06/03/2017
Halawet El jibn, or sweet cheese rolls may not taste all that familiar to a western palate, but they are to Syrians.
Using milk and vinegar, she makes her own cheese, sweetening it with a little sugar, before mixing it with cream to form the filling of the rolls.
“You need two litres of milk,” the Fairfield West resident said.
“You boil it with the vinegar until the cheese forms, then strain it.”
This cheese can also be used in savoury dishes.
For those who don’t want to make their own cheese, ricotta makes a good substitute.
The mozzarella is used in the dough, giving it a distinctive bouncy texture.
Most of the ingredients are easy to find in supermarkets, but orange blossom water may need to be sourced at middle eastern grocery stores.
“I also do cakes, different sweets, cakes and custards,” Mrs Khabbaz said.
“When I have learned English, I hope to go to Tafe and learn to be a pastry chef.”
Mrs Khabbaz has been in Australia for nine months and arrived with her husband and children, an 11-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter, and her mother and father in law.
“We came from Syria,” Mrs Khabbaz said.
“Australia is good. Australia is safe.”
Now she is studying at Navitas English College, Fairfield, and hopes to study at TAFE to become a pastry chef.
INGREDIENTS
Dough:
500g mozzarella
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of semolina
1½ cups of water
3 tsp orange blossom water
Cream filling:
2 litres of full-cream milk
2 tsp of sugar
5 tbsp of white vinegar
Can of Nestlé table cream
METHOD
Dough: Put the water and sugar in a pot on the stove until it boils and the sugar dissolves, then turn down the heat from the heat. Add the mozzarella and orange blossom water and mix until the cheese melts. Add the semolina and mix until it forms a soft dough, then allow to cool.
Filling: Heat the milk with the sugar until it boils, then add the vinegar. Mix until it forms a cheese. Strain the curds from the whey, then put it in the fridge until it’s cold. Remove from the fridge and add a the can of nestle table cream and mix together.
Working with half the dough, roll out and shape into two long rectangles.
Pipe or spoon the cream filling onto one side of the first rectangle, then flip the other side over and squeeze the edges together. Cut into bite-size pieces and repeat with the rest of the dough.
Top with crushed pistachio
The author has not supplied recipe for simple syrup to drizzle on before serving so here is one you can use or use your own recipe:
Simple Syrup: (prepare ahead and set aside)
2 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Water
1 Tsp of orange blossom
1 Tbls of Lemon juice
Simple Syrup:
In a medium sized sauce pan on low heat mix sugar & water and bring it to the boil until slightly thickened, then add the lemon juice and Orange Blossom water and boil until it thickens a little more. Make sure to not overcook the syrup so you don’t get a sugary thick consistency. Turn the heat off and set aside to cool completely.
