Name: Sweet Wheat Berry and Nut Pilaf (Kollyva)
Yield: Serves 12 to 20
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1½ cups (150 g) confectioners’ sugar, plus more for serving; ½ to ⅔ cup (50 to 75 g) ground roasted chickpeas or fine dried bread crumbs, lightly toasted in a dry skillet over low heat; 1 cup (160 g) sultanas (golden raisins); ¾ cup (105 g) toasted sesame seeds; 1½ cups (180 g) coarsely chopped walnuts; 1 teaspoon whole cloves; 1½ cups (150 g) coarsely chopped blanched almonds; 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon; 2 cinnamon sticks, each about 2 inches (5 cm) long; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 2½ cups (500 g) wheat berries; 2 bay leaves; Whole blanched almonds and pomegranate seeds, for decorating (optional); 1 cup (140 g) dried black currants; 1 cup (170 g) pomegranate seeds

Preparation info

Serves
12 to 20

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts

By Aglaia Kremezi

Published 2014

About

Some scholars say that kollyva was the Christian, vegetarian version of sacrificial food, a replacement for the pagan custom of slaughtering animals to please the gods. Others will tell you that kollyva is the continuation of polysporia, the mixture of grains symbolically offered by ancient Greeks to some of their gods, especially Demeter, goddess of agriculture.

Up until recently kollyva was strictly prepared at solemn occasions to commemorate the passin