kosher

Pesach sweets ’n’ side dishes

Cauliflower rice, ready to serve. (photo from cookingclassy.com)

With Passover approaching, the meal planning has begun. Looking into my Passover folder for something new to share, I found a few side dishes – and many desserts. I hope you are able to try some of them out, and that you enjoy the ones you do. Chag Pesach sameach!

CAULIFLOWER RICE
(From foodnetwork.com. Makes 4 servings.)

1 large cauliflower separated into 1-inch florets
3 tbsp olive oil
1 finely diced medium onion
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
juice of half a lemon

Trim cauliflower florets, cutting away as much stem as possible. In three batches, break up florets into a food processor and pulse until mixture resembles couscous.
Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and stir to coat. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until onions are golden brown at the edges and have softened, about eight minutes.
Add cauliflower and stir. Add salt and continue to cook and stir three to five minutes, until cauliflower has softened. Spoon into a large serving bowl. Garnish with parsley, sprinkle with lemon juice, salt to taste. Serve warm.

LEEK PATTIES
(From the Jerusalem Post, April 2015. Makes 12 servings.)

2.2 pounds leeks
1 large, peeled boiling potato
3 large beaten eggs
3 tbsp matzah meal
salt and pepper to taste
oil

Wash leeks carefully, slicing then vertically to remove all the grit. Dice the white base and the palest green part of the leaves.
Place water and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add leeks and cook for five minutes then drain.
Place water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add potato and cook until it is soft. Drain.
Place potato and leeks in a processor and blend. Add eggs, matzah meal, salt and pepper. Remove to a bowl and form into patties.
Pour oil into a frying pan and heat. Spoon patties into the oil and fry until golden brown on each side. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

PASSOVER SQUASH PUDDING
(From Annice Grinberg. Makes 6 servings.)

2 pounds peeled summer squash
2 peeled carrots
1 1/2 cups matzah farfel or broken matzot
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs, separated
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a casserole or baking dish.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Add farfel or broken matzot and brown.
Place squash and carrots in a saucepan with water, cook until soft. Drain and mash. Add farfel or browned matzot, salt and egg yolks.
Beat whites in a bowl until stiff. Fold into vegetable mixture.
Spoon into a greased casserole or baking dish and bake for one hour, until golden.

MOM’S CREAM PUFF BUNS
(Makes 9-12 servings.)

2/3 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1 cup matzah meal

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a cookie sheet with Passover vegetable spray.
Place water, oil, salt and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.
Add matzah meal and one egg at a time. Blend well.
Spoon dough in pieces on a cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.
When cool, cut a little off top of each. Fill with a favourite custard.

ALMOND CAKE WITH CITRUS SYRUP
(From Chef Peter Hoffman, in Food & Wine. Makes 6 servings.)

citrus syrup:
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
finely grated zest of half a large lemon

cake:
1 1/2 tsp oil
1 tbsp matzah meal
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup finely chopped blanched almonds
finely grated zest of half a large lemon
4 eggs, separated
confectioners sugar (optional)

Combine sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest with 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Simmer over moderately low heat for two minutes. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Oil a springform pan bottom and sides, and line bottom with parchment paper. Oil the paper. Evenly coat bottom and sides with matzah meal. Refrigerate the pan.
With a wooden spoon in a large bowl, mix sugar, almonds, lemon zest and egg yolks.
In another bowl, whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir one-quarter into almond mixture. Gently fold in remaining egg whites in three additions.
Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake on lowest shelf of oven for one hour or until cake tester inserted into the centre comes out dry. Cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake, remove pan sides and invert cake onto wire rack. Peel off parchment and let cake cool.
Reheat and strain syrup. Transfer cake to a plate and prick all over with a fork. Pour syrup over cake and let sit at room temperature for at least three hours or overnight. Sift confectioners sugar over cake (optional).

MIRIAM’S PAREVE ICE CREAM

2 10-ounce packages frozen fruit, slightly thawed (strawberries work very well)
4 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1 cup sugar (if using frozen fruit with added sugar, decrease this amount)

In a bowl, beat egg yolks. Add fruit.
In a second bowl, beat egg whites until peaks are formed, gradually adding sugar.
Gently add fruit and yolks to whites. Place in a container and freeze. Stir once or twice to keep fruit from settling to the bottom.

PASSOVER SORBET

4 cups strawberries or other fruit
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg white

Place strawberries or fruit, sugar and lemon juice in a food processor and process until mixed. Place in a container.
Whip egg white in a bowl. Add to fruit. Spoon into a container and freeze.

Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, author, editor/compiler of 10 kosher cookbooks and a food writer living in Jerusalem. She leads English-language Shuk Walks in Machane Yehuda and writes restaurant features for janglo.net.

Catering through pandemic

Ricci Segal, owner of Perfect Bite Catering Co. (photo from Perfect Bite)

The Perfect Bite Catering Co. works out of Vancouver Talmud Torah’s kosher kitchen. In addition to providing hearty lunches for VTT students, staff and parents of children who attend the school, the company caters events in the Jewish community. As well, since 2019, the Perfect Bite has been catering to many in the larger Metro Vancouver community, through its online store.

Perfect Bite owner Ricci Segal has always known that she wanted to be a chef. Born in South Africa, her family moved to Canada when she was 6 years old. Segal remembers, as a kid in South Africa, cooking with her mom, who was “a fantastic cook.”

In high school, Segal’s first restaurant job was at Coco Pazzo, where she assisted the chefs and ran the dishwashing room. She got her first experience in the catering industry when she worked for two years in Arizona for her aunt’s kosher catering company. It is there that she got her first taste of the business.

“I learned so much from working with my aunt,” said Segal. “She has a staff of 30 and she threw me right into the mix.”

She added, noting her gratitude, “By working there, I picked up all I know of catering and it helped me create my business.”

Before starting her own company, Segal attended culinary school at Vancouver Community College. While a student at VCC, she was asked to be a support member of Culinary Team Canada. The team competes on behalf of Canada for all culinary competitions, including the IKA Culinary Olympics, which takes place every four years. According to Segal, “it was an amazing experience.” The team traveled to Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany and Chicago to compete and they won several gold medals. Being on Culinary Team Canada allowed Segal “to learn from the best chefs in Canada.”

“It definitely molded me into the chef I am today,” she said.

Segal did her apprenticeship at three top restaurants in Vancouver: the Pear Tree, the Four Seasons Hotel and Le Crocodile. It was in this period that she really honed her skills. The Four Seasons at that time was the top kosher hotel in Vancouver and Segal was able to be a part of some of the most luxurious kosher events.

In 2010, she parlayed her extensive experience into her own business and established the Perfect Bite Catering Co., while also moonlighting as a chef instructor at VCC.

About her decision to open a kosher catering company, she said, “There was a need for a different style of kosher catering food in Vancouver and it happened naturally from there.”

What makes the Perfect Bite unique, Segal said, is that its staff – who were recruited from her stints teaching at VCC or from working with them at various establishments – “are all French-trained chefs who have worked in the best restaurants.

“That is what we bring to the kosher world in Vancouver,” she said.

She noted that her company specializes in gourmet food, “so most of our clients are foodies.”

photo - Perfect Bite Catering offers a range of kosher meal options — Perfect Bite Catering offers a range of kosher meal options. *(photo from Perfect Bite)*

Segal officially moved into Talmud Torah’s kitchen in September 2019. Prior to that, she had a retail location on Fraser Street and 28th Avenue, which was not kosher, but she would do her kosher catering for Jewish functions out of Congregation Schara Tzedeck’s facilities. When she moved her business to VTT, she made it into a full-service kosher catering company that is supervised under B.C. Kosher.

Like many businesses affected by the pandemic, the Perfect Bite has been forced to adapt to survive. According to Segal, the biggest challenge was the loss of all the events, which made up the majority of the company’s business.

“The silver lining is that it has given us time to create an online store, where we sell fresh and frozen foods to help with everybody’s busy lives,” said Segal. “We have great oven-ready meals and are expanding into some weekly fresh options.”

Some of the items available include power bowl salads, sandwiches, lasagna, butter chicken, sweet-and-sour chicken, caramelized onion brisket and Moroccan chickpea stew, to name a handful. A three-course weekend dinner is also available every other week for pick up on Friday at VTT.

“My long-term goals are to continue servicing the Vancouver kosher market with great healthy ready-to-eat meals, as well as doing full-service catering events like bar and bar mitzvahs and weddings once we are able to do so safely,” said Segal.

To access the Perfect Bite’s online shop, visit theperfectbite.ca.

David J. Litvak is a prairie refugee from the North End of Winnipeg who is a freelance writer, former Voice of Peace and Co-op Radio broadcaster and an “accidental publicist.” His articles have been published in the Forward, Globe and Mail and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. His website is cascadiapublicity.com.

Mandylicious babka baking

Mandy Silverman (photo from mandyliciouschallah.com)

Dozens of eager bakers joined Mandy Silverman, aka Mandylicious, for an evening of “thinking inside the braid,” as she shared various ways of making babkas – as well as her enthusiasm towards them – during a Zoom class hosted by Congregation Schara Tzedeck before Passover.

