumps back into its original round shape.
6. Press the opening closed and roll the fruit lightly between your palms to seal and smooth it.
7. Lay the stuffed peaches on a rack in a warm, dry, airy place for 1 to 2 days, or in an oven at its lowest setting with the door ajar for 3 to 4 hours, until the outside is dry to the touch and slightly tacky.
8. Serve whole or halved with Armenian coffee, and store in a tin between layers of paper for up to two months.

Technique

• Alani belongs to the Ararat valley and to Artsakh, where the whole peach is dried on the roof in late summer with the stone pushed out through the stem hole so the fruit keeps its shape. That hollow whole fruit is what defines the sweet; halves are a compromise.
• The nut is always walnut in the Armenian version, and it must be fresh. Walnuts go rancid quickly and one stale batch will make the whole tin taste bitter.
• Do not skip the second drying. It knits the filling to the fruit and stops the sugar weeping.

Substitutions

• No whole dried peaches: use large dried apricots opened at the seam, which gives a sweet close to the Persian and Turkish stuffed apricots and is common in the Armenian diaspora.

Variations

• In some households a spoonful of grape or mulberry syrup replaces part of the sugar, darkening the filling.
• Artsakh cooks sometimes add ground dried mint or a little rosewater to the walnuts.

History

A speciality of the Ararat valley, where whole peaches are pitted, dried and refilled by hand.

Frequently asked questions

What is Alani?

Alani is a dessert from Armenia: dried peaches stuffed with ground walnuts and sugar, eaten with coffee. A speciality of the Ararat valley, where whole peaches are pitted, dried and refilled by hand.

How long does Alani take to make?

Alani takes 45 min of preparation and 2 hr softening plus 1 to 2 days drying of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 stuffed peaches. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Alani?

Yes, within limits. No whole dried peaches: use large dried apricots opened at the seam, which gives a sweet close to the Persian and Turkish stuffed apricots and is common in the Armenian diaspora.

What is the most important thing to get right in Alani?

Alani belongs to the Ararat valley and to Artsakh, where the whole peach is dried on the roof in late summer with the stone pushed out through the stem hole so the fruit keeps its shape. That hollow whole fruit is what defines the sweet; halves are a compromise.