Although summer is still in full swing, apples come into the markets here in Israel before Rosh Hashanah. I love apples; they are probably my most favourite fruit, especially in fall and winter. Here are some apple recipes for your holiday table.
BAKED APPLE RELISH I found this recipe in a women’s magazine 40 years ago but it still makes a good accompaniment for chicken or meat.
6 small baking apples, core removed, scooped out insides leaving a shell, setting the scooped out insides in a bowl 2 tbsp butter or margarine 1 cup chopped onions 1 cup chopped tomatoes 1/4 cup raisins 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp dry mustard 4 tbsp red fruit preserves 4 tbsp cider vinegar 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Melt butter or margarine in a large frying pan. Add onion and sauté five minutes.
3. Add chopped apples, tomato, raisins, ginger, mustard, one tablespoon preserves, one tablespoon vinegar, and red pepper, if using. Cook five minutes or until mixture starts to thicken.
4. Spoon into hollowed out apples. Arrange apples in a shallow baking pan.
5. Add remaining preserves and vinegar to frying pan and heat a few minutes. Pour over apples.
6. Bake for 30-45 minutes.
HONEY AND APPLE CAKE I found this recipe of an Israeli chef from a Bnei Brak bakery in a local newspaper. It makes two loaves.
4 eggs 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup oil 1 cup honey 2 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup strong fruit tea 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground cloves 2 to 3 green apples, cut into small cubes
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Oil two loaf pans.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar for two minutes in a mixer at medium speed. Add oil then honey and mix.
3. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
4. Add to egg-sugar-oil-honey mixture. Mix until smooth.
5. Add tea and apples and mix.
6. Pour batter into two loaf pans. Bake for 40 minutes.
MY FAVOURITE MICROWAVE APPLE CHUTNEY I make this chutney for our favourite fish curry, but it can be used with other dishes as well. Makes two cups.
1/3 cup chopped lemon 1 chopped garlic clove 1 2/3 cups chopped apples 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup raisins 1 tbsp ground ginger dash chili powder 2/3 cup cider vinegar
1. Place all ingredients in a microwavable dish. Microwave four minutes.
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.
Cookbook author Joan Nathan, left, with journalist Sybil Kaplan. (photo from Barry A. Kaplan)
Before I review King Solomon’s Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking around the World by Joan Nathan (Knopf, 2017), I have to admit, I am prejudiced. I have known Joan for around 40 years, and every cookbook she writes is great. When she was in Israel recently, she agreed to appear at my English-speaking chapter of Hadassah Israel for a fundraiser. The program included my interviewing her, and her remarks are at the end of this article, after the recipes.
In King Solomon’s Table, Joan traces, through recipes and stories, the journey of many of the dishes that Jews eat, the people she has met over the years and the places she has visited. Alice Waters, well-known chef, food activist, owner and founder of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley and cookbook author, writes in the foreword: “Joan has become the most important preservationist of Jewish food traditions, researching and honouring the rich heritage that has connected people for millennia.”
Sri Lankan Breakfast Buns are among the global fare in King Solomon’s Table. (photo from joannathan.com)
Joan’s introduction is an amazing history of the roots of Jewish food. This is followed by “The Pantry,” a discussion of spices and other items. Then there are the chapters and recipes. Every recipe has a story, and there are 171 recipes in 12 chapters. One can find recipes from Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, India, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kurdistan, Libya, Lithuania, Mexico, North Africa, Persia, Poland, Rhodes, Romania, Russia, Siberia, Sicily, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, the United States, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The variety is vast, from Hungarian Apple Pancakes to Sri Lankan Breakfast Buns, from French Buttery Olive Biscuits to Greek Eggplant Salad to Uzbek Noodle Soup. There are all sorts of breads, and recipes using couscous and different types of pasta. There are 15 vegetable recipes, 15 fish recipes, 10 recipes for poultry and 14 meat recipes. And, of course, there are recipes for sweets – 23 of them, including Sephardic Almond Brittle, Israeli Quince Babka and Brazilian Cashew Nut Strudel.
Scattered throughout the book are essays and, after the acknowledgments is a bibliography and index.
When Joan guest blogged for the Jewish Book Council, soon after the publication of the cookbook, she wrote: “One of the ideas that I have wrestled with throughout my career is the question of what is ‘Jewish food.’ Working on my latest cookbook, King Solomon’s Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking around the World, has at last answered that question for me.”
Here are a few of the recipes from this book.
SMOKY SHAKSHUKA The name shakshuka comes from an Arabic and Hebrew word meaning “all mixed up.” It is said the dish was made in North Africa, when the women were busy with a lover and then made a quick meal for their husbands; it was born in the mid-16th century. This recipe makes eight servings.
4 red bell peppers
1 (1 pound) eggplant
2 tbsp olive oil
3 lamb, beef or chicken chorizo, sliced in rounds (optional)
5 chopped garlic cloves
12 chopped tomatoes or 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp smoked Spanish paprika
2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste
1 tbsp sugar or to taste
1 bunch chopped cilantro
8 large eggs
crumbled Bulgarian feta cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Cook the peppers and eggplant, pricking them first with a fork, turning occasionally with tongs until slightly soft and blackened, about 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add peppers and fry about three minutes then add chorizo, if using, and garlic and cook six to seven minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. When the mixture is thickened, add the smoked paprika, salt, pepper, sugar, eggplant and all but three tablespoons of the cilantro. Stir to combine, Add seasonings to taste and add a little water if the mixture is too thick.
4. With the back of a spoon, make eight shallow wells in the shakshuka. Gently crack the eggs into the wells, cover the pot and poach over medium-low heat for five to 10 minutes until egg whites are set. Serve sprinkled with remaining cilantro and, if you like, Bulgarian feta cheese.
