Assidat Zgougou

Method

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1. Wash the zgougou in several changes of cold water, rubbing it between your hands, until the water runs clear. This takes five or six changes.

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2. Blend it with 600 ml of the water on high for 3 minutes.

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3. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing hard, then strain the liquid again through muslin. Discard the solids. Rinse the blender and repeat with the remaining 600 ml water to extract the rest.

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4. Whisk the cornflour, sugar and salt into the strained dark liquid until smooth, then cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 12 minutes until thick and glossy.

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5. Pour into a wide dish and cool, then chill 120 minutes until set.

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6. For the cream, whisk the cornflour into a little of the cold milk, heat the rest with the sugar, add the slurry and cook 5 minutes until thick. Stir in the vanilla and orange blossom water and cool.

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7. Spread the cream over the set base and top thickly with the pistachios, almonds, pine nuts and coconut.

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Chef’s Tips

• Wash the seed until the water runs clear. Grit is the failure mode.
• Strain twice, the second time through muslin.
• The colour is meant to be dark grey-brown.

Pairing Suggestions

• Turkish coffee
• Mint tea
• Fresh dates

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerated for 4 days, covered. Add the nuts only when serving. Do not freeze.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.