Serves 2

2-4 fresh green chilies, minced

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dried mint, crumbled, or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4-5 tablespoons fruity extra-virgin olive oil

Salt, to taste

1 whole sea bream, branzino, porgy, or gray mullet (about 1 1/2  pounds), or any other head-on fish suitable for grilling

A few grindings of black pepper

1/2 cup finely diced peeled and seeded fresh tomato, drained

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

In a bowl add the chilies, garlic, mint, lemon juice, and olive oil.  Sprinkle with a little salt and mix thoroughly, then taste and adjust the seasonings.  It should be spicy.  Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Broil the fish on both sides, or grill over a charcoal fire, turning once, until firm, almost done, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and cover with aluminum foil. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Mix the sauce with the chopped tomato.

Serve the fish with the sauce on the side, or cut the fish open, remove the central bone and transfer the fillets to a heatproof platter.  Pour half the sauce over the fish, sprinkle with some pepper, and place under a very hot broiler for a few seconds before serving. 

Pass the rest of the sauce separately.

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Serves 6-8

8-10 medium-small calamari (1 ½ -2 pounds), cleaned, bone discarded, heads separated

Marinade

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Good pinch Aleppo or Maras pepper, or Pepper Flakes to taste

Stuffing

3 tablespoons dried whole-wheat breadcrumbs or ground barley paximadia 

1/4 cup raw almonds (not peeled)

½ cup pitted firm green olives

Zest of 1 non treated lemon

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

1 ½ – 3 teaspoons Aleppo or Maras pepper, or pepper flakes to taste

Salt

Wash calamari in and out and pat dry with paper towels. With scissors or a very sharp knife cut a ¼-ich slit on one side, near the pointed end of each calamari tube.

In a bowl mix the olive oil, lemon and chili to make the marinade. Toss the calamari (body and heads) in the marinade, rubbing with your finger and making sure that they are moist inside and out. Set aside for about 20 minutes.

In a blender pulse together the breadcrumbs, almonds, olives, zest, thyme and chili. Add salt sparingly, olives are usually quite salty.

Light the barbeque or heat the griddle.

Stuff each calamari tube with about 2 teaspoons stuffing and secure the top with a toothpick.

Place the stuffed calamari, cut side up, together with the heads on a well-oiled rack,  close to the burning coals, or on an a very hot griddle.

 As the calamari tubes puff up, press carefully with tongs to extract the air. Grill until firm and marked, turning once or carefully rolling, to cook and mark on all sides, brushing every now and then with the marinade, about 8 minutes total.

Slice and serve.

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The sweet beet greens are especially delicious flavored with the tart, avgolemono sauce.

Serves 6

6  whole chicken legs, separated, or a whole cut-up chicken –preferably free range

Salt and coarsely ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, preferably freshly ground or crushed in a mortar

2  tablespoons ground coriander seeds

1  large onion, coarsely chopped

About 2 cups Chicken Stock or more, as needed

2 1/2  pounds beet greens with stems; separate the stems and cut into 2-3 inch pieces (see NOTE)

1-2  fresh oregano or thyme sprigs (optional) 

AVGOLEMONO SAUCE

About 1 1/2 cups cooking broth from the chicken and beet greens 

2/3 cup white wine

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more, to taste

1  tablespoon cornstarch

Freshly ground black pepper and Aleppo pepper, to taste 

Chopped fennel fronds or dill 

Prepare the chicken: Season the meat on both sides generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with fennel seeds and coriander all over the chicken pieces.

In the deep skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the chicken pieces on both sides until nicely browned. With a slotted spoon remove the chicken pieces to a platter and keep warm.

Add the onion to the skillet and briefly fry, then pour over the wine and broth and scrape up any caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan.

Arrange the chicken pieces in the pan  and bring to a boil. Half-cover the skillet, turn the heat to medium and cook for about 35 minutes, until the chicken is almost cooked, adding more broth or water, as needed. It should be quite brothy. 