PICKLED HERRING SPREAD (6-8 servings)
2 tbsp chopped red onion
1 tbsp almonds
1/2 Granny Smith or other tart apple, peeled and cored
1 large peeled hard-boiled egg
1 12-ounce jar marinated herring tidbits
1 tbsp fresh chopped dill
1. Pulse onion and almonds in food processor. Then add apple and egg to combine.
2. Pour off sauce and onions from marinated herring and add to food processor to chop. Place mixture in serving dish and sprinkle with dill to garnish.
LEEK AND MEAT PATTIES The original 100-year-old recipe from Macedonia was a holiday staple for Balkan Jews, which Joan tampered with a bit. This recipe makes 12 patties.
1 1/4 cup olive oil
6-8 chopped leeks
2 1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 pounds chopped lamb, beef or boiled potatoes
3 large eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup matzah meal
1. Preheat oven to 425°F and rub a rimmed baking sheet with oil. Toss leeks with more oil, one teaspoon salt and pepper. Spread leeks in single layer and roast, tossing frequently until golden brown and crisp at edges, about 20 minutes. Cool.
2. Chop leeks and mix with meat or boiled potatoes, eggs, cinnamon, allspice, parsley, matzah meal and salt. Form into 12 patties. Heat a frying pan with a thin film of oil. Fry the patties until golden brown on each side, making sure they cook through. If using potatoes instead of meat, add a little Parmesan cheese for extra flavour.
***
An Interview with Joan Nathan in Jerusalem, June 15, 2017
SK: How did you decide to continue in food writing after you left Israel in the 1970s?
JN: We moved to the Boston area and I met with an editor at the Boston Globe. He asked me to write about food. I also had a scholarship to the Kennedy School at Harvard to do a master’s in public administration. I also met Dov Noy, z”l, the world’s renowned Jewish folklorist, who said, I’ll help you if you decide to write a cookbook, because he knew a lot about ethnic groups.
[At some point,] I told Julia Child’s editor I wanted to write a cookbook, but my father wanted me to go to Schocken Publishers.
[Schocken published The Jewish Holiday Kitchen in 1979, An American Folklife Cookbook in 1985, The Children’s Jewish Holiday Kitchen in 1988, The Jewish Holiday Baker in 1997 and Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook in 2004. Knopf published Jewish Cooking in America in 1994, The Foods of Israel Today in 2001, The New American Cooking in 2005, and Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France in 2010.]
SK: How long does it take you to write a cookbook?
JN: King Solomon’s Table took six years. On a trip to India, I saw a sign, “Since the time of Solomon,” and got the idea, although the [part of the title] … about my journeys everywhere was my editor’s idea.
SK: How did you acquire the recipes?
JN: I sent out to all the “tribes.”
[Joan digressed here to say that the three essentials for Jewish food are the dietary laws; that Jews went out to look, for example, for spices; and how Jews’ food is influenced by the food of the country in which they’re living.]
SK: Who does the various elements of a cookbook?
JN: I have people help me in testing and I do my research. In the process of putting together a book, professional photographs are essential today. For King Solomon’s Table, I knew where I would go in the world…. I would plan trips for 10 days and, when I returned, I got the material typed quickly. The whole book comes together with the introduction. Each of my books is like a big term paper.
Sybil Kaplanis 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.
Pomegranates are referred to in the Bible in many various ways. In the sensual poetry of Song of Songs, we read, “I went down into the garden of nuts … to see whether the vine budded and the pomegranates were in flower.” In another passage, the poet writes, “I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate.” Song of Songs has four additional mentions of pomegranates, and there are also references in Joel, Haggai and I Kings.
For many Jews, pomegranates are traditional for Rosh Hashanah. Some believe the dull and leathery skinned, crimson fruit may have really been the tapuach, apple, of the Garden of Eden. According to Forward “Food Maven” Matthew Goodman, the pomegranate originated in Persia and is one of the world’s oldest cultivated fruits, having been domesticated around 4000 BCE. The Egyptians imported pomegranates from the Holy Land in 1150 BCE and natural pomegranate juice, made into spiced wine, was a favourite of Hebrews living in Egypt. Pomegranate wood could also be carved into skewers on which to roast the lamb for Passover.
The word pomegranate means “grained apple.” In Hebrew, it is called rimon, which is also the word for hand grenade! In fact, the English term “hand grenade” is said to come from this and that both the town of Granada in Spain and the stone garnet come from the name and colour of the pomegranate. The juice can also be made into grenadine.
The Hebrews yearned for the pomegranates they left behind in Egypt while wandering in the desert – “And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates.” (Numbers 20:5) And the spies reported their findings in Canaan to Moses: “And they came unto the valley Eshkol and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it upon a pole between two; they took also of the pomegranates and of the figs.” (Numbers 13:23)
Pomegranates were also used on the faces of the shekel in the second century BCE. King Solomon had an orchard of pomegranates, and pomegranates of brass were part of the pillars of his great Temple in Jerusalem. Throughout the Bible, pomegranates are referred to as a symbol of fertility. As well, in the Jewish mystical tradition of kabbalah, it is said there are 613 seeds in each pomegranate, equaling the number of mitzvot commanded by God.
On the second night of Rosh Hashanah, when it is customary to eat a “new” fruit, one that celebrants have not eaten during the year, many Sephardi Jews choose the pomegranate. They recite the prayer “ken yehi ratzon, may it be thy will, O Creator, that our year be rich and replete with blessings, as the pomegranate is rich and replete with seeds.”
In modern days, a study at the Technion in Haifa a few years ago showed the power of the fruit. The cholesterol oxidation process, which creates lesions that narrow arteries and result in heart disease, was slowed by as much as 40% when subjects drank two to three ounces of pomegranate juice a day for two weeks. The juice reduced the retention of LDL, the “bad” cholesterol that aggregates and forms lesions. When subjects stopped drinking the juice, the beneficial effects lasted about a month. Other studies have shown that pomegranates fight inflammation and cancer, and slow cellular aging. Pomegranates are a good source of potassium, low in calories and low in sodium.
