Apple cloud pudding from heaven

From Florence Greenberg’s Jewish Cookbook (first published in 1947)

Happy Passover (Pesach) everyone! Is anybody else really craving a sandwich or a big bowl of pasta right about now?

This is definitely (in my opinion) the best specifically Pesach dessert of all time. I mean, there are other good desserts to have during Pesach, like pavlova and chocolate mousse, but as this one has matzo meal in, it is only really made at Pesach – who would want to cook with matzo meal at other times (except for schnitzels or fried fish)?

I’m posting this recipe now because there are still a few days of Pesach left – I really do urge you to make this if you can. It is seriously wonderful. This pudding is kind of like an apple kugel, but much lighter, and supremely apple-y. If I was Nigella Lawson I would call it a ‘slightly slumped soufflé’.

Serves 4  - could potentially serve more, but everyone will want second helpings

Ingredients:

450g cooking apples

3 eggs, separated

100g caster sugar

3 tbsp fine matzo meal

1 tbsp ground almonds

zest and juice of 1 lemon

½ tsp cinnamon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190c

Use a bit of butter or margarine to grease a deep-ish baking dish.

Peel the apples and the grate them – don’t core them first, but rather grate around the core (to save you from grating your fingers off). Mix the grated apple with the lemon juice and zest immediately to stop it from discolouring.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff.

Beat the egg yolks with sugar until pale and creamy. Add the lemony apple, matzo meal, ground almonds, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly, and then fold in the egg whites (it will look a bit gross at this stage).

Pour the apple mixture into the baking dish, and bake for 1 hour. When it is ready it will look cake-y on the top, and light and wobbly in the middle. It isn’t the prettiest of desserts, but it is so ruddy delicious that no-one will care.

Celeriac Sofrito

I first tasted this dish a few weeks ago when I volunteered, together with Moishe House and Brondesbury Park Synagogue at Rumi’s Kitchen, in Cricklewood Mosque. About once a month, a group of people come together and cook for the homeless. What’s wonderful about it, is that it isn’t so much about the food, but about creating a sense of community. Much love to Becky for introducing them to me. See below* for details about Rumi’s Cave.

I had never worked in an industrial-sized kitchen before, and absolutely loved it. The pot I was stirring was so big that it went over four rings on the hob, and the heat was so intense that two of us were stirring together to keep the celeriac from sticking. The original recipe was chosen by someone from the synagogue, it is an Ottolenghi dish, served with oniony meatballs. This recipe here is my adaptation.

In Jerusalem, Ottolenghi/ Tamimi explain that a sofrtio has its origins in Sephardic Jewish cooking, and refers a cooking method. Originating from the Spanish verb sofreir (to fry lightly). It involves slowly cooking meat in a pot on the stovetop with only oil and very little liquid. The result is a very tender texture and rich, comforting flavour. Turmeric, garlic and lemon are traditional flavours for this. Although traditionally associated with meat, it works incredibly well here with just veggies.

Celeriac is a pretty new ingredient for me. I have never been the biggest fan of root vegetables, but celeriac is brilliant. Every day on Masterchef Professionals someone seems to be making celeriac puree, so it can’t just be me. I have made this recipe a few times now, and I really love it. It’s sunshine-yellow and lemony, and the spices add an incredible warmth. I’ve added a few potatoes for a little variety in texture – the celeriac becomes really soft and almost creamy.

Makes enough for 4-6 as a side dish.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil


1 celeriac, peeled and cut into approx 5cm x 1.5cm batons. I intentionally cut some a little small and some a little big, for different textures.

About 8 small waxy potatoes (I use charlottes) cut into quarters

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed


1 tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp each cumin and coriander


1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed


¾ tsp smoked paprika


1 mug-full of chicken or vegetable stock (1 cube) – you may need a little extra liquid


Juice from half a lemon – more of less depending on your preferences


Salt and freshly ground black pepper

The potatoes take a little longer to cook, so start them off cooking before you peel and chop the celeriac. Heat the oil in a large saucepan/or deep frying pan and add the potatoes, stirring quite frequently on a medium heat. Add the celeriac when it is ready, along with the turmeric, fennel seeds and other spices. Fry these all together for 5-10 minutes, until the spices start smelling fragrant and the veggies look cooked at the edges. Add the garlic and fry for another 5 minutes, stirring all the time to prevent it from burning. Then add the mug of stock, and simmer for at least 20 minutes. As there isn’t that much liquid, you will need to stir quite regularly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom (you may need to add a little more liquid, but don’t add too much).  When the potato quarters have cooked through and the smaller wedges of celeriac have started to disintegrate and thicken the sauce, season with the lemon, salt and pepper. Goes very well with thick Greek yogurt or Labneh.