Silverman, a self-described “carbololgist,” is founder of Mandylicous Challah in Sharon, Mass. She was accompanied in this pre-Pesach virtual baking binge – titled Babkalicious with Mandylicious – by her husband and assistant, Dannylicious. The setting was their East Coast kitchen, where, by the time the first ingredients hit the mixing bowl, it was past 10 p.m., for them.

She demonstrated both traditional and new-wave babkas: the first, a standard babka twist filled with chocolate and, the second, shaped like a flower and filled with cookie dough. The secret for the latter’s filling is brown sugar, Silverman confided.

Throughout the presentation, she provided the audience with numerous pointers regarding the dough. Her recipes called for a more glutenous flour, one that is called bread flour – as opposed to all-purpose flour – which “helps the dough ball up easier.” Early on, she emphasized the importance of using instant yeast, which “means that it can just be added in with the rest of the ingredients in no particular order.” She suggested one should avoid quick-rise or rapid-rise yeasts, except when there is no alternative available.

“You can use it – you just have to proof it first. To proof active dry yeast, use the same amount (one tablespoon) but add it to one-third cup [of] 40ºC water and a pinch of sugar, and mix. When it bubbles, the yeast has been activated and can be added to the rest of the ingredients. Use one-third cup less water in the rest of the recipe,” she said.

photo - A heart-shaped chocolate babka made by Mandy Silverman, aka Mandylicious — A heart-shaped chocolate babka made by Mandy Silverman, aka Mandylicious. *(photo from facebook.com/mandyliciouschallah)*

“Dough consistency is crucial,” she stressed. “Dough that is too wet will be hard to shape and won’t bake properly. Dough that is too dry will not rise well and [will] taste dense and floury. The goal is to create a cohesive ball of dough that is not floury to the touch. Dough consistency can vary from kitchen to kitchen based on weather, humidity levels and type of flour used. You can get your dough to the proper consistency simply by adding flour or water, one or two tablespoons at a time, as the dough comes together, before the first rise – dough consistency will not improve as the dough rises.

“If you are finding that you are having to add a lot of flour, try using one-third cup less water at first and adding more as necessary,” she added. “After the first rise, dough can be refrigerated for up to five days or frozen for up to a month.”

Completely self-taught, Silverman became curious about baking after a family friend in her hometown of St. Louis would not divulge the recipe of a challah filled with honey. Before then, she confessed, she had never made anything with yeast, but decided to face the challenge.

Silverman started Mandylicious in 2013. During American Thanksgiving that November, which coincided with Chanukah, she posted an image of a turkey-shaped challah with a pumpkin-flavoured stuffing on Facebook. The image was so widely shared that people drove from as far away as New Hampshire and Maryland to purchase her challah. Since then, she has created more than 300 challah and babka recipes and has developed a worldwide following, including more than 33,000 Instagram followers.

Her fearlessness with challah and babka indicates that nearly all things can go well with the right dough. Among her culinary inventions, which she has described as “a diving board into carbs,” are Buffalo chicken challah, salami challah, pistachio pesto-stuffed challah and a red-velvet Christmas challah. Recent variations posted on her Instagram page have included challah French toast with a caramel core, rainbow-coloured challah (with rainbow sprinkles) and a strawberry and vanilla babka with a Fruity Pebbles crust.

Besides selling challah and babka and teaching classes, Silverman loves sharing recipes and tips, and supporting others who want to make their own challah. In the Boston area, Mandylicious offers a rotating assortment of gourmet challot. She uses 100% kosher and dairy-free ingredients and keeps a kosher kitchen.

For the recipes covered during the March 18 lesson, go to images.shulcloud.com/197/uploads/MandyliciousBabkaClass-Vancouver.pdf. Silverman is open to questions and can be direct messaged @mandyliciouschallah on Instagram.

Silverman’s class was part of the eight-part Schara Tzedeck Speaker Series. Two speakers remain: Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman, a professor at Montefiore Medical Centre and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, on April 11; and Judaics educator Michal Horowitz, from Five Towns, N.Y., on April 25. The Zooms start at 7 p.m. Register via scharatzedeck.com.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Make memorable meals

Sweet Potato Wedges with Avocado Drizzle, as made by Miriam Pascal, author of More Real Life Kosher Cooking. (photo by Miriam Pascal)

Many people have probably never heard of Miriam Pascal. I was one of them, but now am happily a fan. She describes herself as a 20-something Jewish gal from New York, a self-taught cook. She founded overtimecook.com, a popular kosher recipe blog, and More Real Life Kosher Cooking: Approachable Recipes for Memorable Dishes (Art Scroll, 2019) is her third cookbook.

