Category: Holiday
-
Apple Strudel
The earliest strudel recipe was recorded in 1696 in Vienna. And there is definitely somewhere in my mind that every time I eat strudel I want to be sitting in a café in Vienna with Sigmund Freud at the next table. But making strudel is a whole different story. The pulling of the strudel dough…
-
Carrot Salad with Mint and Dates
I have always struggled with carrot salads. I want to like them — in fact, I should like them. I like carrots. But the heavy-handed use of raw cumin with raw carrots just isn’t my thing. In Leah Koenig’s brilliant 2015 cookbook, Modern Jewish Cooking, she has a carrot salad that is perfect for me: celebrating…
-
Apple Butter
The ancient Jewish community of Persia (modern-day Iran) have a beautiful tradition of dipping apples and challah into apple butter — a smooth apple compote scented with cinnamon and cloves. If honey isn’t your thing, try apple butter instead. Recipe curtsy of Zahava Kahen. INGREDIENTS: Yields about 2½ cups METHOD: MAKE AHEAD: Keeps in the fridge for…
-
Kreplach
Around the 16th century, Eastern Europeans started making filled pasta; probably the influence of both the Tartar invasion from Asia in the East and Italy in the South. Regardless, this was innovative. As hard as it is for us to imagine, it hadn’t occurred to the people of Northern Europe to boil their pasta; they…
-
Black-Eyed Peas in Tomato Sauce
Black-eyed peas have always been part of my family’s Rosh Hashanah tradition, one of the many simanim—symbolic foods eaten with the hope of increase and blessing in the year ahead. Every year I’m reminded of how moreish and frankly un-bean-like black-eyed peas are, and I wonder why I don’t eat them year-round. And then, as soon…
-
Empanadas
Makes 12–15 medium-sized empanadas Though many think of empanadas as South American savoury handheld pastries, they are in fact originally from Spain. The author of the Shulchan Aruch – Rabbi Joseph Caro (1488–1575) – writes about empanadas in his treatise on Jewish law. Empanadas travelled east with the Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, and many say that…
-
Potato Kugel
Potato kugel — truly, it’s as close as I think Jews come to agreeing on nirvana. Even Sephardi Jews, who mock the Ashkenazi kitchen, see the light when it comes to potato kugel. It is the perfect combination of potato, oil, salt, and heat. The outside is crunchy, the inside melts in your mouth. It…
-
Potato and Onion Galette
I think of a galette as a low maintenance version of a quiche, just as delicious because of the flaky pastry and amazing filling, but no need to worry about a pie dish or custard. Because a galette is far drier than a quiche, it travels easily and tastes amazing at room temperature. This galette…
-
Flakey Pie Dough
Makes 2 x 23cm (9 inch) pie shells Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavour — do not substitute extra water. The alcohol helps inhibit gluten formation, yielding a tender, flaky crust. This dough works well for both sweet and savoury pies and tarts. You can make it in…
