St. Sarkis Day, the Armenian “Valentine’s Day”, is one of
those moveable celebrations. This year it falls on Saturday, January 31st – which happens to be tomorrow! This is a very special day for my husband Doug and me as it will mark the 39th
anniversary of the day that we met!
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| Zee Sahakian’s St. Sarkis Halva |
To celebrate, try making an adapted version of Zarmine (Zee) Sahakian’s recipe for St. Sarkis Halva that I posted few years back. Other recipes associated with St. Sarkis Day are Aghablit – salty wafers, and Kumba Cake.
Easy St. Sarkis Day Halva
Ingredients:
1/2 c. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. orange blossom water, optional
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
7 1/2 oz. jar marshmallow fluff
1 lb. toasted sesame seeds
Unsalted Pistachio nuts, shells removed, of course! (walnuts, pecans or almonds, coarsely chopped, may be substituted)
Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, boil water, sugar, orange blossom water, if using, and lemon
juice until sugar is dissolved. Add marshmallow fluff and mix until smooth.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. Place a large amount of sesame seeds on a large plate.
3. Take one tablespoon of the marshmallow mixture, at a
time, and dip it completely in sesame seeds.
4. NOTE: This part will be a bit messy. Flatten with
fingers shaping it into a long strip, about 3×9 inches. Place some pistachio pieces in
the center lengthwise. Fold from the top to the center to cover the pistachios, then
fold from the bottom – up to create a rectangle 1/3 the
original size of the strip. Cut into 1 ½ to 2-inch pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap
and freeze until ready to serve. Remove from freezer about 5 minutes before
serving.