More Real Life Kosher Cooking has many positive aspects – an introductory remark for each recipe; ingredients in the left column and numbered directions on the right; and a full-page, full-colour photograph for each recipe, including photographs of four dishes before each of the 10 chapters. In the introduction, Pascal recalls memories connected to various recipes and says her goal is to make the recipes in this cookbook “approachable and doable,” as the book’s subtitle states. She wants to help her readers “create delicious food and special moments.”

image - More Real Life Kosher Cooking book cover — More Real Life Kosher Cooking book cover

There are some 200 photographs and 139 recipes in this cookbook, plus directions for 22 sauces and dressings, which can be used with other creations. Chapters are Breakfasts and Breads, Appetizers and Snacks, Salads and Spreads, Soups and Stews, Meat and Poultry, Dairy and Meatless, Vegetables and Sides, Desserts and Drinks, Baked Goods and Pastries, and Sauces and Staples. Among the recipes are Puff Pastry Breakfast Pizza, Crispy Onion Strings, Meaty Root Vegetable Soup, Caramelized Onion and Cheese Manicotti, Two-Ingredient Chocolate Mousse and No-Bake S’mores Cheesecake.

Of the 139 basic recipes, 46 are listed in the Pesach guide at the end. Here are four from the book.

SWEET POTATO WEDGES WITH AVOCADO DRIZZLE
(pareve, makes six servings)

3 sweet potatoes
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
* * *
1 avocado
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Peel sweet potatoes and cut into wedges. Place into a large bowl; add oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
Place wedges in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the outsides are starting to brown.
Meanwhile, prepare the avocado drizzle. Place peeled and pitted avocado into a bowl; mash until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; stir to combine.
Remove roasted sweet potato from oven; allow to cool slightly. Just before serving, drizzle avocado mixture over wedges.

The avocado drizzle can be prepared two to three days ahead. Due to the acid in the recipe, it should not turn brown. Sweet potato wedges are best fresh, but can be prepared a day or two ahead and served at room temperature.

MATBUCHA BRISKET
(meat, makes six to eight servings)

1 (about 3 lb) second cut brisket (see Note)
kosher salt, for sprinkling
black pepper, for sprinkling
3 tbsp oil
2 onions, sliced
2 tsp kosher salt, divided
3 bell peppers, sliced, preferably different colours
2 plum tomatoes, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

photo - Miriam Pascal’s Matbucha Brisket — Miriam Pascal’s Matbucha Brisket. (photo by Miriam Pascal)

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of roast. Heat a large, deep frying pan over high heat. Add roast; sear for two to three minutes per side, until browned on the outside. Transfer to a roasting pan; set aside.
Turn heat under the frying pan to medium; add oil, onions and one teaspoon salt. Cook for about five minutes, until softened
Add peppers, tomatoes, garlic, jalapeño and remaining teaspoon salt. Cook for eight to 10 minutes, until softened.
Raise heat to high. Add cumin, chili powder and diced tomatoes with their liquid. Cook until mixture starts to bubble around the edges. Pour vegetable mixture over the meat.
Cover roasting pan tightly; bake for 40-50 minutes per pound, until meat is soft and tender.

Note: Instead of a brisket, you can use any other cut of meat that does well when cooked low and slow.

The meat freezes well in the sauce, wrapped and airtight. Reheat, covered, until warmed through.

ROASTED VEGETABLE SOUP
(pareve, makes six to eight servings)

2 large zucchini, diced
3 medium yellow squash, diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 onions, diced
1 lb frozen cauliflower florets, defrosted
1/4 cup oil
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
* * *
4 cups vegetable broth
about 6 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place vegetables, oil, salt and pepper into a bowl. Toss to combine. Divide between prepared baking sheets. Roast for 50-60 minutes, until vegetables are starting to brown.
Place roasted vegetables, along with any juices, into a large soup pot. Add soup ingredients; bring to a boil.
Simmer for about one hour. Discard bay leaves. Using an immersion blender, blend soup well, for about three minutes, until fully smooth. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

This soup can be prepared ahead of time, and frozen in an airtight container.

Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, lecturer, book reviewer and food writer in Jerusalem. She created and leads weekly English-language Shuk Walks in Machane Yehuda, she has compiled and edited nine kosher cookbooks, and is working on a 10th. She also writes restaurant features for janglo.net.

