This recipe is a variation, inspired by the pudding I once had at Hi Life, a fish restaurant in Faliron, south of Athens. The orange pieces and the fresh orange juice in the grain mixture make a thick, soupy ashure. We love it on its own, or served together with fresh, creamy or aged cheeses, especially with manouri, or any semi-hard goat cheese from Crete or from the Cyclades.
READ more about this ancient dessert.
Serves 12-14
1 cup farro (see note) soaked in warm water overnight, and drained.
Pinch of salt
2 cinnamon sticks
1/3 cup cooked chickpeas (optional)
2/3 cup bulgur (fine or medium)
2/3 – 1 cup sugar, to taste
1/2 cup lemon or orange marmalade (optional)
2/3 cup almonds or hazelnuts (toasted if you like) coarsely ground
2/3 cup walnuts or pecan, coarsely ground
1/2 – 1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, as many as you like
8 dried figs, diced with scissors
6 dried apricots diced with scissors
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 -1 teaspoon ground pepper
Zest and juice from 2 oranges, plus 2 more large oranges, one peeled and diced and the other sliced thinly for topping the pudding
1/4 cup Grand Marnier or other citrus-flavored liqueur –I use my own Lemon Liqueur
1 cup or more strawberries for topping, or about 2/3 cup pomegranate seeds
In a pot bring to boil 2 quarts of water with the drained farro, a pinch of salt and the cinnamon sticks. Lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or more, until the grains are tender; be careful not to overcook them. Drain the farro, keeping the cinnamon sticks and the cooking broth; you need 6 cups of it.
In a mixer or blender process the cooked grains with some of the cooking liquid to get a coarse pulp. Transfer to a saucepan and add the chickpeas, if using, the reserved broth (6 cups minus what you used in the blender), the bulgur, the cinnamon sticks, and 2/3 cup sugar. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or more, until the bulgur is cooked.
Remove from the heat, discard the cinnamon sticks and stir in the marmalade, if using, the almonds or hazelnuts, the walnuts or pecan, the figs, the apricots and the pistachios, keeping 1-2 tablespoons for topping the pudding. Add the ground cinnamon and pepper, the orange zest, the orange juice, the diced orange and the liqueur. Stir gently to incorporate all the ingredients, taste and if you want, add more sugar, stir again and transfer to a large bowl.
Arrange the orange slices and the strawberries, or pomegranate seed on the surface of ashure and sprinkle with the reserved pistachios. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight before serving.
NOTE: I used Anson Mills Slow Roasted Farro in the US, both for my Kollyva and for Ashure. The wheat berries we use in Greece are similar to this particular farro, and very different from the American wheat berries, which I don’t recommend.
