Adapted from The Arabesque Table: Contemporary Recipes from the Arab World by Reem KassisYou can customize this halvah with various toppings, swapping out the pistachios with roasted peanuts or cashews, rose petals, sesame seeds, chocolate chips or roasted cocoa nibs, coffee beans, sesame or pumpkin seeds, or whatever and wherever your imagination takes you. Reem offers a few other suggestions in the book, such as adding cocoa powder, cardamom and other flavors to the mix. I've suggested a few very good brands of tahini in the post if looking for recommendations but a trip to a shop that specializes in ingredients for Arabic cooking should yield a few other options. Traditional halvah is made with soapwort, and with laborious stirring, So although the texture of this halvah is a bit softer than store-bought halvah, but it's still sliceable and very enjoyable.