African Loz - Almond and Pistachio Balls

Ingredients:

230gm almond meal

120gm icing sugar

7 tablespoons orange blossom water

30gm shelled pistachio nuts finely chopped

30gm caster sugar

Icing sugar for dusting

Extra pistachio nuts for garnishing

How to make:

1.Combine the ground almonds and icing sugar with enough orange-blossom water to

form a stiff paste.

2.Knead until smooth and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.

3.Combine the finely chopped pistachio nuts and caster sugar, grind in a mortar and  

pestle until fine, and set aside.

4.Roll the paste into balls the size of a walnut, and using a teaspoon handle, make a small hole in each ball and and fill it with the combined pistachio mixture, then close the hole over the filling so it is once again a ball. This takes a bit of technique, as the powdery sugar filling makes it difficult to close over the hole - after a few tries I perfected a method of sort of pinching the seam together and smoothing in over by tapping it repeatedly with my index finger. It worked really well, but sadly I don't have a YouTube channel so I can't really show you how I did it!

5.Roll the balls in icing sugar and place in small paper cups or on a serving plate.

6.Decorate the top of each ball with a pistachio nut and serve.

Makes approx 13.