Dune: Mish-Mish Apricot Bars
Dune recipe #5
In searching for any further mention of food throughout the book, I came across a word I actually recognize! Mish-mish is Arabic for apricot, and what my husband sometimes calls them. He is Western Armenian and from Beirut, Lebanon, so even though his primary language is Armenian, some of his slang/dialect is actually Arabic.
It is also a term used in some Turkish dialects to mean apricot as well, so it seems like it is widely used across the Middle East. I can only assume that Arrakis/Dune’s dry desert atmosphere put Herbert in mind of our own Earth’s Middle East, so he took a few words here and there.
There is a glossary at the very end of the book that explains that mish-mish does in fact mean apricots.
“My family sat in their pool courtyard,” Harah said, “in air bathed by moisture that arose from the spray of a fountain. There was a tree of portyguls, round and deep in color, near at hand.
There was a basket with mish-mish and baklawa and mugs of liban — all manner of good things to eat. In our gardens and in our flocks, there was peace… peace in all the land” — Dune, Book Three: The Prophet
Ingredients:
3 cups dried apricots, finely diced (I used a food processor)
1 cup sugar
1.5 cups water
2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut (I used 1 cup grated and 1 cup shredded)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup vegan butter, cut in small 1/2 inch pieces (I used Miyokos)
Instructions:
Add water, sugar, and apricots to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook until you reach a soft, jam-like consistency. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, shredded coconut, and salt.
Gradually, mix in vegan butter pieces until incorporated but lumpy and crumbly.
Grease a large rectangular baking pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Using your hands, press half of the crumbly flour/butter/coconut mixture into the bottom of the pan.
Carefully spread the apricot mixture over the crumbly layer.
Pour the remaining crumbly flour/butter/coconut mixture over top of the apricot layer and press down gently with your hands.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is nicely browned. Let cool and congeal before cutting (after cooling, you can sprinkle powdered sugar on top if you like).
Enjoy!
