Karabij

Small semolina cookies filled with a sweet pistachio paste, served alongside natef — a white, marshmallow-like cream made from beaten soapwort root extract. The cookies are dipped into the natef at the table. One of the oldest and most technically demanding desserts in the Lebanese repertoire.

Ingredients

• 3 cups fine semolina
• 200 g unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp rose water
• 1 tbsp orange blossom water
• 0.25 cup warm water
• 2 cups shelled pistachios
• 3 tbsp sugar (for filling)
• 1 tbsp rose water (for filling)
• 30 g dried soapwort root (ashl al-3erq al-souss)
• 2 cups sugar (for natef)
• 0.5 cup water (for natef)

Method

1. Rub cold butter into semolina, sugar until the mixture resembles damp sand.
2. Add rose water, orange blossom water, and enough warm water to bring it together into a smooth, pliable dough. Rest 1 hour.
3. Blend pistachios with sugar and rose water to a cohesive paste.
4. For natef: simmer soapwort root in 2 cups water for 30 minutes. Strain and cool the liquid completely.
5. Beat the cooled soapwort liquid at high speed for 10 minutes until white and foamy.
6. Make sugar syrup from 2 cups sugar and 0.5 cup water, cooked to soft-ball stage (115°C/240°F). Drizzle into soapwort foam while beating. Beat until thick, white, and cold.
7. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Roll small amounts of dough into balls, indent with your thumb, fill with pistachio paste, and seal closed into smooth oval shapes.
8. Bake 18–20 minutes until pale gold.
9. Cool completely. Serve alongside a bowl of natef for dipping.

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