Add the beet stems to the chicken and cook for about 8 minutes, or until tender, then add the beet leaves, toss, and cook for another 4-5 minutes until done to your taste. 

Make the Avgolemono Sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the wine. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with the remaining wine, then whisk into the egg mixture.

Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1  1/2 cups of the hot cooking broth, 1/2 cup at a time, into the egg mixture. 

Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and simmer, stirring very gently, until the sauce thickens.

Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding pepper and more lemon juice if you like.

Serve hot, sprinkling with dill.

NOTE: 

Instead of beet greens and stems you can use chard, large, not baby, spinach, or a combination of various greens, as in Yahnera.

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Lemon zest and plenty of coarsely ground pepper give the dish a lovely kick, while crumbled feta adds a very welcomed tanginess.

This is the more conventional and elegant way to make the dish, besides the One-pot version with Fava, Asparagus, and Spinach that I posted last year.

Serves 3-4

About 1/3 cup (70ml) fruity olive oil, more for drizzling

3 spring onions (scallions) –white, plus most of the green part, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

About 1 ½  pounds fresh fava pods, cut into 2 cm (1-inch) pieces; shack  the larger pods, keeping only the very fresh fava pods whole

2 tablespoons ground coriander seeds

1 cup white wine

Salt, to taste

2 ounces (360 grams) linguine or spaghettini

A good bunch flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped –leaves and tender stems

3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or more, to taste

Zest of  ½- 1 lemon

½-1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or more, to taste 

Crumbled feta cheese, for serving (optional)

In a deep skillet or sauté pan warm the olive oil over medium-high heat and briefly sauté the scallions and garlic. Add the fava, toss and sauté for 5-8 minutes, stir in the coriander and gradually add the wine and a little water, just half a cup or so, until the fava is almost cooked. If it is tender, like ours it does not take long.

Until this point you may prepare the pasta ‘sauce’ a few hours in advance.

About 20 mnutes from the time you plan to serve, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta at least 2 minutes less than the recommended ‘al dente’ time.

Keep the skillet with the fava over low heat, and ass soon as the pasta is ready, transfer with tongs to the fava, or drain it, reserving 2 cups of the cooking water before dropping it to the fava, adding the parsley, lemon juice and 1 cup pasta water. Toss over medium heat, adding salt and pepper, along with half the lemon zest. Taste and if you think it needs to cook more, add more pasta water.

Correct the seasoning, drizzle with fruity olive oil and serve at once, sprinkling with the rest of the lemon zest, and crumbled feta, if you like.

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In Israel you will most often find the vivid pink ‘borani’, made with beets and beet greens instead of spinach (see variation). 

As an alternative to the traditional pita bread, I prefer to spread it on toasted whole wheat or multi-grain bread, rubbed with a clove of garlic.

It can also be a side dish, accompanying poached or grilled fish or chicken.

Makes about 3 cups.

1 1/2 pounds spinach leaves, washed and coarsely chopped

1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

½ cup cilantro chopped

3 cups thick yogurt

2-3 garlic cloves, minced, to taste

1-3 jalapeňos, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Borage flowers, and mint (optional) 

Place the spinach in a saucepan over high heat, cover, and let it wilt without adding more water than what clings on the leaves. It needs only 2 to 3 minutes. Toss once or twice while cooking, and be careful not to let it burn. Remove the spinach from the heat, place in a colander, and let cool and drain. Press with your hands to remove as much liquid as possible. Chop finely.

In a bowl, combine the spinach with the parsley, cilantro, yogurt, garlic, and chilies, stirring well. Add a little salt and taste. Adjust seasoning with more salt and a little black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Spread on toasts, sprinkle with walnuts and serve as an appetizer, or transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with walnuts, or decorate with borage flowers and mint.

VARIATION:

Pink Borani with Beets

Dice 4-5 large cooked and peeled beets (together with their cooked stems and greens, if you like) and mix with the garlic, yogurt and jalapenos (as above).

