Sybil Kaplan – Page 9

Cooking with bananas

Look up bananas and you’ll learn a lot, like I did. Botanically, bananas are, believe it or not, a berry, grown as a plant. They were first domesticated in Papua, New Guinea, about 5000 BCE and were known in the land of Israel in the 10th century. They are native to Indomalaya and Australia. High in potassium and pectin, magnesium and Vitamin C, they are a great weight loss food. However, diabetics should eat them with a meal and be aware that the fruit can raise blood sugar levels and they account for a high carbohydrate count. Here are some different ways to use them.

BANANA NUT PANCAKES
(12 pancakes)

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium cut banana
1/4 cup chopped nuts
oil for frying

1. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and sugar. Stir in egg, milk and oil and blend.

2. Add banana and nuts.

3. Heat oil in a frying pan. Drop batter by tablespoon into hot pan. Fry, then turn once and continue frying until golden brown.

MY BANANA SABRA DESSERT
(four servings)

2 mashed bananas
1/2 cup whipped cream
2 tbsp sabra
1 tsp semi-sweet grated chocolate
1 tbsp slivered almonds
1 tsp grated orange rind (optional)

1. Mash bananas in a bowl. Add whipped cream and sabra.

2. Spoon into serving glasses or dishes and freeze.

3. When ready to serve, sprinkle almonds, chocolate and orange rind on each glass or dish.

CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD PUDDING
(six servings)

1/2 loaf challah bread
2 bananas
2 eggs
1 cup non-dairy creamer
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a nine-inch round springform or cake pan.

2. Cut bread into one-inch pieces. Slice bananas.

3. In a bowl, beat eggs, non-dairy creamer and sugar. Stir in bread pieces and chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for one hour, pressing down bread to absorb cream mixture.

4. Spoon mixture into baking pan. Cover and bake 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 45 minutes longer or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA MUFFINS
(36 mini muffins)

3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tsp oil
1 cup mashed bananas
2 eggs
1 3/8 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line mini muffin pans with paper or other liners.

2. In a bowl, combine sugar, oil, bananas and eggs and mix thoroughly.

3. Add flour and baking soda and whisk until batter is moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

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.

Recipes for a tradition

(photo by Noa Fisher via PikiWiki-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.

Apples and honey – so good

(photo by Markus Hagenlocher)

One of the most well-known customs of Rosh Hashanah is the dipping of apple pieces in honey but what is its origin?

In the time of King David, we know he had a “cake made in a pan and a sweet cake” (II Samuel 6: 15, 19) given to everyone. Hosea 3:1 identifies the “sweet cake” as a raisin cake.

The Torah also describes Israel as eretz zvat chalav u’dvash, the land flowing with milk and honey, although the honey was more than likely date honey, a custom retained by many Sephardi Jews to this day.

While honey may have been used in King David’s cake, the honey of ancient Eretz Yisrael was made from dates, grapes, figs or raisins because there were no domestic bees in the land. At that time, only the Syrian bees were there and, to extract honey from their combs, it had to be smoked. Still, honey was of importance in biblical times, as there was no sugar then.

During the Roman period, Italian bees were introduced to the Middle East, and bee honey became more common. Today, Israel has roughly 500 beekeepers who have some 90,000 beehives, which produce more than 3,500 tons of honey annually. Kibbutz Yad Mordechai is the largest producer of honey – 10,000 bottles a day.

Among Ashkenazi Jews, challah is dipped in honey on Rosh Hashanah, instead of having the usual salt sprinkled on it. The blessing over the apple is, “May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year,” before it is dipped in honey.

Dipping the apple in honey on Rosh Hashanah is said to symbolize the desire for a sweet new year. Why an apple? In Bereishit, Isaac compares the fragrance of his son, Jacob (who he thinks is his son Esau), to a field, and Rashi says it is sadeh shel tapuchim, a field of apple trees.

Scholars tell us that mystical powers were ascribed to the apple, and people believed it provided good health and personal well-being.

Some attribute the using of an apple at Rosh Hashanah to the translation of the story of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit, which caused the expulsion from paradise. The Garden of Eden is also called Chakal Tapuchim, “Garden (or field) of Apple Trees.”

According to Gil Marks (z”l) in Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, “the first recorded association of apples with Rosh Hashanah was in Machzor Vitry, a siddur compiled around 1100, which included this explanation: ‘The residents of France have the custom to eat on Rosh Hashanah red apples….’ Future generations of Ashkenazim adopted the French custom … leading to the most popular and widespread Ashkenazi Rosh Hashanah tradition.”

Rabbi Jacob ben Asher, born around 1269, who fled with his family to Spain in 1303, was the first to mention the custom of apples dipped in honey in his legal compendium Arbah Turim, circa 1310, citing it as a German tradition.

