Paradise is an Arabic Dessert

The fantasy is like this: a narrow, noisy hallway, with scents of honey and orange blossom. There are people everywhere, bright fabrics with intricate patterns, trays filled with pastries, mounds of filo dough topped with pistachios, walnut balls, giant nougats, and an extensive variety of sweets that scream “life is beautiful.” This is not The Thousand and One Nights, these are the thousand and one Arabic sweets.I have been fortunate that my work has taken me to the Middle East on two occasions. The first time was over ten years ago, to Turkey; the second, just before the pandemic, to Israel. On both occasions, I made the markets my favorite stop to immerse myself in the wikipedia of local ingredients and gastronomy that even a glutton like me would not have thought possible. I still remember those stops as a visual and olfactory feast with a hint of spices, still lifes of food in all colors, sketches of a daily life that seemed extracted from a dream. Perhaps the most dreamlike are the sweets. The ones from Turkey, a culture filled with cultural insertions from the Middle East, Europe, and Ottoman tradition, surprised me with their size and format. Each small shop was a subtle invitation to enter and let oneself be seduced by the traditional sweets made on the spot. I still remember the lokum, gelatinous cubes with the flavor of fruits or even rose water, which ultimately became my favorite flavor. This sweet is prepared from starch and large amounts of sugar or molasses.I do not forget the halvas, a dessert widely spread in the Middle East whose function goes beyond feeding people. Halvas are intimately related to celebrations, sacred nights, the birth and death of people. In Turkey, they are prepared with multiple recipes that even include flour or semolina. The ones in Israel are considered the healthiest. They are made from tahini –a sesame paste used in various dishes from the region like hummus–.For the Western palate, the idea of including chicken in a dessert might seem crazy; however, in Turkey, tavuk göğsü contains shredded pieces of the bird that, together with other ingredients, achieves a kind of creamy rice pudding flavored with cinnamon and vanilla. From it, another very popular dessert called kazandibi is prepared, which can be found in patisseries and cafes throughout the country. I spent a large part of my trip to Israel in Jerusalem, specifically in the Mahane Yehuda market, which is one of the oldest in the world. The so-called shuk is impressive: the hustle and bustle, the culture, and the gastronomic offerings that have developed within its confines and surroundings demand more than one visit. Besides doors and walls filled with urban art with religious themes, there are entire aisles dedicated to Arabic desserts.The baklavas arranged on trays, in all their variations, are the wild card dessert within the shuk. These little desserts have their most primitive origin in Mesopotamia. They are currently consumed throughout the region and are probably the most well-known Arabic sweets. They come in diamond shapes, rolled like bride's fingers, or in nests, in little balls. There are many of them. The generic preparation consists of layering several sheets of filo dough brushed with butter and filling them with finely chopped nuts or pistachios. The sweetness comes from soaking in a syrup that has a hint of lemon.My great favorite was the kanafeh prepared on the spot, warm and topped with syrup to the customer's taste. This dessert consists of vermicelli noodles –they call it kadaif– that are fried in a lot of butter and spread over a layer of soft cheese, similar to ricotta, cooked slowly. A complex and perfect experience due to the flavors, textures, and temperatures.In the logbook, the ma’amul cannot be missing, which is a primarily Lebanese dessert but widely consumed throughout the region. At first glance, it looks like a cookie, but these particular-looking balls are made from a dough of butter and semolina, orange blossom water, and a filling of dates and chopped nuts, or any other crushed dried fruit, figs, and raisins.I still remember, outside the market, a traditional bakery over fifty years old. There, I found sufganiyot, a fried bread similar to donuts, filled with jelly and dusted with powdered sugar. Another local pastry is rugelach, which is the cousin of French croissants, but with more –yes, more– butter. They can be filled with chocolate, cinnamon, nuts, or poppy seeds. Each letter of the alphabet could have another Arabic dessert to spell out. I remember basbousa, squares of cake soaked in syrup that come with grated coconut and a small almond on top, or graybe, a type of marzipan cookie, traditional in Beirut, decorated with the respective dried fruit. Fortunately, the obsession and craving do not have to wait for a trip to distant lands. This year, Mexico City has surprised with its proposals that faithfully embrace that culture. For example, at the new branch of Al Andalús inside the Torre Aleph, Chef Mohamed Mazeh offers a great variety of Arabic desserts –among many other breads and dishes from Lebanese cuisine– with a preparation that reminds me of my days in the Middle East. They even have a musk ice cream that should not be missed.Another favorite is Delicias de Líbano by Alberto Farah (partner of our house chef, Mau Eggleton) and Elizabeth Nahum. Their trays of Arabic sweets are ideal for when you want to share interesting tidbits with close friends, coffee, and tea. My last recommendation goes to Halva Boutique, the only Mexican store dedicated to making halvas. From the online store, you can buy the whole cake or a piece. I highly recommend the coffee + cardamom for those who enjoy strong and spicy flavors, the pistachio for the more conservative, or the xoco-chili if you are part of the adventurous team.At this moment in humanity, it wouldn’t hurt to embrace other cultures, other ways of thinking, and, of course, fill our mouths with a good sip of Arabic coffee and a touch of sweetness.