04 Sep Nammoora by Matters of the belly
“I grew up and lived my whole life in Cairo, Egypt, until 2 years ago (2013) when my husband and I decided to move to Australia. I have always been fascinated by food, especially that food is such a huge part of our Egyptian culture and the fact that both my parents were phenomenal cooks. I only fully realised the extent of my love for food after I married my husband and got diagnosed with IBD. During my hardest times and deepest struggles, I found that everything related to food; cooking it, writing about it, thinking about it, photographing it and eating it, were the things that brought me the most joy and comfort. After a tough few years, I decided to take the plunge and focus on making food my career.”
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BLOG “MATTERS OF THE BELLY” AND YOUR COOKING STYLE?
“I started my blog, Matters of the Belly, shortly after moving to Sydney and attending a commercial cookery course at Tafe. I have wanted to do so for years, but never had the capacity to do so back home. I created my blog to document my food stories and practice my food photography, as well as to have a place to talk freely about all my food adventures and experiments. I don’t have one specific cooking style, but I believe in having a diverse, varied diet that focuses mostly on nourishing whole foods, but also includes lots of treats and indulgences. Most of my recipes are quite simple, although i do take pleasure in attempting more ambitious cooking projects that take time and require more skills every now and then.”
HOW DO YOU GET INSPIRED?
“I am endlessly inspired by my surroundings! Be it the chefs I love, other amazing bloggers, the food I eat out, looking through cookbooks or simply strolling around a farmers market on the weekend. I am heavily influenced by the food of my childhood and the comforting flavours of the region I grew up in, although I am always curious to try new dishes and flavour combinations. Instagram of course acts as a major source of inspiration as well these days! I just adore the sense of community and support I find through it!”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT IN SYDNEY?
“I love the Apollo in Potts Point. I truly think it is one of my all time favourite places to dine. The quality of food as well as the atmosphere and value for money is just amazing.
I also quite like Home Thai, Gigi’s Newtown (before it went vegan) and a wonderful Persian restaurant in Auburn called Darband.“
YOUR BLOG IN 1 SENTENCE?
“A place where food reigns supreme and is always so much more than just fuel.”
SINCE 2014…
Noha started her blog “Matters of the Belly” in 2014.
|| Noha’s Nammoora recipe on Food is all ||
Discover Noha’s Nammoora recipe on her blog Matters of the Belly
Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Photo credit ©Matters of the belly
Before discovering Noha’s blog, Matters of the Belly, I didn’t know what Egyptian cuisine was. Shame on me! It is just fantastic and so authentic, with many flours and different textures.
So after several visits on Noha’s blog, I reached out to her because I was very excited about one specific recipe I wanted to feature on Food is all. She kindly accepted and we started discussing about her blog.
But as I started interviewing her, she told me “I am sorry, Laura, but I have a problem… you are asking me what is special about this recipe… it is a very good one, but it is not special for me and definitely not my best recipe”
I was so happy !! I was happy because she had understood Food is all’s concept, she had understood that my goal is to find not only the very best recipes, but also recipes that have a story… I would even say recipes that have a soul…
SO NOHA CAME BACK TO ME WITH HER NAMMOORA RECIPE: PHILLO PASTRY WITH SEMOLINA CREAM FILLING.
SHE EXPLAINED TO ME SHE WAS RAISED IN A STRONG COOKING TRADITION AND THIS RECIPE HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION IN HER FAMILY. IT IS ALSO A VERY POPULAR DESSERT IN EGYPT.
I have to admit I had never heard of Nammoora, but now, I can’t wait to taste it!
|| Learn more about Noha & Matters of the belly ||
WHY THIS NAMMOORA (PHILLO PASTRY WITH SEMOLINA CREAM FILLING) RECIPE?
Noha: “I chose this recipe because it is probably my favourite dessert out of all the wonderful sweets my mother used to make for us. The recipe was passed down to her from her own mother, and ever since, it was always the dish i would request every year when the holy islamic month of Ramadan comes. This month is when we fast during the day and then gather to eat a big feast at sunset, and is filled with traditional middle eastern sweets. Namoora was always my mother’s specialty, and so it always reminds me of her and brings back endless fond memories of massive family gatherings and togetherness.”
Photo credit ©Matters of the belly
 |
Nammoora recipe by Noha {Matters of the belly} An Egyptian specialty for dessert with vanilla cream filling and layers of buttery and crispy phyllo pastry.
|
- 500 ml milk 2 cups
- 3 tbsp sugar or 2 tbsp honey
- 90 g fine semolina flour (1/2 cup) also known in Egypt as ‘semeed basbousa’
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract seeds from one vanilla pod
- 250 g Egyptian ‘eshta’ or ricotta cheese
- 250 g sugar 1 cup
- 115 mL water 1/2 cup
- 1 squeeze lemon
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 20 sheets Phyllo pastry fully thawed in the fridge if frozen
- 50-60 g melted butter plus extra for greasing the pan
- 3 tbsp ghee or clarified butter
-
Make the filling: combine the milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and milk begins to heat up. Add the semolina flour, whisking continuously until the mixture boils and thickens, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat, add vanilla and ‘eshta’/ricotta and whisk until thoroughly combined. Set aside to cool completely.
-
Make the syrup: combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir to mix, then put on medium heat and cook, until sugar dissolves (no stirring once the mixture is on the heat). Simmer the mixture for just 10 minutes until slightly syrupy. Add the squeeze of lemon, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into a jar or jug and set aside to cool completely.
-
Make the nammoora: preheat oven to 200 degrees C (375 F). Generously butter a rectangular baking dish. The one I used is 33cm x 23cm (13”x 9”). Place a sheet of phyllo pastry into the pan, trimming any excess off the sides so that it fits snugly. Brush with melted butter, then add another sheet. Continue until you have laid down 12 of the 20 phyllo sheets.
-
Give the completely cooled semolina filling a whisk to loosen slightly, then tip onto the phyllo base in the baking tray. Use a spatula/the back of a spoon/slightly wet fingers to spread the filling out almost to the edges, leaving just 1 or 2 cm around the border.
-
Place the rest of the (8) phyllo sheets on top, brushing with melted butter between each layer and on top of the final layer. Using a very sharp knife, slice the nammoora into diamonds diagonally (you don’t have to slice all the way down, just the top layer is enough). TIP: Place the whole tray in the freezer just for 10 minutes before slicing to make slicing it MUCH easier.
-
In a small saucepan, melt the ghee over medium heat, and continue to heat it until scorching hot, about 3-5 minutes (you will notice it starting to make popping sounds). While it is super hot, pour it all onto the nammoora’s surface, trying to distribute it all over to seal in all the slices’ edges. You will hear it hissing and the top layer might bubble up slightly. FUN!
-
Bake the nammoora in the oven for 35-45 minutes, until golden and crisp and the diamond-shaped slices have become domed.
-
Take it out of the oven, and while it is still very hot, pour on your cooled sugar syrup all over it. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing and eating. Sprinkle with crushed almonds if desired!
.