The pleasures of Purim pastry

EFRAT TABI

Hamantash is the pastry most identified with Purim. The name is Yiddish for “Haman’s pocket”; in German, it’s mohntasch, meaning poppyseed pocket; in Israel, we call them oznei Haman (Haman’s ear), because it has the shape of a triangle that is similar to the shape of an ear.

Making hamantashen at home can be time consuming, but absolutely worth your time and effort. The pastry is crispy and with a sweet scent. I can say that it is a complete treat! However, before you decide on making your own hamantashen, you need to know a few things about the process.

HAMANTASHEN

1. Kneading: with this kind of dough you have to be very patient in the kneading process because the dough becomes crumbly. Nonetheless, after kneading it for a little while, you will end up with firm, smooth dough. The dough must cool down in the fridge for at least two hours before you start to work with it.

2. Rolling: divide your dough into four pieces. Each time, work with only one piece. Put the rest in the fridge. If you try to work with the whole portion of dough at one time, it will become warm, too soft and it will stick to your rolling pin and your work surface.

3. Cutting: after you roll the dough, use a cup to make circles. It is very important to brush the edges of the circles with egg white. This will help the edges stick together when you fold the dough into a triangular shape.

4. Filling: do not get tempted to put too much filling in your hamantashen. If you do, the filling will leak out of the pastry and ruin its shape.

5. Baking: it is very important to place the pastries in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking them in the oven. The dough needs to firm up after you have worked with it. This step will help the pastry hold during the baking process.

This recipe will make around 25 hamantashen.

For the dough you will need:

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
200 grams butter
Orange zest of one large orange
2 egg yolks (you will use the egg whites separately)
5 tbsp. of orange juice
50 grams of icing sugar (optional)

For the filling you will need:

100 grams dates
50 grams walnuts
100 grams brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Mix together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

2. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the orange zest, butter, egg yolks and orange juice. Use a blender to combine the ingredients thoroughly.

At first, the dough will appear crumbly. In order to end up with firm, smooth dough, you will need to knead it by hand, slowly and with patience, until you end up with the right texture.

3. Roll the smooth dough into a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for at least two hours.

Meanwhile, make the filling:

4. Cut the dates in half to make sure that no seeds are left.

5. Put the dates, water and sugar in a pot.

6. Cook the dates on medium heat, stirring constantly until you have a smooth paste.

7. Put it aside to cool.

8. Until now, we worked slowly and with patience. Now it is time to work a little bit faster so the dough does not warm up. Before taking the dough out of the fridge, prepare a small bowl with the egg whites and a brush, as well as a baking pan topped with a cookie sheet.

9. Take the dough out of the fridge, cut it into four pieces and return three of them to the fridge.

10. Put a little bit of flour on your work surface. Knead the dough to a half-centimetre thickness. Make circle shapes with a cup.

11. Brush each circle with egg white and put in the middle of each circle half teaspoon of the filling and fold it to a triangle shape, using your thumbs and index fingers on each side; tighten the edges and put the hamantash on the baking pan. If you want to vary your pastries, you can also fold the circles in half and make a pocket shape (see the accompanying photo).

12. Put the baking pan in the fridge for 30 minutes.

13. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

14. After 30 minutes, take the baking pan out of the fridge, brush each hamantash with egg white.

Put in the oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden.
Remove them from the oven, letting them cool down completely and, if desired, sprinkle with icing sugar.

Store in a sealed box in the fridge. You can also freeze the hamantashen.

An alternate filling:

50 grams butter
50 grams walnuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Soften the butter in the microwave. Grind the walnuts. Mix together butter, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. If you have leftover filling, store it in a jar in the fridge and use it as a spread for sandwiches.

Happy Purim to all of you and thank you for letting me share my passion for cooking with you!

Efrat Tabi is the owner, with her husband, Albert, of the Donair Place and Coffee Shop, located at Yarrow Station, 42375 Yarrow Central Rd., in Chilliwack. The phone number is 604-823-0111.

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