Pasteli – sesame seed & nut energy bars

Your very own Greek energy bar!

These days everyone is extremely focused on health and fitness and what the next new diet fad is. I am a huge advocate of healthy eating and I believe that a healthy lifestyle leads to a happy lifestyle. I am also a great believer that a simple fresh diet similar to what our ancestors used to eat is a good guide to follow. Processed food didn’t exist back then and people didn’t use food colourings. It was just pure, simple home cooked dishes with fresh ingredients. You knew exactly what was entering your body!

I want to share with you all one of my favourite ancient Greek recipes that is a great alternative to sweets and chocolate bars. All the ingredients that go in to these sesame seed and nut bars are 100% natural and good for you.

Pasteli has 3 main natural ingredients: honey, nuts and sesame seeds. The ancient Greeks used to eat Pasteli as a dessert, however they have now become so popular in Greece that they are eaten as a snack at any time of the day. They are full of energy and an excellent snack pre and post exercise.

There are two different types of Pasteli, one that is very hard to bite into and the other that is soft and sticky. You can choose which type you want to make by changing your ratio of honey and sesame seeds. The more sesame seeds, the more solid the bar, the more honey, the softer the bar. 

When I make Pasteli I usually try to go somewhere in the middle so that I firstly don’t lose a tooth when biting into it and secondly don’t have sticky fingers...

My recipe will make 24 small rectangular pieces of Pasteli: 

Ingredients

200 grams sesame seeds (Purchased from Carpo - Greek coffee and chocolate shop in Knightsbridge)

120ml honey (I used fresh Greek honey from Samos Island)

100 grams of chopped nuts (I used almonds for this recipe but pistachios are a great alternative)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. In a frying pan, toast the sesame seeds and the nuts over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Make sure the sesame seeds do not turn brown

2. Put the honey in the saucepan and heat until it starts to boil

3. Immediately lower the heat and after 5 minutes add in the sesame seeds and nuts

4. Stir the mixture so that the honey covers all of the sesame seeds and nuts

5. Line a baking tray with baking paper and pour the mixture from the sauce pan onto the baking tray

 

Shaping the Pasteli

1. Use a spatula to flatten out the mixture to an even level on the baking tray. It doesn't need to cover the whole tray and the mixture should be about half a cm thick

2. Use a large sharp knife to tidy and straighten the edges 

3. Put the baking tray in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool down

4. Remove from the fridge and cut the Pasteli into small bars like in the photo below

5. Wrap each individual bar in cling film so that they don't stick together

I suggest keeping  the Pasteli in the fridge as this will keep each bar fresh and solid.

Kali orexi - enjoy!!