Omit the parsley and cilantro, and flavor with ½ cup chopped dill, some chopped fresh mint, and the zest of ½ lemon. Sprinkle with sumac, if you like. 

I add 2-3 tablespoon lemon juice, as beets are quite sweet for my taste, but you may not agree with me…

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I never heard of this dessert and was baffled by its name. Looking it up I found lots of recipes online. I chose the one from King Arthur Mill, since I love their products, and know that their recipes work, as I have occasionally used them as starting point for my baking. 

I substituted olive oil for the shortening and butter in the recipe, as I always do, and added some carob flour to the crust, because I wanted to make it dark, thinking that the lemon cream would be light-colored, so the contrast would be nice. Of course the filling darkened considerably by the time it set, as the sugar-lemon-egg cream develops a deep dark caramel color…

In the notes, I read that the word “chess” in the recipe’s title “…some food historians say it’s a takeoff on “cheese,” as in English cheese pies, similar to American cheesecake — the filling is of a consistency similar to chess pie. Others say ‘chess’ refers to the chest in which pies used to be kept; due to the high degree of sugar, chess pies didn’t need to be refrigerated (though in these days of heightened awareness of food safety, we do recommend refrigeration). One final theory holds that chess refers to the simplicity of the pie itself. “What kind of pie is that?” “Jes’ pie.” Chess pie.”

For a 9″ pie  (8 to 12 servings)

CRUST

1 1/2 cups (180g) all-purpose flour

2  Tablespoons carob flour  (optional)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup light olive oil

3-4 Tablespoons full-fat natural yogurt

FILLING

1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

1 2/3 cups (330g) granulated sugar

6 tablespoons (85g) light olive oil

3/4 cup (170g) lemon juice, from about 3 lemons

To make the crust: Whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Work in the olive oil and add it to the flour mixture, working it in until it’s unevenly crumbly. Add enough yogurt and work briefly to make the dough come together.

Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer; this resting period allows the flour to absorb the water and the gluten to relax, making the dough easier to roll out.

Flour your work surface and roll the dough into a 12″ x 9″ (approximately) rectangle. If it isn’t holding together well, sprinkle it lightly with a couple of teaspoons of water. Fold the dough into thirds (like a letter), then fold it into thirds the opposite way, to form a rough square. Wrap it well and refrigerate again.

When you’re “ready to roll,” remove the dough from the fridge and let rest for 10 minutes, then roll to a 12″ or 13″ circle, and settle it gently into a 9″ pie pan; the pan shouldn’t be at least 1 1/2″ deep. Flute or crimp the edge of the crust as desired.

Place the crust in the refrigerator (no need to cover it) while you make the filling.

Make the filling: In a bowl mix the cornmeal, cornstarch, and salt.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk beater, or with hand-held mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar until white and creamy, about 5-7 min. add the olive oil and whisk to mix. Stir in the lemon juice stirring to mix. Pour the filling into the chilled pie shell.

Bake the pie at the bottom shelf of a preheated 375°F (200 C) oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the center is set. The top will be dark golden brown.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool before cutting and serving.

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Thinly slicing the raw fruit helps make the marmalade faster, and even more wonderfully fragrant. I start with this new version and then you will find the more traditional way. In both recipes I opt for less sugar as I love the tartness of citrus marmalade. If you prefer it sweeter you can increase the amount of sugar. 

You can make the same marmalade using Mayo lemons, varying the amount of sugar you add, and also maybe cooking less time the lemon slices, as they are definitely more tender that the Seville oranges. 

I often add some julienned tangerine, orange, and/or kumquat peels together with the sliced lemon or Seville orange to make a mixed citrus marmalade.

Makes about a dozen  8-ounce jars

4 pounds small Seville oranges (about 25), washed 

2 cups water

3-4 pounds sugar, or more to taste

Lay a wet, double cheesecloth in a bowl.

