After making trail mix the other day, I decided to figure out what to do with the mulberries I had left. I ran across a blog called Afghan Cooking Unveiled that had a recipe for Afghan Mulberry and Walnut Power Bars. Very similar to a Lara or Think bar, these raw dried fruit and nut bars sounded right up my alley.
One thing that Katie, the author, noted is that you can also use this as a paste, probably similar to Ficoco chocolate fig paste, that can be eaten with crackers or, with a little juice, to make a tasty dessert syrup.
It turns out that the Persian grocery store near my house sells Golchin brand dried white mulberries in 5 oz packages at nearly $5.00 a pop. So, here’s my version of the recipe, reworked to accommodate my local supply and my preference for small batches (since they’re so easy to make). The trick is to use soft mulberries; some can be quite dry and hard.
If you want to make them in the quantities suggested for the original recipe, just search for dried mulberries online and you’ll find numerous mail-order sources.
Ingredients
- 5 oz. dried mulberries
- 5 oz. raw walnuts
- Dash of sea salt
- 2 tsp water or fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Puree for 1 to 2 minutes until the ingredients form a thick, smooth, sticky paste.
- Line a bread tin with with parchment or wax paper that overlaps the sides of the pan.
- Put the mulberry/walnut mixture into the pan and press it down firmly and evenly.
- Refrigerate for an hour. Lift bars out of bread tin using paper. Cut into 5 bars, using a sharp knife. Eat or store – they should easily last a week or two if refrigerated.