8 celeriacs cooking in the giant pot at Rumi's Kitchen

Another volunteer and I stirring the giant pot. I love my apron 

my normal-sized version - slightly too orange as my hand slipped with the paprika - tasted nice though

Served with herby labneh and pomegranate seeds

*Rumi’s Cave is a community space located in the heart of Kilburn in London. It is run by charity, Ulfa Aid as a way of engaging and reaching out to the community. At Rumi’s Cave, we aim to create an environment of spirituality, creativity and learning for everyone, despite race or religion. Their mission is: Spirituality, Creativity, Education, Community, Charity.

http://rumiscaveblog.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/162/

Syrian Artichoke and Cheese Casserole

This is a recipe that I tested for the Gefiltefest cookbook. The book is a compilation of recipes from different Jewish chefs from around the world, and I was delighted to be asked to be involved with putting it together. I have written about Gefiltefest and my involvement with it before, in the Aubergines pouched in Miso post.

I think I drove the cookbook organisers a little bit crazy with my pickiness when it came to what recipes I would test – which is all a bit ridiculous seeing as my intention when I started this blog was to stretch myself with my cooking. Sorry about that guys - will be more ambitious in future, and will get over my fear of yeast!

Its funny because I never would have made this of my own volition, but I just love artichokes so much I knew that I needed to give it a go. I was a little hesitant as I usually avoid cooking with so much cheese because, well, so much cheese, and also on a practical level, it tends to split and get all oily and gross. Heston Blumenthal tackled this issue during his TV series ‘How to Cook Like Heston’. Of course I did buy 'Heston at Home' (couldn’t help myself), but haven’t attempted anything from it yet, for obvious reasons. Anyway, you know what? Despite all the so much cheese, and the simplicity of the dish – essentially it’s a big baked frittata/tortilla/Eggah – it was FANTASTIC, and everyone I made it for loved it too. So there.

This recipe is from Gil Marks. He is an award-winning writer, historian, rabbi, and chef, is a leading authority on culinary subjects and Jewish cuisine. His books include Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, Olive Trees and Honey, and The World of Jewish Cooking. I co-own Olive Trees and Honey 
(thanks to Alli), which is a lovely, vegetarian, kosher cookbook. His recipes give an interesting perspective on Sephardic cuisine especially, as I had previously only associated it with non-dairy dishes.

Gil writes:

“Artichokes are popular in various Mediterranean countries, where they are prepared in a wide variety of ways. Among my favorites, is this simple Syrian-Jewish dish. It is both a comfort food, yet capable of serving as an appetizer at parties.”

A note of artichokes: Frozen artichoke bottoms are not the easiest things to get hold of – but certainly so much easier than preparing the artichokes from fresh. I also feel that if you had whole globe artichokes, it would be a bit of a travesty to do anything with them other than eating them whole, leaf by leaf (heaven). After a little bit of research I found that I could buy the frozen bottoms in Yarden – a kosher supermarket in Golders Green. A bag cost about £6.50 and this recipe used about a third of a bag. Very useful if you want to make the stuffed artichokes in Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s new book Jerusalem, or just add them to a simple pasta dish, or whatever else you fancy.

*Update 23.01.13* I just discovered frozen artichoke bottoms in the Arabic supermarket on Willesden Green High Street (next to the bus stop by Dominos) for £1.89!!!

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

2 tablespoons (approx) olive oil


1 large yellow onion, diced

8 - 9 quartered artichoke bottoms, thawed if frozen

6 large eggs, lightly beaten


3 cups (350 grams) grated Cheddar cheese, or similar.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 
(Gil specifies a teaspoon of salt, but this seemed like a little much for me with so much salty cheese).

Method

Preheat the oven to 175 C. Grease a 2-litre casserole.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until soft and translucent (5-10 mins). Add the artichokes and sauté until nearly tender (5-10 mins). Remove from the heat.

Combine the eggs, cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir in the artichokes.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared casserole. Bake until golden brown (35 to 40 minutes).


5.  Best served warm, also very good at room temperature. If you run a knife around the sides of the casserole, it will turn out onto a plate very nicely.

Variations


1. Reduce the eggs to 3. Combine 1 cup (145g) all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder, then stir in 1 cup/240 ml milk. Stir into the egg-cheese mixture.


2. Add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried oregano and pinch of red pepper.


3. Substitute 570g blanched chopped broccoli or spinach, excess water drained out.

4. Hannah, who is actually a little bit Syrian, said that you can also make it using some kind of cottage cheese/ ricotta instead of all the cheddar, making the whole thing a lot lighter. Presumably much more subtle a flavour though.

With foodie love and thanks to Gefiltefest for encouraging me in all things foodie and social action-y, for giving me this recipe, and letting me post it.