When choosing a pomegranate, look for one that is large, brightly coloured and has a shiny skin. You should store a pomegranate in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, and it can keep up to 10 weeks. To open a pomegranate, score the outside skin into four pieces, then break the fruit apart with your hands following the divisions of the membranes. Pull off the membranes then scrape the seeds into your mouth or lift them out with a spoon. Here are some recipes for those seeds.
POMEGRANATE SYRUP
6 pomegranates 1/3 cup white sugar 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 cinnamon stick 1/8 tsp nutmeg 1/8 tsp allspice
Puree seeds from pomegranates in blender or food processor and strain. Place in saucepan.
Add white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes. Add nutmeg and allspice and cook one minute.
Remove from heat, discard cinnamon stick and strain.
BAKED APPLES IN POMEGRANATE SYRUP 6-8 servings
4 slightly tart apples 1 halved pomegranate apple juice 1/3 cup preserves of your choice 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Cut each apple into four wedges. Place in microwavable dish.
Squeeze juice from half the pomegranate into a measuring cup. Add enough apple juice to make half a cup. Add preserves and cinnamon and mix well. Pour over apples to coat them.
Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for two minutes. Stir and microwave two more minutes. Place apple wedges in serving dishes.
Remove seeds from other half of pomegranate and garnish apples.
POMEGRANATE FRUIT SOUFFLE
3 eggs 1 cup + 3 tbsp confectioners’ sugar 1 tbsp unflavoured gelatin 1/2 cup hot water 1/2 cup cold water 7 tbsp orange juice 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice pulp and seeds of 6 pomegranates
Place yolks and sugar in a saucepan over a second saucepan filled with water (double boiler-style). Cook, stirring, until thick and creamy.
Dissolve gelatin in a bowl of hot water. Then stir in cold water.
Add orange juice, lemon juice, pomegranate pulp and seeds and mix.
Add juice mixture to egg yolk mixture.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into pomegranate mixture. Pour into a soufflé dish or casserole with height built up of three to four inches with a double thickness of wax paper or aluminum foil, stapled or held in place with a paper clip.
Chill in refrigerator until set. Remove band of paper. Decorate with whipped cream.
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.
It’s summer – time to enjoy the fresh local produce and some cool meals, treats and drinks. Here are several of my favourite (kosher) recipes, from soups to salads to cakes and cobblers, plus a few icy desserts and drinks.
GAZPACHO 8 servings
12 small or 16 cherry tomatoes 6 kirby cucumbers 2 small onions 2 green peppers 2 red peppers 2 garlic cloves 4 cups tomato juice 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 2 tbsp chopped parsley 6 ribs celery salt and pepper to taste
Place half the tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, garlic, tomato juice, oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and celery in a food processor or blender and blend. Pour into a large jar.
Place remaining ingredients in food processor or blender and blend. Add to jar and refrigerate until ready to serve.
MOM’S BEET BORSCHT 3-4 servings
1/2 tsp sour salt or 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt 3 tbsp sugar 4 cups water 2 cups grated beets 1 egg yolk
In a saucepan, bring to a boil sour salt or lemon juice, salt, sugar and water.
Add beets and boil 10 minutes.
Beat egg yolk with a little cold water and add slowly to soup.
Cool and serve.
COLD CUCUMBER AND SPINACH SOUP I adapted this from a recipe I found from a café in Evanston, Ill. It serves 4.
1 tbsp margarine or oil 2/3 bunch chopped scallions 2 diced cucumbers 2 cups pareve chicken soup 1/3 pound cleaned spinach 1/3 cup sugar-free whipping cream 3 tbsp non-dairy creamer 1 tsp lemon juice salt and pepper to taste
Melt margarine or heat oil in a soup pot. Cook scallions until tender.
Add cucumbers and sauté five minutes. Add chicken soup and bring to a boil. Simmer 15 minutes. Add spinach and cook four to five minutes.
Add whipping cream and non-dairy creamer. Cool.
Purée in food processor. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Chill.
To serve, pour into bowls and garnish with sliced cucumbers, radishes or scallions.
ZUCCHINI SALAD 4 servings
2 cups zucchini, cut in matchsticks 1/2 cup green pepper, cut in matchsticks 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup shredded yellow cheese 1/4 cup minced parsley 4 cut-up black olives 1 large minced onion
In a salad bowl, combine zucchini, green pepper, tomatoes, cheese, parsley, olives and onion.
In a jar, combine lemon juice, olive oil, wine vinegar, dill and oregano. Close and shake well.
Refrigerate salad until ready to serve. Pour dressing on top and toss.
PEACH SALAD 4 servings
4 large peaches, sliced in half cottage cheese 1 cup sour cream 2 tbsp confectioners sugar 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/8 tsp almond extract
Place two peach halves in each salad bowl. Add a dollop of cottage cheese.
Combine sour cream, confectioners sugar, nutmeg and almond extract.
Pour into a small bowl or pitcher and serve on the side.
WALDORF PEACH SALAD 4 servings
1/2 cup sliced celery 1/2 cup sliced grapes 1/2 cup chopped apples 1/4 cup chopped nuts 4 sliced peaches 4 pieces Romaine lettuce 1 tbsp brown sugar
dressing 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 cup whipped cream or pareve whip 1 tsp grated orange rind
In a mixing bowl, combine celery, grapes, apples and nuts. Toss lightly.
Place one piece of lettuce on each plate and add a sliced peach. Spoon one-quarter of the salad on top of each peach. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Place plates in refrigerator.
In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, whipped cream and orange rind.
Remove peach salad from refrigerator before serving and spoon dressing on each.
CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE This recipe came from Laurel, an old friend from my Kansas City, Mo., and Overland Park, Kan., days.
3/8 cup margarine 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 1/4 cups flour 1 1/4 tsp baking powder 5/8 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 cup cocoa 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup shredded, unpeeled zucchini 1/4 cup milk or non-dairy creamer 1/2 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a loaf pan with vegetable spray.