Using a very sharp, or a good serrated knife cut off and discard the ends of the fruit, then halve each Seville orange and remove the core, making sure you carefully take out all the pips.

Drop the pips and core into the cheesecloth.

Carefully slice each fruit VERY thinly, and drop the slices in a large, heavy-bottomed stainless steel pot. This is the most important part of the job, and it will take some time…I spent about 1h 15 minutes slicing my small Seville oranges.

Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the peels are very soft. Add 3 pounds sugar and the cheesecloth with the pips etc. to the pot and cook stirring every now and then until the sugar dissolves. Cook for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover and let the marmalade cook overnight.   

The next morning the marmalade will look jelly. Bring slowly to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, pressing and turning the cheesecloth to get the pectin out. Taste and add more sugar, one cup at the time, stirring to dissolve it, and tasting to see if you need more.

When it begins to look syrupy, place a teaspoonful on a cold plate. Let cool, and push with your finger. If it wrinkles, the marmalade is done. (see the photos below).

Pour into hot, sterilized jars, cover and let cool and seal as described below, in the traditional English recipe.

The traditional ENGLISH-inspired Marmalade

Makes about SEVEN 8-ounce jars

10-12 organic Lemons OR 4-5 lemons and 5-6 Seville Oranges

1 1/2 – 2 kg (3-4 pounds) sugar (to taste)

1.5 liters (quarts) water

Simmer whole fruits in water until soft. Place a plate over the fruits to keep them immersed, and pierce them after about 15 minutes, to encourage cooking.

Transfer the fruit to a colander over a bowl, and leave to cool a bit.

Dissolve the sugar in the cooking water.

Halve the soft fruit, scrape out the seeds and pulp and place in cheesecloth or jelly bag. Tie with cotton string and hang over the side of the pan.

Slice or chop the lemon (and Seville orange) peel thinly. Stir the peel into the liquid.

Bring to simmer, stirring to ensure that the sugar is dissolved, then boil hard, stirring occasionally, until setting point is reached. It may take from 5 -20 minutes, more likely around 15.

When it begins to look syrupy, place a teaspoonful on a cold plate. Let cool, and push with your finger. If it wrinkles, the marmalade is done. Pour into hot, sterilized jars, cover and cool.

Although the marmalade looks runny as you fill the jars, it solidifies when cold.

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I liked the idea of adding warm spices, but increased the number of other fruits –oranges, apples, and particularly lemons—which beautifully complement the carrots’ one-dimensional sweetness. Also, I didn’t over-process the fruit to get a very smooth jam, as the recipe suggests.

My carrot jam is somewhat tart, much closer to my most favorite citrus-fruit marmalades. But you can add more honey or sugar to make it sweeter, as most people probably would prefer it…

Serve with creamy, thick yogurt, with fresh cheese –like myzithra or ricotta– or with the very creamy manouri cheese. I also like to spread it on slices of my Orange, Lemon or Tangerine Olive-oil Cake. 

At Molly’s Rise and Shine in New Orleans their very smooth carrot jam is served with granola and yogurt, topped with orange segments and blackberries.

PHOTO from the restaurant’s FaceBook page.

Makes about 2.2 quarts (liters)

2 pounds carrots (1 kilo) cut into 2.5-inch pieces, then each piece halved lengthwise; depending on the carrot’s thickness, each carrot half cut lengthwise into 2-3 sticks

2 medium-size Granny Smith apples (about 2/3 pound, 350 grams), cored, and cut into long chunks

3 oranges halved, pitted, and cut into thin slices

4 lemons halved, pitted, and  cut into thin slices

2 cups orange juice

1 cup water or more, as needed

1 cup granulated sugar, or more as needed (to taste) 

Pinch of salt

SPICES –tied in a piece of cheesecloth

5 cardamom pods, lightly smashed

4 whole star anise

2 cinnamon sticks

½ cup honey or more, as needed

1/4 cup lemon juice

Full fat, thick yogurt, myzithra (ricotta-like cheese), or creamy manouri for serving (optional)

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan place the carrots, apples, oranges, lemons and add the sugar, the orange juice, and the water, as well as the spices in the cheesecloth, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring occasionally.

