A ritualistic desert that is cooked at Christmas, once the birth of Christ is celebrated, it is a simple desert, round like a cake. The cake loaf is out of two simple ingredients: flour and water, while the filling is out of peeled hemp seeds, it represents the luxury of some Moldavian families’ Christmas celebration. In our time, hemp is rarely used, peeled hemp is replaced with crushed walnuts. The taste differs, but it is much more accepted as peeled hemp seeds are harder to find. In this recipe, I used peeled hemp seeds so it’s more delicious and for some of us it resembles the original childhood taste. The name, “Julfa” is due to the peeled hemp seeds, in our days we can buy them from the herbal specialized stores.
Ingredients:
Method of preparation:
2. Heat a pan or a cast iron skillet and bake the bread paper-thin sheets. Leave to dry over night, they will turn crispy.
3. Make the syrup using water and honey or water and sugar boiled for 10 minutes.
4. Prepare the “Julfa” which is actually the foam of boiled hemp seeds ‘milk’. You can use a hand mixer to blend this liquid to obtain more milk. Chop the hemp seeds using the mixer, then pour hot water with a spoon of sugar into the mixture. Leave on fire for 10 minutes, a milk will result from this mixture. Strain the resulting liquid removing the hemp seeds and add more sugar. Then put on fire and patiently collect the foam which is gradually formed on top of the vessel. Collect as much foam as possible from this mixture.
5. The foam is mixed with the rest of the sugar, obtaining a homogenous mix. Moisten the sheets with the syrup to soften. Then place them on a tray and brush with the foam and sugar, place one on top of the other, like a cake. In modern times, the filling is flavoured with vanilla, lemon zest or rum, however, the original taste is without any of these flavours, an unequalled taste of hemp.
