Join me for an Israeli Culinary Experience[1] that will take you on a once in a lifetime journey deep into Israel’s complexity of ethnic cuisines. Throughout the tour, travel the length and breadth of the country and taste your way through cultures that sometimes stand alone and sometimes blend together to become what we call Israeli Cuisine. The trip will include visits to farms, markets, and restaurants as well as cooking workshops taught by Israeli experts. We will also visit locations whose work is the epitome of Tikkun Olam. As always, I will be right there with my “Tina’s Tidbits”answering your questions about each ingredient we use and share stories behind the recipes.
If you have watched In Search of Israeli Cuisine( see the trailer[2])on Netflix you know the cuisine is more than the cooking or the foods, it’s about the entire nation and the diversity in Israel. Via Sabra coordinated the itinerary for the documentary and I have worked with them to create a similar experience for you.
So let’s explore together!
For a detailed look at the trip go to http://www.viasabra.com/tina-wasserman-culinary-trip [3]
Seasons change. Some of us are bundled in our homes looking at significant snowfall, some are drenched to the bone and hoping that our foundations are intact and some are celebrating the holidays in 80-degree weather, and that is in the states, NOT the Caribbean!
But all of us have experienced the knowledge of the hate and fighting around the world at the same time we were focused on peace and good will toward men.
Food is the great equalizer. It provides a means to explore other cultures and heritages around the world. Food brings people together to share humanity’s common goals and hopes. Food is the ultimate nurturer in times of stress, sadness and even celebration.
May this year bring you personal peace and contentment and may the hatred that is bombarding religious groups, Jewish, Muslim and even Christian, all over the world cease.
May my recipes bring you comfort, renew old culinary memories, ignite your creativity and introduce new recipes to you from all over the world.
There are many soups listed on my website but why don’t you check out some of my favorites Mushroom Barley Soup[1], Russian (really Ukrainian) Cabbage Borscht[2], and Ethiopian Peanut soup[3] and my very easy, kid friendly, Vegan Vegetable Tomato Soup[4]? All will warm your tummies as well as your hearts.
Dear Friends,
Some background and recipes for the New Year.
[1]
We incorporate certain foods into our celebration of the High Holy Days because of custom not Talmudic dictate. The only prescription in the Bible is for Hiddur Mitzvah taking the extra time to make our holiday table and ourselves morebeautiful by using our best china and silver or getting our hair cut and wearing new clothes for the holiday. The Talmud actually prescribes that you must get a new outfit! Through these actions, we enhance the meaning of the High Holy Days.
[2]
The choices of food to represent the holiday depended on the region, societal customs and socio-economic standing of the Jews. Ashkenazi Jews expressed their wish for a sweet and fruitful year by dipping apples and challah in honey, Sephardim dip challah into a sweet preserve of grated apples scented with rose water and have Seders containing seven foods with seven blessings. It is also customary to serve fruit in covered baskets so no one knows what’s inside just as no one knows what the new year will bring.
[3]
Normally two loaves of elongated challah are served for Shabbat, but for the High Holy Days a round challah, sometimes containing raisins, is customary. The round challah is fraught with meaning; it is the crown of G-D our King, or it represents a year filled with never-ending good. A ladder of dough placed on top represents who will ascend or descend in health or wealth in the coming year or our wishes going to heaven and the decree coming down from on high, Alesser known custom is to bake the challah in the shape of a bird or place a bird of dough on top of the challah. This custom of the Magreb is based on Isaiah 31:5 “As hovering birds, so will the Lord protect,
Memories often dictate what is on your table; the kiddush cup from your wedding, your grandmother’s special apple plate or the hand embroidered cross stitch table cloth that your mother created one summer when you were away at camp. Whatever it is, it has a place of honor in your home and in your heart.
[4]
Food choices are often dictated by our memories as well. My family and friends remember the special foods I make each year and they have high expectations. They expect to devour my “killer” kugel and challah and they know, that in an effort to make our Jewish Diaspora smaller I will incorporate traditional dishes from Jewish communities all over the world into my buffet.
[5]
Whatever you do and whatever you cook, enjoy the process. Establish some culinary memories for your family and have a Happy and Healthy New Year.