Mac ’n’ cheese comfort

(photo from narcity.com)

While pasta and cheese casseroles are recorded as early as the 14th-century, the first modern recipe appeared in an English cookbook in 1770. The story is also told that President Thomas Jefferson and his chef brought the recipe to the United States from Europe in the 1790s, although it does not appear in a U.S. cookbook until 1824, with the unkosher boxed Kraft version appearing in 1937. British immigrants brought the recipe to Canada in 1845. The quintessential comfort food, here are a few of my favourite versions of mac and cheese.

MY BEST MACARONI AND CHEESE
(I adapted this recipe from The Joy of Cooking, making it without breadcrumbs on top.)

4 cups macaroni
2 eggs
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup margarine
paprika to taste

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a casserole.
Cook macaroni in boiled water for about 10 minutes and drain.
Add eggs, cheese, milk and margarine. Pour into greased casserole.
Sprinkle paprika on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

ITALIAN CREAMY BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup pareve “chicken” soup
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 cups cooked macaroni
2 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a casserole.
Cook macaroni and drain.
Melt margarine in a saucepan. Stir in flour to make a roux. Add pareve chicken soup, milk and nutmeg. Cook until thick.
Place one-third macaroni in a greased casserole. Sprinkle with one-third of cheese and one-third of sauce.
Make two more layers of macaroni, cheese and sauce. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

STOVETOP MACARONI AND CHEESE
(This recipe is by California chef and restaurant owner Grace Parisi, in Food and Wine.)

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp thyme
2 cups half-and-half
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups elbow macaroni
1/4 cup shredded kosher Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup shredded kosher white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded kosher Fontina cheese
1/4 cup grated kosher Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs

Boil water in a pot.
In a stovetop, ovenproof frying pan, melt butter and cook onion five minutes. Add tomato paste and thyme and cook one minute.
Add half-and-half and two cups hot water, reduce heat to a simmer. Add salt and pepper and macaroni and cook eight minutes.
Stir in a quarter cup boiling water, Gruyere, cheddar and Fontina cheeses. Cover and let stand two minutes, until cheeses are melted.
In a bowl, combine Parmesan cheese and Panko. Sprinkle over pasta. Place under broiler and broil two minutes or until golden.

Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, lecturer, book reviewer and food writer in Jerusalem. She created and leads the weekly English-language Shuk Walks in Machane Yehuda, she has compiled and edited nine kosher cookbooks, and is the author of Witness to History: Ten Years as a Woman Journalist in Israel.

A grape holiday revival

(photo from commons.wikimedia.org)

Most of us are familiar with the spies who were dispatched by Moses to “spy” out the land of Canaan – they cut down a branch with a cluster of grapes on a staff and carried it back. Grapes were part of the summer harvest in ancient Israel. In fact, there was a holiday called Feast of First Fruits and Wine because grapes were the first major crop to ripen. It was not mentioned in the Bible, but in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was celebrated on the third day of Av (July 24 this year), with Israelites bringing grapes to the Temple. So, here are some grape recipes in case you want to celebrate this little-known holiday.

VINEYARD CHICKEN
(I found this in an Empire Kosher recipe brochure many years ago. It makes eight servings.)

2 4-to-4.5-pound roasting chickens
2 lemons, cut in half
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
4 tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp dry basil
2 tsp your favourite herb
6 peeled, quartered onions
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup orange juice
4 cups seedless red and green grapes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or cilantro

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Rinse and pat dry chickens. Squeeze half lemon over each chicken. Place two lemon halves inside each chicken.
Combine Dijon mustard, ginger, salt, pepper and herbs in a bowl to make a paste.
Rub mixture over each chicken and place rest in each cavity. Put chickens into a large roasting pan. Scatter four onions in the pan. Roast 30 minutes.
Meantime, combine giblets, neck, two onions, chicken broth and orange juice in a saucepan. Simmer 25 minutes.
Reduce oven to 375°F. Strain broth and add 1.5 cups to roasting pan. Roast 15 minutes and baste. Repeat three more times. Remove chicken, let rest 15 minutes and cut into serving pieces.
Remove lemons, return chicken pieces to roasting pan, spoon juices and onions over chicken. Scatter grapes over chicken and add remaining broth. Cover and bake 15 minutes.
Serve on a large platter with grapes and juices and sauce. Garnish with fresh basil or cilantro.

MIDDLE EASTERN ORANGE BLOSSOM FRUIT BOWL
(six servings; pareve)

1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into slices then quarters from each slice
2 large peeled, sectioned oranges
2 cups seedless red or green grapes
1/4 cup orange blossom flower water or orange-flavoured liqueur
1/4 cup slivered almonds
confectioners sugar
cinnamon
mint sprigs

In a bowl, mix pineapple pieces, orange sections, grapes and orange flower water. Cover and refrigerate two hours.
Put nuts into a small frying pan. Cook and stir until toasted. Remove to a small bowl.
Arrange fruits on a large platter. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar, cinnamon and toasted nuts. Garnish with mint sprigs. Serve cold.

