Although melomakaronas are one of the two most characteristic Christmas sweets in Greece - the other being, of course, kourabiedes - their history is not that well known.
Their etymological origin is traced in the dictionaries to the medieval Greek word "makaronia" (it was a funeral dinner based on pasta, where they blessed the dead). If we go further back, we will find that "macaronia" in turn comes from the ancient Greek word "makaria", which was none other than psychopita, that is, a piece of bread, in the shape of the modern honey macaroni, which was offered after the funerals.
And how did we get from a mournful sweet to melomakarono becoming the protagonist of Christmas sweets?
It all started when at some point the macaria was covered with honey syrup - we don't know exactly when this happened - and so it was named after the honey and the macaria melomakarono and was established as a festive sweet of the 12th day, mainly by the Asia Minor Greeks and under the name "phoinikia". And from then until today they are made only on days of joy. After all, honey and roasted walnuts are ingredients that suit Christmas and the days before the end of the year, since they have been associated with the well-being that we all wish and desire from the new year that we are preparing to welcome.
After all, we should mention at this point that Christmas is something like a continuation of the ancient festival of the sun that was celebrated in Ancient Greece at the end of December. That is to say, quite simply, Christmas somehow replaced the worship of the sun with that of Christ as the God-man. Thus, we could say that melomakaroni are essentially a variation of the sweets that the Ancient Greeks made during the winter solstice, that is, the celebration of the Sun!
And somewhere here, tahini enters our story.
It's amazing how many recipes one can now find for gingerbread with tahini and this is the absolute proof that tahini is a very important ingredient and with many uses in Greek cuisine that tends to infiltrate traditional recipes with the aim of a healthier result and is sometimes used as a material that upgrades others or is the basis for new culinary variations and experiences.
Honey macaroni with tahini... A little different from the usual, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, fragrant, full of energy and flavor, delicious and healthy...
In essence, what tahini offers in honey macaroni recipes is that it completely replaces or greatly reduces the olive oil and sunflower or seed oil that is usually contained in its ingredients, resulting in healthier, lower calorie and nutrient-rich dishes that offer energy Christmas sweets.
The Welder Papagiannis OLYMPOS suggests the following recipe:
Materials:
- 1 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cognac
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. sweet orange zest
- 1/2 tsp. sweet cinnamon
- 1 tsp. sweet baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. sweet baking soda (mixed with orange juice and liquor)
- Cloves (optional)
Syrup:
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups water
- The peel of 1 orange
- Topping
- Walnuts (chopped)
Implementation:
- Beat the sugar with the tahini in the mixer until they turn white.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix very well.
- Add the flour and knead. Be careful not to knead for too long, just enough from the inside out.
- Line a baking tray with non-stick paper.
- Shape the honey macaroons into any shape you want and place them in the pan.
- Stick a clove in the middle of each honey macaroni and create patterns with a fork or the back of a slotted spoon.
- Bake the melomakaroni in the oven, at 160 degrees, for 20-25 minutes.
- As soon as the melomakaroni are golden brown, take them out of the oven.
- Boil the syrup in a saucepan.
- Syrup the honey macaroons while they are hot and let them soak up the syrup.
- Put chopped walnuts on a plate and dip the honey macaroons one by one so that the walnuts stick well.
- After 24 hours the honey macarons have absorbed all the syrup and are honeyed.