Buckwheat Karabij for a sweet journey into the world of oriental flavors

For her first dish in the MasterChef kitchen, she decided to present flavors that are particularly close to her. "I know Lebanese cuisine better than Arabic, which is very broad, with a lot of lemon and pomegranate. They use familiar ingredients in a different way," she explained. She prepared an Arabic dessert called karabiž with pistachio, meringue and candied orange peel for the judges.

Karim Merdjadi said during the tasting that the dish took him to the places of Ajda's husband. "I like the taste, because usually oriental desserts are very sweet, but this one is extremely well balanced. Richly filled and the pistachio really plays its role inside and we see a nice dough that is light. Maybe a minute or so is still missing, because then you would feel the caramelization. But I have to admit that I really like your dessert and it has the potential to be improved."

The combination of flavors particularly impressed Mojmir Šiftar. "I was most impressed by the combination of orange blossom and rose water. All this in one dessert. You would think it was too much, but it was really good." Ajda's debut also impressed Luka, who recognized an opportunity to discover new flavors in her cuisine. "I'm very happy that you applied for this year's season and that you entered with such a dessert that we can open up a new world without going anywhere."

With her dessert, Ajda ultimately beat Klemen and secured a place on the balcony. After the announcement, she did not hide her relief, as during the preparation she was not entirely sure whether she would be able to realize her idea. "During the cooking itself, I had a few doubts about whether it would work or not, I'm glad I pulled it off," Ajda admitted after the victory.

For anyone who would like to discover the flavors with which Ajda began her journey on MasterChef Slovenia, don't miss the recipe below.

Ingredients

For the dough

- 125 g semolina - 10 g flour - 37 g ghee - 37 g butter - 25 g water - 25 g sugar - 1 tablespoon orange blossom water

It is essential to check the intensity of the flavor of orange blossom water, as products with artificial flavors in particular have a very strong flavor. It is recommended to use 100% orange blossom distillate.

For the filler

- 150 g ground pistachios (pieces about 2–3 mm in size) - 30 g sugar - 1 tablespoon rose water - water by the spoonfuls and as needed

The same applies to the dosage of rose water as with orange blossom water. Always taste it and add according to your taste. Add water by teaspoons, just enough to bring the mixture together slightly and stop it from being runny.

For meringue

- organic orange peel (only the orange part, remove the white part) - 80 g sugar - 25 g water - egg white

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 170 C. Melt the butter and ghee over low heat. Make sure they only melt and do not boil. Mix all the ingredients for the dough in a bowl, add the melted butter and mix until smooth. You can use your hands or a mixer. Flatten the dough and wrap it in plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Mix all the ingredients for the filling. Cut the orange peel into small cubes of approximately 2.5 x 2.5 mm. Choose any molds you like. You can use a mini muffin tin, smaller metal cookie rings or serving rings. The size of the molds will affect the number of servings. Press the dough onto the bottom and sides of the mold. Spread it as thinly and evenly as possible to leave enough space for the filling. Fill the mold lined with dough to the top with the pistachio filling. Form a thin disk of dough and place it on top of the mold to completely enclose the filling. Align the dough with the top of the pan. Bake for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the ring or pan and bake for another 5–10 minutes, or until the dough is very lightly browned. The dough will be lighter than regular cookie dough due to the semolina content and small amounts of butter and sugar. While baking, heat the sugar, water and orange peel cubes in a saucepan. Heat the syrup to 110 C. When it reaches this temperature, start beating the egg whites. When the syrup reaches 118 C, pour it very slowly into the egg whites and continue mixing for the next 10 minutes, or until the meringue is firm enough to pipe. Cool the baked pastry slightly and pipe the orange peel meringue on top. If desired, you can caramelize the meringue with a burner and sprinkle with pistachio pieces and rose petals.

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