Cream margarine and sugar. Beat in eggs.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cocoa and add to creamed mixture.
Add vanilla, zucchini, milk or non-dairy creamer and nuts. Spoon into greased loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
REVERSE STRAWBERRY COBBLER Can be made with peaches, plums, cherries and apples.
4 cups hulled strawberries 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp oil 1 cup milk or non-dairy creamer 1 cup flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 cup sugar 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a glass round pie plate.
Pour oil into pan. Add milk, flour, baking powder, sugar and cinnamon and stir until mixed.
Stand up strawberries, tips pointed up, around batter; fill in centre.
Bake 25 minutes.
Serve warm with whipped cream on top.
QUICKY STRAWBERRY PIE
1 cup mashed strawberries 1/3 cup sugar 1 tbsp cornstarch 2 tsp lemon juice 1 cup mashed strawberries pie shell
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Place one cup strawberries with sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Cook for five minutes.
Stir in lemon juice and additional cup of strawberries. Pour into pie shell and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and bake another 40 minutes.
PAREVE PEACH PUDDING CAKE 4-5 servings
5/8 cup flour 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup pareve margarine or 3 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/8 tsp almond extract 1/4 cup non-dairy creamer or pareve almond milk 1 egg 3 peaches 1/2 cup pareve whipping cream 1/2 package vanilla instant pudding mix
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a pan.
In a mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder and 1/4 cup sugar.
In a saucepan, melt margarine (if using oil, place it in a bowl). Add vanilla and almond extracts, 1/4 cup sugar and egg and blend. Add to flour mixture and pour into pan. Bake 20-25 minutes until top springs back when touched with finger. Remove from oven and cool.
Peel and coarsely chop one peach. Toss with 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar.
Beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Prepare vanilla pudding using 1/2 cup non-dairy creamer or almond milk. Fold whipped cream into pudding. Fold in chopped peach.
Make a well in the cake and spoon pudding, whipped cream, peach into the well.
Slice remaining two peaches and toss with 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar. Arrange slices on top of pudding mixture.
STRAWBERRY-LEMON WHIP DRINK 4 servings
2 cups sliced strawberries 3/4 cup lemon juice 3/4 cup lemon syrup 2 cups water ice cubes
In a blender or food processor, blend strawberries, cold water, lemon juice, lemon syrup and ice cubes until mixture is smooth.
Pour into tall chilled glasses.
BLENDER PEACH ICE CREAM 8 servings
7 medium peaches, sliced and pits removed 2 tbsp lemon juice 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 tsp almond extract 1 cup sour cream
Place peaches, lemon juice, sugar and extract in blender. Whirl until pureed.
Add sour cream and whirl until smooth. Pour into a metal pan. Freeze about two hours. Turn into a bowl. Beat until smooth. Return to pan, cover tightly and freeze until firm.
FROZEN PEACH YOGURT 3-4 servings
1 cup sliced ripe peaches 1/3 cup sugar or sugar substitute dash of salt 1/8 tsp almond extract 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
Puree peaches in blender or food processor.
Mix with sugar or sugar substitute, salt and almond extract.
Stir in yogurt. Pour into a tray with a lid, cover and freeze for two hours.
Remove 15-20 minutes before serving.
STRAWBERRRY YOGURT POPSICLES 6 servings
6 wooden sticks 6 waxed paper cups 1 cup sliced strawberries 2 cups plain yogurt 1/4 cup honey
Combine strawberries, yogurt and honey in a bowl.
Spoon into paper cups and freeze for 20 minutes.
Add sticks and freeze until firm. Peel off cups before serving.
Sybil Kaplanis 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.
In writing Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015) with Steven Cook, Michael Solomonov hopes to share with other cooks “some of the magic” found in Israel.
Israeli-born Solomonov grew up from the age of 2 to 15 in Pittsburgh, then the family returned to Israel. After awhile, when his Bulgarian father and American mother divorced, he returned to the United States, eventually learning to be a chef, graduating from culinary school in 2001. He returned to Israel, where his brother had grown up and was on leave from the army; sadly, his brother was killed soon after, and Solomonov once again left the country.
Returning to Pittsburgh, Solomonov met Cook and, in 2005, became chef of their first restaurant, Marigold Kitchen. In 2008, Solomonov and Cook opened the restaurant Zahav in Philadelphia. They also co-own restaurants Percy Street Barbeque, Federal Donuts, Dizengoff and Abe Fisher, all in Philadelphia. In 2011, Solomonov was awarded the James Beard Award for best chef mid-Atlantic.
After the death of his brother, as he and Cook worked together at Marigold Kitchen, Solomonov writes, “I began to see cooking as a powerful way to honor David’s memory. I could expose people to a side of Israel that had nothing to do with politics and didn’t ever make the evening papers.”
This was the inspiration for Zahav, which opened in May 2008, as well as the cookbook Zahav, whose style is unique.
The nine chapters include one on tahini, which has 34 recipes, including seared chicken livers with caramelized onion tahini and tahini shortbread cookies. There are 20 salad recipes, showing that vegetables are everything, including Israeli pickles and spicy fennel salad. There is a chapter on smaller dishes, with recipes for items like fried cauliflower with herbed labneh. The soup chapter has 16 recipes from around the world, such as celery root soup. The next chapter – “Grandmother’s Borekas, Tradition Was My Teacher” – has 20 recipes, such as fried leek patties. “Live Fire, As Close to Magic as I’ll Come” has 16 recipes, like Bulgarian kebabs and pomegranate-glazed salmon, including mujadara. Then there’s the chapter called “Ben-Gurion’s Rice,” with 11 different recipes. “Mesibah, It’s Party Time” has seven recipes, such as whole fish in grape leaves, and “Milk & Honey is a Glimpse of the Divine” has 17 recipes, including konafi and carrot basboosa.