GRAPES IN BRANDY
(five to six servings; dairy)

3/4 cup honey
3/8 cup brandy
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 pound seedless red and green grapes, without stems
1 cup sour cream
lemon peel curls

On the day before serving, mix the honey, brandy and lemon juice. Place the grapes in a large bowl and pour the mixture over them. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, divide the fruit mixture into serving dishes, champagne glasses or any unusual glass. Spoon sour cream on top of each. Garnish with lemon peel curls.

Three fave kosher fruit pies

Blueberry Bottom Pie is garnished with blueberries and fresh mint. (photo from pxfuel.com)

When I think of summer, I think of fresh fruit. When I think of fresh fruit, I think of pies. Early pies may have originated with Egyptian cakes and ancient Greek pasties filled with fruit. According to Wikipedia, Medieval England had sweet pies, but they were called tarts, and fruit pies were unsweetened, because sugar was a rare and costly “symbol of wealth.” Also according to Wiki, a pie could have a number of items as its filling, but a pastry would have only a single filling. Fruit pie recipes began appearing in the 15th century. Here are recipes for three of my favourite fruit pies.

PEACH PIE

1 1/2 pounds seeded, sliced peaches
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine
2 tbsp flour
2 large eggs
pinch nutmeg
nine-inch crust (bought or homemade)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a nine-inch pie plate with dough.
In a bowl, mix together sugar, butter or margarine, flour, eggs and nutmeg.
Arrange peaches in piecrust. Pour batter over them. Crimp edge of crust.
Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until just set.

BLUEBERRY BOTTOM PIE

2 packages vanilla pudding
1 1/4 cups milk or non-dairy creamer or soymilk
1 1/2 cups pureed blueberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 baked nine-inch pie shell
3 1/2 cups kosher whipped topping
blueberries and mint leaves for garnishes

Check to make sure which vanilla pudding dissolves with non-dairy creamer or soymilk. Combine one package pudding and a quarter cup milk or non-dairy creamer or soymilk, blueberries and cinnamon. Cook until mixture comes to a full boil. Pour into crust and chill.
Prepare remaining pudding and milk or non-dairy creamer or soymilk. Add one teaspoon lemon rind. Pour into bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill about one hour.
Fold in one cup whipped topping to refrigerated mixture and spoon over blueberry layer.
Combine remaining whipped topping with remaining lemon rind and spoon over filling. Freeze one hour or refrigerate three hours.
Garnish with blueberries and mint leaves before serving.

FAUX CHERRY COBBLER
(Cobblers generally have a dough-like topping dropped on top of fruit. This cobbler is more like a pie).

2 cups pitted cherries
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 cup milk or soymilk
2 1/2 tbsp melted butter or margarine
brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a square baking dish.
Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Add milk and melted butter or margarine. Pour into a greased baking dish.
Scatter pitted cherries over batter. Sprinkle the top with brown sugar. Bake for about an hour.

Garden City’s new leadership

Garden City Bakery owner Steve Uy, right, with store manager Monica Flores and fellow baker Richard Caranto. (photo from Garden City Bakery)

If you’ve not set foot into Garden City Bakery for some time, you’re in for a surprise. The longtime Richmond kosher bakery at Blundell and Garden City roads came under new ownership in December 2019 and Steve Uy has infused the shop with his personal style and charisma. The interior has been updated and the bakery hums with an energy inspired by Uy’s friendliness and business acumen.

A Manila native, Uy moved to Vancouver in 1989 at the age of 20 and studied economics at Simon Fraser University. By 26, he’d returned to the Philippines, first importing Canadian food products and later immersing himself in the kitchen, where he baked steam buns for grocery stores. In 2017, when he returned to Vancouver with his wife and children, he was determined to continue baking for a living. An ingredient supplier introduced Uy to former Garden City Bakery owner Ivan Gerlach and, within two months, the transaction was complete and Uy was at the helm of the business.

“When I took over the shop, the only thing I wanted was an oven to bake things,” he admitted. “I didn’t even know what kosher was!”

Immediately afterwards, though, his kosher education began in earnest, first under Gerlach’s tutelage and then under the instruction of rabbis from BC Kosher. It was a steep learning curve but Uy was fiercely committed to two things: to respect the Jewish traditions of the bakery and to increase the availability of its signature challahs, challah buns, bagels and pita bread.