Rabbi Alexander Susslein of Frankfurt, Germany, a 14th-century rabbinic authority, revealed it had become a widespread practice in Germany.

A few years ago, an article revealed that the average Israeli eats 125 apples and 750 grams of honey a year, mostly around the High Holy Days. Israel is very self-sufficient with regard to apples, with around 9,900 acres cultivated yearly, grown in the north, the Galilee hills and the Golan Heights. The most popular types of apples grown are Golden Delicious, Starking, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Gala and Pink Lady.

Honey in Hebrew, dvash, has the same numerical value as the words Av Harachamim, Father of Mercy. We hope that G-d will be merciful on Rosh Hashanah as He judges us for our year’s deeds.

Moroccans dip apples in honey and serve cooked quince, which is an apple-like fruit, symbolizing a sweet future. Other Moroccans dip dates in sesame and anise seeds and powdered sugar in addition to dipping apples in honey. Among some Jews from Egypt, a sweet jelly made of gourds or coconut is used to ensure a sweet year and apples are dipped in sugar water instead of in honey.

Honey is also used by Jews around the world not only for dipping apples but in desserts. Some believe in the phrase, “go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,” the sweet referring to apples and honey. Here are some recipes using honey for your Rosh Hashanah eating.

TISHPISHTI: MIDDLE EASTERN HONEY-NUT CAKE

Honey syrup:
1 1/2 cups honey
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Cake:
2 cups finely ground almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios or walnuts
1 cup cake meal
2 tsp orange juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice or ground cloves
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp grated orange or lemon zest

Stir honey, water, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves, about five minutes. Increase heat to medium, bring to a boil and boil for one minute. Let cool.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13-by-nine-inch baking pan.
Combine nuts, cake meal, cinnamon and cloves in a mixing bowl.
In another bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar. Add to nut mixture with orange juice. Add oil and orange or lemon zest.
In a third bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter. Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 45 minutes. Cool.
Cut cake into one- to two-inch squares or diamonds. Drizzle cooled syrup over the warm cake. Serve at warm or room temperature.

MY GRANDMA SADE’S TEIGLACH
Though my grandmother was born in New Jersey, her mother came to the United States as a young girl from Russia, so she probably learned this dish from her mother. Teiglach means “little dough pieces,” and it was originally for family celebrations and various holidays. Today, it is made primarily for Rosh Hashanah as a symbol for a sweet new year. According to my favourite reference book for any food, Marks’ Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, Teiglach was brought to the United States by Eastern Europeans in the early 1900s, and nuts were not part of the recipe in the old country.

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp oil
4 eggs
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/3 cups honey
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup finely chopped pecans

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, oil, eggs and salt. Stir until dough is formed.
In a saucepan, boil sugar, honey, ginger and nutmeg for 15 minutes.
Wet a board with cold water.
Pinch pieces of dough and drop them into the boiling honey mixture. Cook until very thick. Add nuts and stir. Pour honeyed pieces onto the wet board and cool slightly.
With wet hands, shape dough into two-inch balls or squares. Let cool. Store in an airtight container.

From Sybil’s kosher kitchen

(photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

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

dressing
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp anchovy paste (optional)
1/2 tsp chopped dill
pinch oregano

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.

Women try to right wrongs

Elizabeth Cady Stanton – suffragist, social activist, abolitionist. Susan B. Anthony – social reformer, women’s rights activist. Ernestine Rose – who?

Bonnie Anderson taught history and women’s studies for 30 years at Brooklyn College and at the Graduate Centre of City University of New York. She has written three books on women’s history, the latest being The Rabbi’s Atheist Daughter (Oxford University Press, 2017).

When Anderson wrote Joyous Greetings: The First International Women’s Movement, 1830-1860, she learned about Rose, who was born in 1810 in Poland to an Orthodox rabbi and his wife. Her father taught her Hebrew and Torah but, by age 14, she had rejected Jewish beliefs and identified as an atheist. Betrothed at 15, she broke her engagement but her fiancé would not agree – he wanted her inheritance and brought a suit against her. At age 17, Rose went to the district court 65 miles away and presented her case personally, arguing that “she should not lose her property because of an engagement she did not want.” She won.

Moving to Berlin, Rose lived there two years before heading to Paris and then to London, where she embraced the belief system of Robert Owen, who had a utopian socialist vision; she became a disciple. Also in London, she met William Rose, a free-thinking atheist, jeweler and silversmith. They married when she was 20 and he was 23 and emigrated to the United States.

Rose became a pioneer for women’s equality and an accomplished lecturer, speaking to the public for the free-thought and the women’s rights movements.

“A good delivery, forcible voice, the most uncommon good sense, a delightful terseness of style and a rare talent for humour are the qualifications which so well fit this lady for a public speaker,” wrote a reporter in Ohio in 1852.