After an introductory essay in each chapter, there are the recipes, and each is also introduced, with casual (and fun-to-read) remarks and easy-to-follow instructions. There are also sidebars with fascinating information about such things as sumac, date molasses, freekah and rose water.
There is no doubt that this book has “a world of Israeli cooking,” and the recipes below reflect that idea.
CHICKPEA BRITTLE makes three cups
2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed 1 tbsp canola oil 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 3 tbsp butter 3 tbsp heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Toss the chickpeas with the oil, transfer to another baking sheet, and roast until crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
Combine the brown sugar, butter and cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens in color slightly and large, lava-like bubbles cover the surface, about 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas and stir to combine.
Working quickly and using a rubber spatula, spread the mixture out in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Let cool to room temperature. Break into two-inch pieces to serve. The brittle will keep a week in a sealed container.
ROASTED OKRA serves six
6 cups small whole okra 5 tbsp olive oil 1/3 cup basic tomato sauce 1 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp grated dried lime 1/2 tsp kosher salt handful cilantro leaves, chopped
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Toss the okra with two tablespoons olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake until the okra turns brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and toss the okra with the remaining three tablespoons of olive oil and the tomato sauce, lemon juice, dried lime and salt. Top with the cilantro. Serve hot or chilled.
GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE ALMOND SITUATION
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar big pinch salt 2 scant cups chopped dark chocolate (at least 60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly 4 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 cup almond flour
Preheat the oven to 375˚F, with a rack in the middle. Oil a nine-inch round or square cake pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper, and oil the parchment.
Combine the butter, sugar and salt in a mixer or other bowl. Beat on medium high until pale and fluffy, about two minutes. Add melted chocolate and mix just until combined. Scrape down the sides and mix for another few seconds. With the mixer on low speed, add eggs, one at a time, beating until each one is incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add almond flour. Mix on low until just incorporated, about 10 seconds.
Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top with spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.
Sybil Kaplanis a journalist, foreign correspondent, lecturer, food writer and book reviewer who lives in Jerusalem. She also does the restaurant features for janglo.net and leads walks in English in Jerusalem’s market.
In my collection of cookbooks is The Complete International Jewish Cookbook by Evelyn Rose. For more than 30 years, she was food editor of the London Jewish Chronicle. When I received the press release that 100 Best Jewish Recipes (Interlink Books, 2016) by Rose with Judi Rose was being published, I was sure it would be as lovely as the earlier one and was saddened to learn that Evelyn Rose was no longer living – she died in 2003.
Judi Rose had quite a task when she began working on this book, as she narrowed down the thousands of recipes from her mother’s career into the ones their family loved best. She ultimately decided on 100 of her mother’s best-loved recipes – “some of her personal favorites, as well as those of her fans.”
Judi Rose is a food writer, consultant and culinary expert. She and her mother cooked together for more than 30 years and wrote two cookbooks together. The recipes she has chosen epitomize her mother’s principles of “incorporating thinking on health and nutrition, and using new technology to save time and effort.”
“My mother passionately believed that each dish must have ta’am – that extra something that makes it taste special and worth the effort for busy people to put on their table,” writes Rose.
There are 128 recipes in this new cookbook, enhanced by 38 color photographs. After a foreword, an introduction and an essay on festivals and food, the chapters are listed: small plates (10 recipes), soups (13 recipes), poultry (12 recipes), meat (16 recipes), fish (11 recipes), vegetables and side dishes (23 recipes), bread-bakes and desserts (21 recipes) and basics (22 recipes). A final essay is on adapting recipes for the kosher kitchen.
One thing missing from the recipes is whether they are meat, dairy or pareve. Other than that, each recipe has how many servings, how long it will keep in the refrigerator (a clever inclusion not generally listed with recipes), how long it can be frozen and a little introductory note.
Styles include Middle Eastern and Sephardi, and the places from where the recipes come include Austria, Lithuania, Syria, Russia, France, Hungary, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Persia, Morocco, China, Italy, Greece, Holland, Britain, Israel, Sicily, Egypt, Indonesia, Armenia and Denmark. As the publisher notes, these are traditional and contemporary recipes, for family meals and special occasions, for both novices and experienced cooks.
Here are a few of the traditional, classic recipes.
CHICKEN LIVER PATÉ
3 eggs 1 finely chopped onion 1 crushed garlic clove 4 tbsp soft margarine or rendered chicken fat 5-10 grinds sea salt 12 oz ready-koshered chicken livers 15 grinds of black pepper 1 good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg warm French bread, crackers or sliced challah
Hard boil eggs for 10 minutes, drain, return to pan, cover with cold water and leave to cool.
Fry the onion and garlic gently in the margarine or fat until very soft and a rich brown. As the onion cooks, sprinkle it with sea salt.
Peel the eggs and cut in half. Put one aside.
Put the onion and garlic with cooking juices into a food processor, process until smooth. Add two eggs, livers, pepper and nutmeg. Process until smooth. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.
Turn mixture into a terrine or oval gratin dish or divide between individual ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Refrigerate extra egg.
One hour before serving, remove paté from refrigerator to return to room temperature. Pass the remaining egg through a food mill or sieve to decorate the top of the paté.
Serves six as an appetizer, eight to 10 as a spread. Keeps five days in the fridge and freezes for one month.
TRADITIONAL CHICKEN SOUP
1 whole or half chicken with wings and giblets 7 1/2 cups water 2 tsp salt 1 pinch white pepper 2 halved, peeled carrots leaves and top 2 inches of 2 celery ribs 1 sprig parsley 1 very ripe tomato
Put bird and pieces in a large pot with water, salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove foam with a large metal spoon.
Peel and halve onion and carrots, and add to pot with celery, parsley and tomato. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and continue to simmer three hours until chicken feels very tender when a leg is prodded.
Strain soup, reserving giblets and carrots in a separate container. Cover and refrigerate soup. Next day, remove congealed fat and return soup to the pot.
Cube giblets and carrots. Add to soup. Serve with matzah balls or noodles.
