>SUBSCRIBE FOR FAB FOOD OFFERS EVERY THURSDAY<

Each month, we feature one recipe we’d love for you to try out. We pick ones that are easy to follow, quick to make and inspire you with fresh ideas and clever combinations that broaden your culinary horizons and show off your cooking skills, at whatever level they are. After you have a go please send us your thoughts and pictures via @timeandleisure and we’ll make sure to share on our socials.

This month it’s a sweet treat that’s perfect to bring along on picnics- lemon and pistachio cookies.  From Sami Tamimi’s newly published cookbook, Boustany, this cookie is elegant and refreshing and all you need for that sweet kick at the end of a summer meal (though I will probably be gifting these over Christmas too).  This might be the first time you come across mastic- resin from the scored bark of the Gum Mastic Tree- but it won’t be your last.  It has a mysterious sweet flavour: part anise, part pine and cedar with a hint of bitterness.  Mastic comes in crystals and you use a pestle and mortar to grind it into a powder- it’s a popular flavouring across Greece and the Middle East for cream based desserts and in baking and can be bought in any Iranian or Middle Eastern food shops in London.

“Boustany” which means “my garden” in Arabic, is Sami’s homage to Palestinian food and culture and has over 100 recipes which celebrate the pillars of this cuisine: fresh vegetables, fruit and a wide range of pulses and grains.

Lemon & Pistachio Cookies

Ingredients:

• 125g pistachios, finely ground
• 125g ground almonds
• 100g caster sugar
• ½ tsp mastic, ground
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• salt
• 2 tsp finely chopped preserved lemon
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• 15g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2–3 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

Method:

1. Put the ground pistachios, ground almonds, sugar, mastic, baking powder and ⅛ teaspoon of salt into a large mixing bowl and mix well, just enough to combine everything together. Add the preserved lemon, lemon zest, vanilla, honey, egg and butter and give everything a good mix, using a wooden spoon or spatula. The mixture should be slightly sticky.
2. Place the icing sugar on a large plate and start rolling the batter into walnut-size balls, about 30g each. Gently roll the balls in the icing sugar, making sure that they are well coated on all sides. Arrange on a large oven tray lined with baking parchment, evenly spaced out. Cover the tray and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 175°C fan and bake the cookies for 10–12 minutes, or until they start to get a bit of colour. Leave them to cool completely before serving.
4. Once the cookies have been rolled, they can be kept in the freezer, in an airtight container, for a few weeks. When they are already baked, they will keep in an airtight container for 5 days.

MORE FAB FOODIE CONTENT:

>SUBSCRIBE FOR FAB FOOD OFFERS EVERY THURSDAY<