“Our goal is to be more visible and more available,” he told the Independent.

Expanding the availability of his baked breads wasn’t easy initially and, when Uy first approached Safeway at King Edward Avenue and Oak Street, he wasn’t met with open arms. “I wondered why a Safeway right beside a Jewish school wouldn’t want to carry kosher bread,” he said. It took four months of repeated meetings and encouragement before the grocery store agreed to carry Garden City Bakery challah and buns. But, as soon as they did, the items disappeared fast and the store increased their order. By January 2020, Safeway had invited Uy to set up his own bread rack in the store, where he could sell even more kosher breads, including pita, bagels and rye bread.

Today, Uy’s baked goods are available at Meinhardt Fine Foods, Stong’s Market, two Save-On Foods (Dunbar and Terra Nova), Omnitsky Kosher, Louis Brier Home and Hospital, two Superstore locations (Marine Drive and Richmond) and a FreshCo. And Uy is just getting started on his wholesale journey.

“We intend to expand into more Safeway stores, Superstores and Save-On Foods in the next year or two,” he said. “There’s a gap in the market we can fill here. Grain bread and artisan bread are popular, but I think there’s a market for kosher bread beyond the Jewish community, for anyone who appreciates a good bread. And, personally, I think challah is one of the best, most beautiful breads in the world. The dough itself is just fabulous.”

While expansion plans have been put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic, Uy’s ambition has not tapered. A hands-on owner, he does much of the mixing and baking himself, “to keep our secret recipes and to ensure consistency of the product.” Uy also handles delivery of the products to the stores.

His baking repertoire remains much the same as it was previous to his leadership, but a couple of new items include a Filipino soft bun called Pandesal, and a sandwich loaf made from the same dough as challah but more suitable as an everyday bread. “The challah and challah buns are our mainstay and we worry that adding too much variety will bog down the bakery in terms of manpower,” he explained.

A great ambassador for the bakery, he emanates positivity and a can-do attitude. “When I bought the business, I could tell that the sales volume was not great, but I’ve always been a risk-taker and I’m confident in my own abilities,” he said. “I’m really enjoying the business, and owning a kosher bakery has exposed me to a new group of people, a different culture and unique traditions I didn’t previously understand.”

He added, “It’s my sales pitch when I go to new stores. I tell them we’re different because we’re kosher. We’re taking one step at a time, but we’re determined to open up more avenues for kosher bread in British Columbia. We know when people start believing in the product, they’ll buy it.”

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net.

Elman’s grows in Vancouver

Millie Krause, who runs Elman’s, with receptionist Bonita Bouchard. (photo from Elman’s)

They started making horseradish 80 years ago and haven’t stopped. Elman’s Food Products is still making horseradish in small batches and, over the years, they have added new pickled products to the mix.

Today, Elman’s is run by Millie Krause, widow of the founder’s son, Manny Finkleman, who passed away in 2004. The company is gradually increasing its reach west from Winnipeg, led by Millie Krause’s daughter, Payton.

Six years ago, Payton Krause moved to Vancouver to be closer to friends and expand the family business, in which she first started working in the late 1980s. By then, the family had moved the company out of the garage and into its current-day location on Jarvis Avenue in Winnipeg’s North End.

“At that time, Payton, my daughter, was working here,” Millie Krause told the Independent. “And that was good, because she could keep an eye on things while I was running back and forth to hospitals, and taking Manny back and forth to this and that.”

In 2004, Manny Krause passed away. Since then, the brunt of the management has been in his wife’s hands.

“It was a really big learning curve for me, because my background was in sales. It took awhile,” she said. “Everybody wanted the same deals that Manny used to give and they didn’t really know who I was … but we survived.

“I always say that, if you don’t know something, find out. Just ask. If we look a little stupid or something down the road, who cares? Just get it done. That’s really the attitude we took it with. Now, what Manny said to me before he passed away … was that I should run it [Elman’s] for a couple of years, with Payton’s and everyone’s help … and then, sell it. So, 15 years later, I’m still here. The thing is, back then, when Manny was running the business, he ran it, if I might say, by the seat of his pants. He dealt with every problem that came up at the time, but he didn’t really remember what he did the next time, so it was like constant chaos.”

She and her daughter have tried “to reformulate the company and brand it – brand it into something that maybe wasn’t there at the time,” she said.

They position their products in the specialty food section, staying away from big retailers like Walmart and Giant Tiger. They sell the product by promoting the story behind it – making sure people know they’re a small, local family business with a long history in the city.

“I think we’ve succeeded in doing that,” said Krause, saying the process has “been a little slow.”