Serves four to six. Keeps three days in the refrigerator and three months in the freezer.
TRADITIONAL KICHELS
1 cup cake flour 1 to 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tsp baking powder 2 large eggs 2/3 cup superfine sugar 1/2 cup sunflower or other flavorless oil zest of 1 orange 1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350˚F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix flours and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until thick then gradually whisk in the sugar, followed by the oil, orange zest and vanilla.
Stir in enough of the flour to make a rollable, nonsticky dough. Knead until smooth then roll onto a floured board until a half-inch thick.
Sprinkle the dough with sugar, roll lightly to press it in. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and arrange on prepared trays, leaving room for cookies to spread. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until pale gold in color. Leave on wire racks to cool.
Makes about 50. Will stay fresh two weeks in an airtight container and freezes for three months.
Sybil Kaplanis a journalist, foreign correspondent, lecturer, food writer and book reviewer who lives in Jerusalem. She also does the restaurant features for janglo.net and leads walks in English in Jerusalem’s market.
Add some apples to your honey cake this year. (photo by Barry A. Kaplan)
In the spirit of trying new things and as the New Year approaches, here is a recipe from my kosher kitchen, a slightly different take on the traditional honey cake. It’s a Rosh Hashanah favorite.
TWO-LAYER APPLE-HONEY CAKE
2 cups flour 2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp ground cloves 3/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2 large eggs 3/4 cup canola oil 1/3 cup non-dairy creamer 1/2 cup honey or honey substitute 3 cups grated apples
Frosting 2 cups tofu cream cheese 1/2 cup unsalted pareve margarine 1 tsp grated orange peel 1 cup confectioners sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup honey or honey substitute
Preheat oven to 325˚F.
Put vegetable spray on two nine-inch cake pans.
Place flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and sugar or sugar substitute in a large bowl and mix.
Add vanilla, eggs, oil, non-dairy creamer and honey. Mix, then add apples. Place half of the batter in each baking pan. Bake in the oven about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool.
Beat cream cheese and margarine in a bowl until fluffy.
Add orange peel, confectioners sugar and vanilla and blend. Add honey. Chill until firm enough to spread.
Place one cake on a serving dish. Spread with one cup of frosting. Top with the second cake and spread the remaining frosting on the top and sides.
Sybil Kaplanis a journalist, foreign correspondent, lecturer, food writer and book reviewer who lives in Jerusalem. She also does the restaurant features for janglo.net and leads walks in English in Jerusalem’s market.
There’s almost nothing better than eating outside in the summer. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
Think lazy summer days. Think warm evenings under a star-strewn sky. Think entertaining friends. Think luscious fruits, the chill of ice cream on your tongue, party desserts to tempt your palate. It’s time to be adventurous and try some wonderful summer puddings and desserts.
When the mercury soars, making a fancy dessert can seem like a tall order. The solution is to do most of the work in the cool of the morning or the night before. Finish the preparation at the last minute and present it with a flourish.
Here are a few tips you should keep in mind before trying out the recipes that follow. Egg whites for soufflés and meringues should always be beaten at room temperature, the eggs removed from the refrigerator two hours before beating. They should be fresh and, when you separate the whites, make sure not a speck of yolk gets in. One foolproof method is to break the egg into a saucer, covering the yolk with half an eggshell. Tilt the saucer, pouring off the whites into a clean, dry bowl and use dry beaters. Add a pinch of salt to the whites before beating.
The success of making good cold and frozen puddings often depends on using gelatin (all supermarkets in Israel and many abroad sell a kosher version). Stir it into cold liquid and only afterwards add to the hot mixture. When turning out a frozen pudding, wring out a towel in hot water and hold it over the mold for a few seconds … it will then slide out easily. Egg custards should never be allowed to boil: cook on very low heat or in a double boiler, stirring all the time.
So, let’s get started!
AMBROSIA
6 oranges 2 red apples 1 small tin pineapple rings 3 bananas a few cherries 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup liqueur or sweet sherry 1 cup chilled, whipped cream other seasonal fruits as desired
Peel and remove skin from oranges. Slice unpeeled apples into thin rings. Peel and slice bananas. Cover apples and bananas with lemon juice to avoid discoloration. Drain pineapples, remove stones from cherries and halve.
In a glass dish, layer the fruit, sprinkling each layer with a teaspoon of sugar. Reserve cherries for the top. To the pineapple syrup, add liqueur or sherry and pour over the fruit. Cover tightly and chill overnight.
Serve with cream that is passed around in a separate bowl.
MIXED BERRY COBBLERS
6 cups mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, fresh or frozen) 1 tsp grated lemon zest 1 tbsp lemon juice 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup instant tapioca
biscuit topping: 1 cup flour 2 tbsp wheat germ 1 1/2 tsp baking powder pinch salt 1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter cut into small pieces 1/2 cup milk 1 egg white lightly beaten 1 tbsp sugar
Pre-heat oven to 375˚F.
Mix berries, lemon zest and juice, sugar and tapioca in large bowl until well combined. Let stand 15 minutes. Spoon one cup of the mixture into each of six one-cup ramekins. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.
For the topping, stir together flour, wheat germ, baking powder and salt in a medium-size bowl. Cut in the butter with two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk. (The dough will be sticky.)
Remove the baking sheet with ramekins from the oven. Gently stir the filling in each ramekin. Drop 1/4 cup of dough over each ramekin, brushing the dough with egg white. Sprinkle with sugar. Return to the oven, and bake a further 20 minutes until topping is golden. Serve in the ramekins, warm and topped with whipped or ice cream.
APPLE SPONGE PUDDING
4 large cooking apples 2 sticks cinnamon 4 tbsp sugar 300 grams stale cake 1/2 cup thick, whipped cream
Cut up the peeled apples and cook them with the cinnamon and a little water until soft. Grate the cake or crumble to crumbs. In a glass dish, put a thin layer of mashed apple, sprinkle with sugar and cover with a layer of cake crumbs. Continue until all the cake and apples are used up. Spread cream smoothly on top and chill. Serve very cold.