Sweet and Sour Onions

This recipe comes from a fantastic book called ‘Jewish Traditions Cookbook’ by Marlena Spieler. While it may not have the beautiful prose and history of Claudia Roden’s book (officially one of the best cookbooks ever) it is concise with pictures on ever page, and recipes from all over the world. Marlena writes that this recipe originates from Sicily, and spread to Italy, Greece, Turkey and France when the Spanish took over Sicily and the Jews had to flee. I really do find it incredibly interesting how recipes and flavour combinations have travelled through the world as a result of Jewish history. Claudia herself has a fantastic story about Tunisian Jewish flavours linking back to Portugal and Livorno in Italy, by way of pirates, of course.

As this dish is best served at room temperature, it makes for an incredibly useful side dish – although I reckon it is probably even better when eaten simply with crusty bread and cheese, with little regard for table manners. Also apologies for some of the quantities given, I scaled up the recipe due to the fact that the little onions I found (Sainsburys shallots) come in 400g packs. It makes a fairly decent amount, one large panful. When peeling the onions, various sources recommend blanching them in a similar manner to tomatoes to get the skins off easily, but I just peeled them the regular way and it didn’t seem like so much hassle.

ingredients

800g small onions or shallots, peeled but whole

80ml or so wine vinegar (I used cider vinegar as I didn’t have any)

70ml or so olive oil

60g caster sugar (this is less than the recipe suggested, but you can add a little more if you have a sweeter tooth, for me though it was plenty.

5 tbsp tomato puree

2 pinches each of cinnamon and allspice (I didn’t have any allspice)

2 bay leaves

4 parsley sprigs (I didn’t have any fresh parsley so used some dried instead)

100g (ish) raisins or sultanas

salt and pepper

It really is this easy…

Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan with 500ml water. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 45 mins or so, until the onions are soft and the liquid has thickened and reduced considerably. Remove the bay leaves and parsley sprigs, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Aw, you are such a schnitzel!

So this is exciting, its very rare that I cook meat voluntarily, and not on a Shabbat, but this was pretty much an exception, and it was totally worth it. Schnitzels are one of those things that I have always known in theory how to cook, but only actually attempted this one time. 

When I was a teenager and involved in youth movements and other optimistic, wholesome activities, the people who I admired pretty much more than anyone else were my madrichim (counselors). They were like my older siblings, sort of, they were cool and loving and seemingly so secure in their Judaism and future plans. Of course I have since reached and passed their ages myself and I know that this wasn’t true, they just knew how to hide it better. Anyway, one of my madrachot used schnitzel as a term of endearment. If something was cute, she would say something like ‘oh schnitzel’. Since then, I have always associated the two, and schnitzels are cute and comforting.

Apparently in real life they are supposed to be veal, but in my world it is always chicken or turkey. I asked the butcher for turkey escalopes and he carved them for me specially, so they were thin enough.  If yours aren’t, give them a bash to flatten them a bit, or cut them in half lengthways almost the whole way through, and then flatten in a butterfly way.

For 4 decent sized turkey schnitzels you will need:

1 cup flour (or something equivalent during passover)

1-2 eggs, beaten

2 cups breadcrumbs (or matza meal – I used the pre-flavoured garlic breadcrumbs that you can buy in crouton-shakers from kosher shops, and they worked really well)

flavourless cooking oil (not olive!)

salt and pepper

other spices of your choosing

1 very big heavy frying pan

3 dinner plates / wide shallow bowls

1 lemon

Put the flour in one plate, the beaten eggs on another, and the breadcrumbs on the third.  Season the flour with salt and pepper, and add a few other spices depending on what you fancy – I used a bit of sweet paprika and a small amount of chili powder.

Pour oil into the pan about 1cm or so deep and put on to heat – don’t put the schnitzels in until you are sure its really really hot.  You can test this safely by adding in a few crumbs and seeing how quickly they start to sizzle.

Coat each escalope first in the flour, then egg and then crumbs, making sure there is an even coating.  I strongly recommend making these at least half an hour or so in advance so that you can put them in the fridge at this point.  This allows them to firm up, so that the coating is less likely to fall off when you put them in the hot oil. Add them to the pan carefully making sure that they don’t splash oil.  Fry on each side until its golden brown, about 5 minutes or so.  I like a few crunchy parts, but I leave that to your judgement. When they are done to your liking, remove them from the pan and leave on some kitchen paper or equivalent so that the excess oil can soak away.  If you are not serving them immediately, they will stay relatively crisp if you put them on tray in a medium hot oven for a little bit.  Serve with lemon wedges. And chips. 

Yum.

A chicken pie to unify and lead the Jewish people

My first foray into the world of Evelyn Rose

I was going to write something quite negative about Evelyn’s style of writing, but apparently I could get sued for that kind of thing.  Needless to say, it was not an enjoyable experience for me.  Her books seem to be a bible for a whole generation, so maybe I shouldn’t s**t all over them.  I think ill stick to Claudia Roden...or Nigella.

