Equinox: Time for some Malabi!

By TOM LAVIE
HEY! Out with cold, here comes the sun! Ahh finally… Spring is here, definitely in the air and its official! CELEBRATION TIME COME ON!
Summer time is a short week ahead of us adding to more and more precious daylight time everyday. The night chill is going bearable without choking in heavy coats, Passover just around the corner and everyone are getting ready for the spring break. To top that we can FINALLY check list the elections, get back to routine, sunbath on our amazing beaches or picnic ourselves to oblivion… Spring. You gotta love it really, it is the best time of the year, by far.
Look, for me? Its been a long long cold winter. To welcome the summer again I banished the winter with every thought I had in me, probably from the moment it begun. You know what? it worked! Ask and you shall receive and all that..? Yep. Birds singing and wildflowers all around, I’m going on feeling human again… What can I say? Weather gets to me.
I know I know, we’re not having a Russian winter here, but still everything seem to slow down in the winter, and this one felt it’ll never end. I think probably due to the intensity of life here, the colder it is the more planing required slowing us down. So once easier weather kicks in, we can roll out of survival mode, along side comes spontaneity and possibilities and Israel goes much greater on its sunny side up.
All you winter lovers rolling your eyes at this, Marley is in the background proving my point exactly, sun is shining and the weather is SWEET!
Now, how would one (self included) celebrate properly? Food. Obviously. There is no real celebration without food. Also, lets just admit it, everything just taste better in the spring.
MALABI
Creamy, sweet and cheery. This dish is starring the menus of top chefs restaurants here. Now, if you don’t know (yet) what Malabi is by this name, then you’re definitely not local. If after reading this you realise you’ve never tasted it too, then that’s a problem to be fixed.
Malabi (from “Muhallabiah” in Arabic) is one of the most common desserts in Mediterranean kitchens. Its an elegant light dessert consisted of milk or cream (or a mixture of both) thickened (starch or rice flower) and flavoured with rosewater, coconut and almonds.
Here is my version of it.
Beteavon!
Yours,
Tom
Strawberry - Vanilla Malabi, with honey and berries.
Time: 10 minute (cooking) + 4 Hours chilling
? 8-10 servings
Ingredients
1L full milk
250ml Heavy whipping cream
70g cornstarch
100g + 2 tablespoon sugar
1 Vanilla bean
150g Strawberries
Honey
Method
Prep up all ingredients before you start.
1. Strawberry sauce: Process the strawberries with 2 tablespoon of sugar until smooth. Put 2 tablespoons of the sauce in every cup.
2. In a bowl, dissolve the cornstarch with one cup of milk.
3. Split the Vanilla bean lengthwise into two halves. With the back of the knife scrape the vanilla seeds off both halves and put in a medium thick-based sauce pan.
3. Add the remainder of milk, the cream and the sugar and bring almost to a boil on medium-high heat. Stir frequently.
4. Gradually add the cornstarch-milk mixture to the hot milk, stir nonstop and cook for (about) 2 minutes until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
5. Pour the hot Malabi into the cups, on top of the strawberry sauce.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 3-4 hours, until the Malabi is stabilized.
Plating: Top the chilled Malabi with fruits - Raspberries, Blackberries or strawberries, or a mixture of all would be great too. coat with 1 tablespoon of honey the and garnish with mint leaves.