“Before Manny passed away,” she explained, “we were shipping from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay, and then west, but in very small ways. Then, Payton wanted to move out there, as apparently she needs mountains and water around her, and she wanted to open it up further. Actually, she’s done that.”

Expansion means winning over new clients, and that is exactly what her daughter is achieving in Vancouver.

“In fact, Payton had to pass a taste test,” said Krause. “Some of the wannabe customers she went to call on cut up 10 slices of pickles and said, ‘OK, now, which one is yours?’ And, I think she thought, ‘Sheesh! What if I get this wrong?’ But, she got it right.”

One breakthrough is that Elman’s pickles are included in all B.C. Ferries’ burgers. “They put the pickle on the top of the bun,” said Krause.

As another example, she said Elman’s are also used by Fairmont Hotels in Vancouver.

“The goal is to obviously get more business,” she said. “Up until this point, we didn’t have a lot of boots on the ground. We don’t have salespeople. The only ‘salespeople’ we have is Payton in the Vancouver area, but she has managed to do quite well. That is her goal – to get as much business as we can. It will hopefully get to a point that we can get enough business to be busy continually.”

Krause is hoping to get in with another large food service restaurant, which would allow Elman’s not only to be busier but to have the working capital to keep operations going. According to its website, the company currently has about 10 regular staff and casual employees.

Elman’s products carry a kosher certification from OU Kosher. For more information, visit elmans.ca.

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

New start for Café Forty One

Chef Menajem Peretz (above) has partnered with Yamila Chikiar and chocolatier Daniel Presman. Peretz and the couple met through a mutual friend, and the three now co-own FortyOne Catering, Neshama and Café Forty One. (photo by Lauren Kramer)

It’s a new year and a new beginning for the restaurant at Oak and 41st. Café Forty One is under new ownership and has reopened at its former location, following the closing of Shuk Eat + Play several months ago. The three entrepreneurs at its helm are energized, excited and ready to feed Jewish Vancouver with soul food that’s kosher, delicious and caters to both the sweet-toothed and those who prefer savoury.

About 50 people showed up for the grand opening of Café Forty One last Thursday. Menajem Peretz, by now a well-known face in Vancouver’s kosher catering scene with a well-deserved reputation for culinary excellence, was in the kitchen. The trays that emerged carried crispy avocado spring rolls, bruschetta, and latke sandwiches filled with smoked salmon and sour cream.

photo - Yamila Chikiar and Daniel Presman — Yamila Chikiar and Daniel Presman *(photo by Lauren Kramer)*

Peretz’s co-partners, Daniel Presman and Yamila Chikiar, managed the reception, displaying their talent behind the glass display case, which featured an assortment of pastries, mini-cakes, bonbons (Presman’s exquisitely decorated chocolate squares with liquid fillings), cupcakes, strudel, muffins, cake pops and blintzes.

“In the two months before we opened, we put up new lighting, re-did the décor and renovated the tables,” said Chikiar, who moved to Vancouver from Buenos Aires 16 months ago with her spouse, Presman, mother-in-law and two children. Presman, a chocolatier who sold his bonbons to five-star hotels in Argentina, went back to work making kosher chocolates under the brand name Neshama, and the artistic, rich treats were quickly picked up by Superstore.

photo - Neshama chocolates — Neshama chocolates *(photo by Lauren Kramer)*

The couple met Peretz, who is also from Buenos Aires, through a mutual friend and hit it off immediately. Peretz was impressed with the bonbons and asked Presman to supply Neshama chocolates to his catering company. The relationship evolved and Group 41 was the result, a parent company that encompasses FortyOne Catering, Neshama and Café Forty One, and is owned and operated by all three partners.

“It was like a blessing when we met Menajem,” Chikiar said. “It’s difficult immigrating to another country and we had a hard year at first. But then opportunities started presenting themselves and it was like G-d was guiding us on a path.”

Café Forty One is a dairy establishment following Chalav Yisrael protocols, while FortyOne Catering offers meat, dairy and pareve meals. Chikiar is heading up marketing and communications and managing the front of house for the restaurant, while Presman heads up the sweet department and Peretz masterminds the savoury.

“The idea is to offer big portions and to give Café Forty One diners something extra,” Presman explained. “For example, all our sandwiches come with a shot of the hot soup of the day and, with any hot drink, we’re giving diners two free bonbons.”

The menu includes soups, salads, falafel and hummus plates, shakshuka, blintzes, omelettes, pizzas and sandwiches, as well as a wide assortment of sweet treats. The restaurant is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Friday and underground parking is free for diners.

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net.