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
250 grams plain chocolate 4 eggs 4 tbsp sherry or sweet red wine
Cut chocolate into small pieces and melt over hot water.
Separate whites and yolks from the eggs. Beat yolks thickly and stir into chocolate until blended. Add a pinch of salt to the whites and beat till very stiff. Fold into the chocolate mixture with sherry. Spoon into glass dishes, chill and serve.
PINEAPPLE SUPREME
1 large pineapple 1 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp rum 2 tbsp butter 1 cup whipped, sweetened cream
Slice off pineapple top to make a “lid.” Trim base so that the pineapple stands upright. Scoop out flesh and cut into pieces, removing the core. Sweeten with sugar and rum, then put the mixture back into the shell. Dot top with pieces of butter and wrap the pineapple in foil. Wrap the “lid” separately in foil. Stand upright on baking sheet and bake in hot oven (350˚F) for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cover with “lid.” Place pineapple on serving dish and serve with cream or ice cream separately.
GRAPE-PINEAPPLE ICE CREAM
1 cup grape juice 1/2 cup drained, crushed pineapple 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup pineapple syrup 1/2 cup water
Heat the water and sugar until the sugar dissolves completely. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir well. Pour into ice trays and freeze until hard. Remove to a chilled bowl and beat for one minute, until fluffy and light. Return to trays and freeze three hours.
Serve in chilled glasses topped with fresh mint leaves.
Dvora Waysmanis the author of 13 books. She can be contacted at [email protected] or through her blog dvorawaysman.com.
Silk Road Vegetarian: Vegan, Vegetarian and Gluten Free Recipes from the Mindful Cook by Dahlia Abraham-Klein (Tuttle Publishing Co., 2014) contains 121 recipes in eight chapters, several of which would be ideal for Shavuot.
Although Abraham-Klein grew up in New York, her parents trace their ancestry to the Babylonian Exile (now Iraq) and Persian conquest (now Iran) of sixth century BCE. Her ancestors traversed Persia, Afghanistan and Bukhara (capital of Uzbekistan), speaking Farsi and Judeo-Persian. In the early part of the 19th century, they settled in Afghanistan, in the middle of the Silk Road, which was an extensive, interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent.
The author’s great-grandfather owned a vineyard in Uzbekistan; her grandmother moved to the United States in the 1950s and grew her own grapes to make wine. The author’s mother and siblings grew up in Kabul, then moved with the family to Israel in 1949. The author’s father, who had grown up in Kabul, lived in India and visited Israel, where he met and married her mother in 1952; they lived in India until 1956.
Abraham-Klein’s family were merchants, absorbing the culture, languages, tastes and cuisines of all the places in which they lived. However, she grew up in New York and, as a teen, became unable to eat wheat, dairy and sugar. She has a master’s degree in education and a degree in naturopathy.
Silk Road Vegetarian contains recipes for bases, condiments and dips such as hummus, tomato paste, za’atar and mango chutney; appetizers including vegan chopped liver, stuffed grape leaves and Italian zucchini fritters; soups like Persian bean and noodle, and pumpkin. Among the salads are minted beet, and Middle Eastern lemon potato. Afghan squash goulash and Bengali potato and zucchini curry are among the main dishes; Bukharan green-herbed and Greek-inspired spanakorizo are among the rice dishes, and sides include sesame noodles and shawarma-spiced potato wedges. The desserts chapter has, for instance, orange blossom date balls and orange zest almond cookies.
The book is enhanced by 174 color photographs. Among these are ones that show how to prepare slivered orange peel, fold stuffed cabbage and remove coconut meat. Because Abraham-Klein has no formal culinary education, she has produced a cookbook that is easy to follow, with interesting cultural and historical notes about each recipe, bold-faced ingredients and numbered instructions. There is also an essay on the spice pantry; others on tofu and legumes; an article on grains; and a feature on food preservation.
COCONUT MILK Can be used as a substitute base for curries, in lieu of cream, and for dairy in desserts.
2 cups water 2 cups grated fresh or frozen coconut
Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in the coconut and then remove from the heat. Cover and let cool.
Purée with an immersion blender. Line a sieve with cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Pour the purée into the sieve and squeeze the cloth to extract the liquid. Remove the cheesecloth and use the coconut milk right away or store it in the refrigerator for up to two days (shake before using). Makes two cups.
PERSIAN SPINACH AND YOGURT DIP
1 tbsp olive oil 1 large thinly sliced onion 1 minced clove garlic small pinch saffron 1 tbsp hot water 3 cups stemmed, washed and chopped fresh spinach 2 cups thick plain yogurt salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a large skillet and sauté onions for 15 minutes or until they are soft and beginning to color. Stir in garlic and sauté for one minute or until fragrant.
Steep the saffron in a small bowl with hot water. Let sit until water is tinted.
Add spinach to the skillet and sauté for five minutes or until wilted. Add saffron water and stir to combine. Cool completely. Fold in yogurt, season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to meld. Makes six to eight servings.
BAKED LEMON RICE PUDDING
1/2 cup short-grain rice 2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk 2 tbsp packed brown sugar 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract grated zest of 1 small lemon 1 tbsp chopped vegan butter fresh strawberries or any seasonal berries
Wash and soak the rice according to instructions. Combine rice and coconut milk in an ovenproof casserole dish and set aside for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 150˚F. Add sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and butter to rice mixture and whisk gently to combine. Bake uncovered for 2 to 2.5 hours or until top of pudding is lightly browned.
Allow pudding to cool, then gentle peel off skin at the surface and discard. Chill in refrigerator for about an hour or until pudding thickens. Garnish with strawberries or seasonal berries and serve. Makes four servings.