Cover with a piece of parchment paper and a lid, lower the heat to medium-low and cook; cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are crisp-tender, about 40 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are very tender, and the liquid has reduced to a thin, syrupy consistency, 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and transfer the carrot mixture to a food processor or blender. Mash to get a somewhat coarse mixture. Alternatively, you can mash the carrot and fruit in the pot with a stick blender.

 Transfer the mashed carrots etc. back to the pot, add the honey and lemon, and cook another 10 minutes, stirring often. Taste and add more honey or sugar if you want –I prefer this jam on the sour side, as all my marmalades.  

Discard the spices and transfer the jam to clean, warm jars. Fill almost to the top, close the lids, and let the jars cool and seal. Keep in a cool place or in the refrigerator. As this jam has little sugar it may spoil sooner than most other fruit preserves and jams.  

If you like, spoon yogurt into bowls, and top with dollops of spicy carrot jam.

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As I was writing this, I remembered another carrot salad, that one a classic from North Africa: The Tunisian Carrot Salad is also laced with lots of lemon juice, and unexpectedly scented with caraway seeds. Dietician will tell you that lemon makes you absorb all the wonderful nutrients of carrots; but this is an added bonus to the really brilliant combination of sweet and sour, that we, in the Mediterranean, adore!

Note the beautiful stoneware ceramic bowl my dear friend Hara Bahariou has created. I am so happy to have many of her exquisite creations in which I serve my dishes; makes such difference at the table!

Serves 4-6

1 ½ pounds carrots (about 6-7) peeled and very thinly sliced, preferably in the mandolin –very carefully!

1 small thick-skinned lemon, most outer peel removed with potato-peeler, then halved, seeded, and thinly sliced

About 4 tablespoons lemon juice, and maybe more for the dressing

½-1 teaspoon salt, to taste

1 teaspoon coarsely ground fennel seeds (in a mortar)

1 medium-small finocchio, outer leaves removed (frozen for soups and broths) thinly sliced

2 cups coarsely shredded iceberg lettuce

2 – 3 cups arugula, preferably baby arugula, coarsely chopped

A handful fresh mint leaves

DRESSING:

The lemon marinade

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard –or more, to taste

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

1-2 teaspoons honey, to taste

1/3 cup very fruity olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a glass or stainless-steel bowl that holds them snugly, toss the carrot and lemon slices with salt, lemon juice, and the fennel seeds. Mix well, preferably with your fingers, then cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 1 hour on the counter; if you have time, it is best to let the carrots marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

When ready to serve the salad, drain the carrots and lemon slices, reserving the juice, and transfer to a nice salad bowl, adding the finocchio, iceberg lettuce, arugula, and mint leaves, coarsely torn –reserve a few for garnish.

In a bowl whip the marinade juices with mustard, molasses, 1 teaspoon honey, some pepper, and the olive oil; taste and add more honey, salt and pepper, as needed.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to mix. Decorate with mint leaves and serve.

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It all started with a reference to an old pie created by cooks who adored lemons but did not have plenty, so they considered them precious…

This fruit/condiment which for us is trivial and almost worthless, was truly precious for the Shakers, the early nineteenth-century religious group living in communities throughout New England. “Shaker lemon pie uses the entire lemon, from yellow peel through white pith […] This means slicing two whole lemons absolutely paper thin and macerating them for hours in sugar. If you can drape them over the knife blade like the watches in Salvador Dali’s surrealistic paintings, you’re on the right track. The resulting pie includes a subtle sharp flavor from the pith, and the texture tends toward the chewy side, but it all works for the aforementioned lemon-lovers like myself,” writes Nancy McDermott in her book Southern Pies.

