Pastelia

Pasteli (or pastelia) is a Greek ancestral food. We have been eating this since antiquity. It is made with two rather supercharged superfood ingredients, honey & sesame seeds.

I love to add a little grated citrus peel & a pinch of salt to enhance the flavors.

We refer to it as an Ancient Greek energy bar.
It is very simple to make. It is naturally gluten free & paleo friendly! I used a local raw honey in mine. Whether you use Greek honey or a local honey, be sure that it’s great quality, raw and runny.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sesame seeds

1 cup good quality raw honey

Optional zest of 1 lemon (or orange)

a pinch of salt

Directions:

In a dry pan on medium heat, toast your sesame seeds for around 5 minutes until golden brown. They will actually be multi-colored.
Place those into a bowl & set aside.

In the same pan pour the honey and bring it to a boil keeping the heat on medium. Lower the flame to low & cook it for 4-5 minutes. Add in the zest & the salt.

Pour in the toasted sesame seeds. Stir continuously until you see the mixture pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Pour into a parchment lined mold. I used an 8 inch pan. Allow it to cool for around 20 minutes. Then cut it up into bite size pieces, and let it cool down completely before storing.

Note, to make a crunchier pasteli, I used 1 1/2 cups of sesame seeds to 1 cup of honey. If you want it chewier, then use 1 cup of sesame instead, and it will have a sort of taffy like consistency.

When it’s completely cooled to room temperature, it will crunch when you bite into it, and then becomes chewy in your mouth, as the honey softens.

Also, if you mold it in a 9 inch pan, you will get thinner crisps of pasteli. Mold it to your preference!

Kali Oreksi!