Sybil Kaplanis a journalist, foreign correspondent, lecturer, food writer and book reviewer who lives in Jerusalem. She also does the restaurant features for janglo.net and leads weekly shuk walks in English in Jerusalem’s market.
Mere days before heading to Israel for a couple of weeks, Sara Ciacci, 90, called the Jewish Independent to make sure that I had received her new cookbook, Sara’s Kitchen: 90 Years of Devotion, 90 Recipes from the Heart (Gateway Rasmussen, 2015), and that I had all the information I needed about the Jewish Food Bank. For Ciacci, food and tzedaka are inextricably connected with life and community.
“Sara Ciacci is the beating heart of Temple Sholom’s kitchen,” reads the cookbook’s introduction. “From her kiddush lunches to the Sisterhood catering committee, second seders, women’s seders and the annual Yom Kippur break-the-fast, Sara has made a mission of nourishing her congregation since its earliest days. She is queen of all hamantashen, blintzes and latkes, and, every year, she and friend Leonor Etkin produce challot by the dozen for Temple Sholom’s High Holiday celebrations. Sara also makes the Vancouver Jewish Food Bank her priority, and all the hungry in our community will be the beneficiaries of all the money raised from the sale of Sara’s Kitchen.”
The Jewish Food Bank supports close to 400 Jewish individuals each year, according to its 2013-2014 report. Ciacci shared with the Jewish Independent an email she wrote to the Jewish Family Service Agency, which co-funds the food bank with Jewish Women International-B.C. and community donors. In it, she traces her memories of the service agency back 80 years, to the Depression era, when, like many families in the Jewish community, she writes, “my mother, two sisters and I needed help. I also remember Theresa Blumberg, the social worker who came to our home and found a reason to look in the food pantry, to talk with me and ask about school. She also found time to visit me during the 18 months that I was in the children’s preventorium for tuberculosis. It was Miss Blumberg who made sure that I had proper shoes and school supplies. My only possession from childhood is an 11th birthday book inscribed, ‘To my dear Sara, from Theresa Blumberg.’…
“My adult association with the Jewish Food Bank started in 1984 when our president, Jean Cohen, was helping a Jewish senior and found canned cat food in her cupboard. She did not have a cat. Jean brought the idea of a food bank for seniors and immigrants to our board. We then approached the Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA) and an unofficial partnership was born. B’nai B’rith Women (now JWI-BC) would be responsible for collecting food and JFSA counselors chose the recipients. Hampers were provided based on a list that identified recipients only by a numbered card that specified their specific needs.”
Organized for a number of years by “two wonderful women who are no longer with us,” Renee Lifchus for BBW (now JWI-BC) and Isabel Lever from JFSA, “We packed the first hampers … in Safeway paper bags on the workbench in Carol Fader’s basement…. Hampers contained non-perishable food items that our members donated or collected from friends and family.”
In this tradition of community, several recipes in Sara’s Kitchen are Ciacci’s “by way of being begged, borrowed, copied, changed or invented.” The sources of these recipes are acknowledged, which adds to the community feel of this cookbook.
There are three chapters, starting with most everyone’s favorite meal: dessert. The second chapter comprises Passover recipes, the third, “and everything else.” There is an index for quick finds, a page on which to note your favorite recipes and their page number for easy reference, as well as a couple of pages to write in a few of your own recipes. Each section is headed by a full-color page of some of the treats waiting to be made.
The desserts section starts with a few tips, such as the need to chill cookie dough for at least an hour. Ginger snaps, blueberry drop cookies, and apple and honey cake bread pudding with butterscotch sauce are among the 36 pages of desserts to try after Passover.
In addition to the Passover conversion table – offering substitutes for flour and Graham cracker crumbs, for example – there is a spice guide, and pieces of advice offered throughout, such as how to ripen avocados more quickly and how to make radish roses. Appropriately, on page 90, is “Sara Ciacci’s Recipe for a Rich Full Life,” featuring nine wise ingredients.
Since I’m reviewing this cookbook in the Jewish Independent’s Passover edition, the recipes I tested are all kosher for the holiday: spinach vegetable kugel, red cabbage and almond crisps. Everything turned out according to plan, except the almond crisps, which were golden brown in about half the suggested time. I will remember this next time I make them because they are so good and easy to make, there will be a next time.
SPINACH VEGETABLE KUGEL
3 large carrots
10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed
1 medium onion
2 stalks celery
1 cup chicken [or vegetable] bouillon
3 eggs
3/4 cup matza meal
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat over to 350˚F. Grease an eight-inch square pan.
Cut up and grate carrots. Set aside. Chop spinach, onion and celery. Place in a two-quart saucepan. Add grated carrots and bouillon. Cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until vegetables are soft.
Place the eggs and matza meal in a mixing bowl. Stir in cooked vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture evenly in the baking pan. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Cut into squares before serving.
RED CABBAGE
1 medium onion
1 average-size red cabbage
4 medium apples
1/4 cup canola oil or butter
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp (or more) red wine vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 or 4 whole cloves
1 tsp caraway seeds (optional)
Slice onion and sauté in oil/butter until translucent. Shred cabbage. Peel, core and slice up apples. Place cabbage in a pot and top with the sliced apples. Add water and remaining ingredients. Place on medium-low heat and simmer one hour (or longer), stirring occasionally until cabbage is tender.
Adjust vinegar/sugar to taste. Some lemon juice can be substituted for the vinegar.
ALMOND CRISPS Perfect for Passover, these cookies also make a great gluten-free option at any dessert buffet.
3 cups sliced almonds with skins, lightly toasted
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg whites. at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix (do not beat) egg whites with sugar. Add vanilla. Stir in almonds.
Using a tablespoon, make mounds of mixture on cookie sheet and flatten into thin rounds with your fingers dipped in cold water or with the back of a spoon. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Turn off the oven and leave cookies in the oven with door open for 10 more minutes.
Makes 20 to 22 cookies.
For copies of Sara’s Kitchen, contact Darcy Billinkoff at [email protected].
