Pop-up shop in Wexford ‘exceeds expectations' as community come together to support Gaza
"What we saw and felt over the weekend was solidarity and kindness from so many people,' said one of the group members from New Ross for Palestine, Aileen O'Neill.
"We are blown away by the generosity of everyone who came by, bought something or simply donated,' Ms O'Neill continued. 'We can't thank you all enough. It was months in the making and the collective effort from our little group was nothing short of amazing. Every single person involved made it happen and brought their much-needed skills to the table.
'I am so relieved and grateful all our effort was worthwhile. The money raised so far has exceeded our expectations and we will announce the final figure in the coming days as donations are still coming in. For now we can rest, unlike our Palestinian brothers and sisters,' she said. The group also said they are 'so grateful' to Emma Kehoe from The Beauty Pod Salon Supplies for the use of her space for the pop-up shop.
The three beneficiaries marked for the donations are the Tea Collective, Sulala Animal Rescue and Gaza go Bragh, for 'the tireless work they do.'
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Knafeh is traditionally made in a copper tray because it conducts the heat so well, but this will work too. Chop the frozen kataifi pastry into small pieces to make it easier to blend. Add it in batches to a food processor and pulse until it's a fine powder. Put the pastry in a large bowl with most of the melted ghee or butter and the sugar. Use your hands to combine into a dough. Add more ghee or butter if needed to bring it together – it should hold together when you squeeze it. Spread half of the dough over the base of the greased tin, making sure there are no gaps and pressing it down in a firm, even layer. Scatter the cheese over the pastry base, keeping the edges clear. Scatter the rest of the dough on top, pressing it gently to flatten the surface. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the top is golden and crisp. 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Preparation Time 2 hours 0 mins Cooking Time 1 hours 30 mins Total Time 3 hours 30 mins Course Main Ingredients For the sumac water: 100g whole dried sumac berries 720ml cold water For boiling the meat 500g stewing beef or lamb, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 onion, quartered 2 bay leaves sea salt and freshly ground black pepper For the stew: 120ml olive oil, plus extra to serve 3 medium onions, finely diced 500g Swiss chard, finely chopped 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 tsp mixed spice 60g plain flour 120ml tahini For the daqqa (spice mix): 4 garlic cloves 1 tsp chilli flakes 1 tsp dried dill 1 tsp salt To serve warm pitta Method Put the sumac berries in a bowl, cover with the cold water and soak for 2 hours. Put the meat, onion and bay leaves in a large pot and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and skim off any foam that appears on the surface. Add a little salt and pepper and simmer for 40 minutes, until the meat is cooked. Strain the broth into a bowl, then set the meat aside and keep the broth. Pour the sumac berries and their soaking water into a separate saucepan and bring to a boil, then cook for 15 minutes. Strain the berries through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the berries and keep the sumac-infused water. For the stew, heat the olive oil in a large pot on a medium heat. Add the diced onions and cook for 10 minutes, until completely soft. To make the daqqa (spice mix) while the onions are cooking, crush the garlic, chilli flakes, dill and salt together until smooth. Stir the daqqa into the onions and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the Swiss chard and stir until wilted, then add the boiled meat, chickpeas and mixed spice. Pour over the strained sumac water, making sure all the ingredients are fully covered. Stir well and simmer on a medium heat for 10 minutes. Gradually add the flour while stirring continuously until the mixture thickens, then stir in the tahini. 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Preparation Time 35 mins Cooking Time 35 mins Total Time 1 hours 10 mins Course Dessert Ingredients tahini or butter, for greasing the tin 200g caster sugar 240ml sunflower oil 240ml natural yogurt or sour cream 3 large eggs 1 tsp rosewater, orange blossom water or vanilla extract 360g medium semolina 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda a small pinch of salt 270g desiccated coconut For the syrup: 300g caster sugar 240ml water 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tsp rosewater or orange blossom water (optional) To decorate: 15 blanched almonds or desiccated coconut, dried rose petals flaked almonds and finely chopped pistachios Method Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Brush the base and sides of a 23cm x 33cm baking tin with tahini (or grease with butter if you don't have tahini). Put the sugar, oil, yogurt and eggs in a large bowl with the orange blossom water, rosewater or vanilla and whisk to combine. Add the semolina, baking powder, baking soda and a small pinch of salt and whisk again. Finally, add the coconut. I like to use my hands to mix in the coconut to make sure it's really well combined. Transfer to the prepared tin, then tap the tin on the counter a few times to make sure the batter is evenly distributed. Let it sit for 15 minutes to allow the semolina to absorb the moisture, which will help to firm up the cake. Using the tip of a sharp knife, score the top of the batter into 15 diamond or square shapes. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until the cake has risen and turned golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Meanwhile, to make the syrup, put the sugar and water in a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil and add the lemon juice. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and add the rosewater or orange blossom water (if using). Set aside and keep warm – you don't want it to thicken as it cools. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, cut it all the way through along the score lines, then pour the syrup all over the top. Let it sit for 30 minutes to soak up the syrup. It's traditional to put a whole almond in the middle of each portion of cake, but in the café, we omit this and instead decorate each slice with desiccated coconut, dried rose petals, flaked almonds and finely chopped pistachios.