[1]PUFFS
1 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
4 large eggs
PASTRY CREAM
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 Tablespoons butter cut into little pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
CARAMEL
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 Tablespoons white corn syrup
1. To make the puffs, bring the water, butter, salt, and sugar and vanilla to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and IMMEDIATELY add the flour all at once and rapidly beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until a ball of dough is formed.
2. Return the pan to a moderate heat and mix the dough until a film forms on the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from the stove. Add the eggs one at a time beating to incorporate thoroughly before you add another egg.
3. Using a half inch star tip in a pastry bag, pipe the dough in the shape of triangles onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or lightly greased.
4. Bake for 20 minutes at 425F. Cut a little slit in the sides of the puffs to let out steam and then return to a turned off oven for another 5 – 10 minutes to dry. Cool completely and then fill with the pastry cream.
5. To make the pastry cream, heat 1 1/2 cups of the milk until it is scalded. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup milk with the cornstarch.
6. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl with the sugar and salt until light and fluffy.
7. Rapidly whisk the egg yolk mixture as you slowly add the scalded milk. Combine thoroughly. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir constantly.
8. Return this mixture to the saucepan used for heating the milk and cook over moderate heat until the mixture begins to thicken. STIR CONSTANTLY. Add the butter as you are stirring.
9. The mixture will take about 6 minutes to thicken. When it is thick, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 more minutes.
10. Transfer the cream to a bowl and stir in the vanilla. Let cool and use as your filling for the Hamantashen. OR…
11. Use a small plain or star tip in a pastry bag to fill the triangles. Fold down the pastry bag half way and add the filling. Bring up the sides of the bag and then twist the bag until the filling is at the tip. Pipe the filling into each side of the triangle or slice the pastry horizontally and pipe the filling over the bottom, cover with the top, and then dust the tops of the Hamantaschen with confectioner’s sugar and serve.
Tina’s Tidbits:
If piping a firm filling into the bottom of a cut triangle, use a larger star tip so the design ridges show through.
½ cup corn oil or canola oil
¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
1 egg yolk
2 cups rice flour
4 tablespoons rosewater
Poppyseeds for garnish
Place oil and sugar and egg yolk in a 2 quart mixing bowl. Beat with a hand mixer for 2-3 minutes or until an emulsion is formed.
Fold the rice flour into the sugar mixture in 2 portions until everything is moist.
Add the rosewater and stir and then knead the dough in the bowl with your hands until a smooth ball forms.
Cover bowl or shape dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to make cookies, Preheat oven to 325F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Using a 1 inch food scoop or a teaspoon, scoop up about 1 tablespoon of dough. Gently shape it into a ball and place it on the cookie sheet.
Flatten the ball to about ¼ inch thickness and smooth out any rough edges.
Using the back of a small spoon press overlapping “petals” into the top of the cookies. Sprinkle the centers with a few poppyseeds.
Bake for 18 -24 minutes, depending with you are using a convection setting, until the cookies are a light golden brown around the edges.
Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Yield: 4 or more dozen
Tina’s Tidbits:
These cookies are very fragile so don’t make them too big or too thin.
If you want to use less flavoring, make sure you add some liquid to equal the 4 tablespoons.
Substitute orange blossom water for the rosewater if you like.
These cookies remain fresh for days or freeze well in an airtight freezer bag
The best way to get the air out of the bag is to seal the bag almost all the way and then insert a straw and suck out all the air. Remove the straw and you complete the closure.
Air in freezer bags causes ice crystals to form which erodes the texture and flavor of the contents.
FILLING:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups almond flour
SIMPLE SYRUP:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon rosewater, orange blossom water or 1 stick cinnamon
½ pound Phyllo dough
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
If butter is nice and soft then filling can be mixed by hand. If not, use a hand held mixer.
Combine the butter, sugar, salt, extracts and eggs in a 3 quart mixing bowl. Add the almond flour and stir to combine well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until it firms up.
Combine the sugar water and lemon juice in a 1 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until liquid is clear but not turning color. Turn off the heat and add flavoring of choice and set aside until needed.
Meanwhile, cut the roll of dough crosswise into 5 inch sections. Cover one section with plastic wrap and then a damp paper towel. Make sure the dough is completely covered and the towel doesn’t touch the dough. Set aside while you work with the other roll.