ANYWAY, this is an excellent way of using up leftover cooked chicken.  One of my least favourite things is reheated cooked chicken, served the same way.  Of course you cant really beat an overstuffed chicken sandwich or chicken salad, but there is something so nostalgic and comforting about a pie.  During the aforementioned trip to Morocco, I phoned home to check in and my mum asked me what I wanted for dinner when I returned home, and this chicken pie is what I requested.  I am 25 and as this blog hopefully shows, pretty self-sufficient, but there is still this omnipresent sense of ‘eat bubala’ whenever I come home.  And I definitely make the most of it. 

When I was little and in the tiny tots service at our synagogue every Saturday, we used to sing ‘david melech yisroel chai chai chicken pie.’ I have no idea why we sung chicken pie instead of vekayam, it doesn’t even rhyme.  The song means ‘David king of Israel lives and exists’ somehow in our 2-4 year old minds, chicken pie was an inherent part of remembering this famous king of Israel, known not so much as a philosopher or scholar, but as a musician, lover and fighter; one can only assume that must have enjoyed his food too.  And according to legend he was a ginger.  If the famous King of Israel could unite the Jewish people, maybe there is more to this chicken pie??

This recipe is adapted from Evelyn Rose’s Complete International Jewish Cookbook.  This is not a book I own, but the kind I will need to buy for myself one day.  According to my mum she is like the Jewish Delia (boring but essential and foolproof).  Well I must be a fool.  Reading through the recipe I found it incredibly confusing.  It may just be my own snobbery regarding cookbooks from the 70s and 80s, but it is very hard to follow.  And of course, back in the day it might have been ok to fry with however many ounces of chicken fat, but its really not now.  Also newer cookbooks tend not to refer to the oil/butter/margarine as fat, maybe its just a nation in denial.  Sorry folks.

I have to admit that I didn’t actually cook this.  It was my intention to, but I have had such a bad cold I thought it probably wasn’t the best idea, I’m sure that our dinner guests were very grateful.  I did however observe very closely and was allowed to stir occasionally.

Time: prep 20 mins, cooking 20 mins, ease: 3/5 taste: 5/5 you will need a shallow pie dish, like the size of a large dinner plate.

Ingredients:

For the filling -

1 onion, finely diced

Mushrooms, chopped up – about a heaped handful

Handful chopped parsley (I cook a lot with fresh herbs, and try to avoid using dried ones at all costs. The best places to buy them are asda, or from your local greengrocer, you can buy big bunches very cheaply.  Parsley freezes very well, just make sure you wash it first).

Heaped tbsp plain flour

200ml stock or chicken gravy equivalent – you can always add more liquid later is it looks a bit too dry.  We used the solidified goo left over from roasting the chicken.  What’s good is that the fat rises to the top and hardens, and can be scraped off and thrown away.  Essentially its like fat-free essence of chicken, and can be frozen! As the chicken in question was cooked in a red, herby sauce, the finished sauce had a lovely reddish colour.

Cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces – approx. ½ a chicken.

For the pastry - (The recipe called for ready-made puff pastry, but the version my mum makes uses the ‘quick flaky pastry’ recipe instead.

82g firm margarine

160g plain flour

50mls boiling water

First make the pastry.  Cut the butter into small pieces and put into bowl.  Pour over boiling water and stir until the butter is melted and amalgamated – you may need to give it a blast in the microwave.  Add the flour, mix into a dough and chill, covered in clingfilm, for at least half an hour.  Yes it really is that simple.  When the dough is made and covered in the clingfilm, it will feel warm and soft, kind of like a hamster.  After it has been in the fridge it will harden up considerably.

Preheat the oven to 230 c.

Fry the onions in cooking oil/olive oil in a large frying pan, and when mostly done (10 mins or so) add the mushrooms.  When done add the flour, and stir until all the veggies are coated – don’t worry it will look quite dry.

Add the stock/gravy, bring to the boil, and then simmer for a few minutes until it thickens, stirring all the time.  Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper – Evelyn also adds in a bit of nutmeg, but this would depend on what kind of flavouring you had already added – some dried sage might be nice too.  Turn the heat off and allow to go cold, and empty into the pie dish.

Here is a fantastic tip for rolling pastry – instead of flouring the board and rolling pin (or empty wine 

bottle) put the dough between 2 pieces of clingfilm.  Incredibly easy, and stops the dough getting too floury. Roll out to cover the dish with a small amount of overhang.  Don’t worry about it looking perfect, it should be crinkly and rustic, allowing for little bits of the sauce to bubble up the sides and crisp up.  Score some lines into the pasty to allow for the steam to escape, and bake for 20 minutes.

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