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Samali: a traditional Greek mastic-flavoured cake
The 25th of March is a national holiday in Greece. To celebrate, I have baked a samali, a delicious traditional Greek cake, made with semolina (instead of flour), flavoured with ground mastic, and soaked in syrup. Greeks celebrate today for two reasons: a religious (the Feast of Annunciation to the Virgin Mary), as well as a historical one (the starting date of the Revolution or War of Independence, which led to the establishment of the Modern Greek state in 1830). In fact, this year marks the 200-year anniversary of the declaration of the Revolution against the Ottomans, who had occupied Greece since the 15th century. The 400-hundred Ottoman rule has…
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Greek semolina halva with orange and honey
A few days ago, the Great British Bake Off crowned its 2020 winner. But don’t worry if you are yet to watch the final episode, I’m not going to spoil it for you. I am only going to say that it inspired me to take a break from my savoury bakes and make something sweet this week. Staying true to my roots, I opted for a traditional Greek dessert: halva. The word ‘halva’ (‘halvas’ in Greek) is used to describe two different types of desserts: a semolina-based one and a tahini-based one, which is called ‘Makedonikos halvas’ (Macedonian halva). I made the former. Traditionally, the recipe calls for 4 main ingredients:…