Away from New England, Shakers also established “…a vibrant fellowship in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. Preserved as a living history museum, today’s Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill illuminates their traditions and creations […] Their restaurants serve this signature confection, Shaker Lemon Pie,” concludes McDermott in her introduction to the brilliant recipe that inspired me.

As soon as I came upon this incredibly simple, yet exquisite lemon cream, I felt compelled to try it. I had lemons, of course, and eggs from our neighbors’ hens. I wanted to make the pie fast, so I didn’t bother making a pie crust; just lined the pan and topped the cream with some leftover shredded phyllo (kunefe or kataifi) pastry that I happen to have in my freezer. Because it was not enough, I halved the recipe and after I baked the pie I didn’t even have the patience to wait for it to cool completely, and took a bite: it was even more delicious than I had imagined! And, strangely enough, the next days its flavor deepened and got even better.

Once I decided to definitely use the shredded phyllo, I followed the Serious Eats’ well described instruction for Kunefe, the traditional Middle Eastern sweet that basically uses it.

Knowing me and my affinity for substituting olive oil for butter –which I usually don’t have in my fridge– you probably have guessed that I rubbed the shredded phyllo well with olive oil before spreading it on the pan and topping the lemon cream. You can certainly choose butter if you like.

We have particularly sweet lemons, but the recipe works well with all kinds and, I assure you, it is foolproof.

Adapted from Nancy McDermott

Makes a 9-inch (23 cm.) pie

2 medium lemons

2 cups sugar

1 pound (500 gram.) frozen shredded phyllo, thawed (see NOTE)

1 cup melted butter, olive oil, or a combination

4 large eggs, or 5 medium

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

Using your sharpest knife (a serrated knife is ideal), trim each lemon to remove the stem end and tip. Half each lemon discard the pips, then slice crosswise as thinly as you can possibly do it, into paper-thin half circles. Scoop up as much of the escaping lemon juices as you work and add them to the bowl of sliced lemons. Chop the thinly sliced lemons coarsely, so that the largest pieces of lemon rind and pith are only 1 inch long, again gathering escaping juices back into the bowl for their flavor.

Add half the sugar to the bowl of lemon pieces and stir to mix them together really well. Cover and set aside at room temperature, for at least 30 minutes, and as long as overnight. Stir occasionally with a big spoon, to mix everything together well.

With a serrated knife, slice the shredded phyllo crosswise into 1/4- to 1/2-inch lengths and transfer to a large bowl. Pour the melted butter or olive oil over the phyllo and, using your hands, toss and mix the phyllo with fat in a gentle rubbing motion to ensure that all the shreds are evenly coated, about 5 minutes.

Heat the oven to 450 F (230 C).

Line a 9-inch pie pan with parchment paper, and spread half the shredded phyllo at the bottom, then pressing a couple handfuls all around to make the sides of the pie.

In a bowl, using a hand-held mixer or a whisk, beat the eggs with the rest of the sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the flour and salt to the bowl, and beat a bit more to fully incorporate, then pour in the softened, sugary lemons. Stir to mix everything evenly and well.

Pour this filling into the shredded phyllo crust and top with the rest of the shredded phyllo.

Place the pie on a baking sheet and on the middle shelf of the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 F (about 200 C) and bake until the filling is bubbling and thickened, and the pastry crust is cooked and handsomely browned, about 35 minutes more or as needed. Lift the parchment paper to make sure the bottom is light golden. If it starts to darken on the top, cover loosely with aluminum foil and continue baking.

Place the pie on a cooling rack or a folded kitchen towel and let cool to room temperature before cutting to serve. The pie is better the next day, and keeps for up to 5 days, if you manage to resist devouring it…

NOTE:  If you like you can half the shredded phyllo or omit completely, and use cookie or cake crumbs and some coarsely ground almonds, if you like, much like you do for cheesecakes.

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