Lebanese Bohsalino – بحصلينو

Citizens – prepare yourselves for an amazing culinary experience with this unmatched and rare Lebanese dessert!

Its origins are slightly mysterious, and the name seems to be an Arabic play on the Italian hat brand “Boraslino” (TFD – Borsalino happens to make the world’s finest felt fedoras, a dark grey one of which your glorious leader is proud to note is his and his alone atop his glorious dome!)

Made from pistachios, semolina, sweetened cheese and an array of spices, scented waters and rose essence/jam, this is truly a recipe worthy of the divine! It was incredibly difficult to track down a recipe for this treat, but I finally found one at brownieboxblog.wordpress.com that I am delighted to share with you now!

Prepare to accept tremendous acclaim from your very lucky diners who are blessed to partake of this magnificent dessert with you, Citizens! 😀

Battle on – The Generalissimo

Lebanese Bohsalino – بحصلينو

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4.3 from 3 reviews

• Total Time: 0 hours

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• Sugar Syrup:
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup rose water
• 1/4 cup orange blossom water
• Semolina Paste:
• 1 cup semolina
• 113 grams (1 stick) cold butter
• Pistachio Semolina Paste:
• Semolina Paste (above)
• 500 grams unsalted pistachios (shells removed)
• Kashta Cheese Mixture:
• 4 medium drops of mastic
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 500 grams kashta (or ricotta cheese)
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream (or 5 tablespoons if you using ricotta cheese)
• 1 tablespoon rose water
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
• Rose petal jam or pomegranate seeds (for decoration - optional)

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Instructions

1. Grind mastic drops and sugar in a mortar and pestle until it turns into powder.
2. Sift the mixture to get rid of clumps.
3. Mix the kashta cheese with the mastic powder, heavy cream, rose water, and orange blossom water.
4. Reserve ¼ cup on the side for decoration.
5. Place the water, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and stir in the rose water and orange blossom water.
6. Combine semolina and butter in a small saucepan, and place on low heat. Keep stirring until the butter melts and the semolina becomes a bit lighter in color. (about 5 minutes). Pour the mixture over the sugar syrup and mix with wooden spoon. Place it aside (or in the fridge) to cool.
7. Place pistachios in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process the pistachios until they are finely ground. Transfer to a big bowl and reserve ¼ cup on the side for decoration.
8. Add the semolina paste to the big bowl and mix to form a firm and smooth paste. (If the mixture is too liquid, add semolina to harden it)
9. Divide the pistachio semolina paste in 2 halves.
10. Cut out two sheets of wax paper, large enough to cover a 32 cm (12.5 inch) serving plate.
11. Sandwich one half of the paste between both sheets of wax paper.
12. Press the paste down with a rolling pin and move it from the center out. Roll into a 32 cm (12.5 inch) circle and then transfer to round serving plate.
13. Trim the edge of the paste to form a circle.
14. Spread the cheese mixture over the first layer of pistachio paste.
15. Roll out the second half – following the same instructions as above – and place on top of the kashta cheese mixture to close it off. Trim the edges.
16. Add the reserved ground pistachio on top and spread out to cover the whole surface.
17. Add the reserved kashta cheese in the center and on the sides using a small spoon.
18. Decorate with rose petal jam or pomegranate seeds (optional).

• Prep Time: 0 hours
• Cook Time: 0 hours

Nutrition

• Calories: 1606.26 kcal
• Sugar: 86.17 g
• Sodium: 118.67 mg
• Fat: 100.48 g
• Saturated Fat: 34.48 g
• Trans Fat: 0.93 g
• Carbohydrates: 145.05 g
• Fiber: 14.51 g
• Protein: 45.18 g
• Cholesterol: 139.9 mg