Unroll the 5 inch section of dough and cut crosswise through all layers to make 5 inch squares. Take four squares of dough at a time and lay them out, in single layers, on your counter or board. Cover the rest of the dough to prevent it from drying out.
Working quickly, brush melted butter over all of the squares. Place 1 tablespoon of the Frangipane in a line about ½” from the bottom of the dough. Roll dough over the filling once. Brush the edges with a little more butter and then fold each edge in and over the filling. Continue rolling up the dough to make a cigar and place seam side down on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Proceed with the remaining squares until all the filling has been used.
Brush tops with additional melted butter and bake in a pre-heated 375F oven until the cigars are golden -about 15 minutes.
Serve as is or brush the hot pastries with the sugar syrup and set on a plate to serve.
Yield: 4 or more dozen
Tina’s Tidbits:
The Frangipane can be made in advance and refrigerated for 3-4 days. It can be frozen but the raw egg might crystallize and change the consistency of the finished baked good.
These pastries are popular throughout the Mediterranean but the flavoring gives a clue to the region. Greece-cinnamon, Rosewater-Iraq, Syria and the Levant. Orange blossom water, Northern Africa and the Maghreb.
These pastries can be made in advance, flash frozen individually on a lined cookie sheet and then placed in an airtight freezer bag or container. When ready to bake, place frozen pastries on a lined cookie sheet and then brush with some melted butter. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
Simple syrup can remain in the refrigerator for weeks. Use it over fruit, in iced tea or poured over ice cream.
You might have your family’s favorite recipe and not need mine, but I think my tidbits will help you create beautiful, flaky pastries and I am including some non-hamantashen traditional recipes from Greece, Persia and one I created with a nod to France. Here is a list of dos and don’ts starting from the preparation to the eating.
Tina’s Tidbits:
Most dough recipes can be madewith Gluten-free flour, but you might have to add a tablespoon or so of liquid too prevent dry dough
You will notice in the photo that one type of dough is a little rough and cracked in some places, this happens when your recipe calls for baking powder. I prefer to incorporate more air into the fat and egg mixture before adding the dry ingredients which keeps the dough smooth and light and flaky.
Adding confectioners’ sugar to your dough instead of granulated will produce a smooth, crisp, but not hard, finished product. However, use my recipes as a guideline for quantity if you are thinking about converting your recipe.
A word about types of fat and don’t shoot me!
When using butter always use unsalted butter.
When using coconut oil use refined coconut oil unless you want a stronger coconut flavor in your dough.
Never use whipped margarine for baked goods. The air changes the volume of fat that you are using and there is more water in it so it will change the consistency of your dough and make it much harder to roll and shape.
Crisco- take the shocked look off your face! Crisco was the number one food that helped Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century assimilate into American culinary culture. Since lard couldn’t be used to make a light, flaky pie crust Crisco could, and it made the dish pareve so an apple pie could be eaten at the end of a Shabbat chicken dinner. As of October 2022, Crisco no longer contains trans-fat but it still makes the crispiest, flakiest cookie dough so I created this recipe for those who don’t want animal fat.
Oil can often be used in a baked dough, but the finished product is denser and harder than crisp. However, you might have a family recipe that calls for it and if you like it, don’t change the ingredients.
When rolling out your dough sprinkle confectioners’ sugar on your work surface NOT flour. Confectioners’ sugar is 3% cornstarch and that will prevent sticking and any sugar that gets pressed into the down will not make the cookie dry but will enhance the golden color of the finished product.
Cover your dough with plastic wrap or a piece of parchment paper before rolling. If flour or more confectioners’ sugar is sprinkled on top of the dough to prevent sticking to the rolling pin, it will also prevent the hamantaschen from sticking to each corner when being shaped. The result will be the dough opening during baking. They might taste good, but they will look more like tacos!
The filling should be dense and contain little moisture. If not making your own, I suggest using Solo canned fillings or pie fillings. NEVER use jelly unless you like hollow hamantaschen will a sticky mess on your cooky sheet. If you want to use jam then make sure the first ingredient listed is fruit, not sugar.
Last, but not least, raw dough freezes well, baked hamantaschen freeze well, but unbaked, shaped hamantaschen don’t freeze well and will open when baked.