She lectured extensively, including against slavery, during her years in the United States, from 1836 to 1869, and became a U.S. citizen. She went back and forth to England between 1871 and 1874.

“She embodied female equality in both her everyday life and her political activism,” writes Anderson. “She was a true pioneer, working for the ideals of racial equality, feminism, free thought and internationalism.”

The book concludes with 44 pages of notes and eight pages of bibliography. Readers should find this biography of an “international feminist pioneer” a fascinating reading experience about an amazing woman.

***

In 2005, the movie Woman in Gold portrayed the story of a painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer I that was painted by Gustav Klimt in 1907 and owned by her and her husband. She died in 1925 and her husband fled Austria in 1938, ultimately dying in 1945. During the war, the Nazis seized the painting, which had ended up in a Vienna palace. The will of her husband designated Maria Altmann, niece, as heir and Altmann sued the Austrian government for the painting, and won the court battle. The painting was subsequently bought by Ronald Lauder and is now in the Neue Galerie in New York.

The novel The Fortunate Ones by Ellen Umansky (William Morrow/HarperCollins, 2017) alternates between Vienna in the 1930s and England in the 1940s, as well as Los Angeles in 2005 and 2006 and New York in 2006.

Rose Zimmer, her older brother Gerhard and her parents, Charlotte and Wolfe, live in Vienna in 1938. Unable to escape, they send Rose and her brother on the Kindertransport to England. Rose, 12, lives with a childless Orthodox Jewish couple; her brother lives elsewhere. By the time the war is over, Rose is living with a girlfriend and working; her brother is in the service and their parents’ whereabouts are unknown. Rose goes to college, is supported by her brother and his wife, meets a young man, marries and moves to Los Angeles, where she teaches.

In the background is Rose’s quest for a Chaim Soutine painting that was important to her mother.

Alternating with this story is that of Lizzie, a 37-year-old lawyer whose sisters live in Los Angeles, where their father lived and died. She meets Rose at her father’s funeral and learns of the Soutine painting. The work had been bought by her father and had hung in their home when she was a teenager, until it was stolen during a party.

A friendship blooms between the two women and Lizzie learns Rose’s background, that her parents were sent to a concentration camp and their home, along with the painting, seized. The “fortunate ones” are the ones who survived the war, but at what cost?

Lizzie’s story is far less interesting. She grew up in Los Angeles, her mother died when she was 13. She became lawyer, lives in New York, then moves back to Los Angeles after her father dies, and starts the search for the painting.

Both women have issues with loss and forgiveness. The novel is emotional, sentimental and suspenseful, and engaging enough not to want to put it down and to keep reading.

As to whether Umansky was influenced by The Woman in Gold in writing this book, she said she had not read the story or seen the movie, “although I was certainly aware of them and interested in the true events that inspired them.”

As to why she wrote the novel, she said, “That’s a hard one to answer in a few sentences! The contemporary story of Lizzie has its roots in something that happened when I was growing up in Los Angeles: my family was friendly with an ophthalmologist who lived lavishly and had a prized art collection, the crown jewels of which were two paintings, a Picasso and a Monet. In the early 1990s, those canvases disappeared without a trace. I was fascinated by the incident and, later, when the stories of Nazi-pilfered art came into the news, I began to imagine a storyline that brought both of these threads together.”

Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, lecturer, book reviewer and food writer in Jerusalem. She created and leads the weekly English-language Shuk Walks in Machaneh Yehudah, she has compiled and edited nine kosher cookbooks, and is the author of Witness to History: Ten Years as a Woman Journalist in Israel.

Delicious and new recipes

Naomi Nachman’s Fudgy Chocolate Bundt Cake with Coffee Glaze is gluten-free. (photo by Miriam Pascal)

What? Another cookbook for Pesach? Yes. And a welcome one – Perfect for Pesach: Passover Recipes You’ll Want to Make All Year by Naomi Nachman (Artscroll/Shaar Press, 2017).

“As a chef specializing in Passover, I wanted to provide home cooks with delicious recipes that bring something new to the table,” Nachman explains in the press material. “Some of the recipes in this book reflect my years of catering Pesach dinners and others are brand new to reflect today’s kosher cooking styles. All my recipes use fresh, simple and delicious combinations of ingredients that you can get all year long and create interesting meal choices.”

Nachman, who lives with her family on Long Island, N.Y., grew up in Australia. She served Long Island’s Five Towns through her personal chef business, the Aussie Gourmet. She led a culinary arts program at a Poconos camp for seven summers and, currently, she is director of the Culinary Arts Recreational Program for VIP Ram Destinations’ Pesach holiday in Florida. She also hosts a weekly show on the Nachum Segal Network and writes a monthly column for Mishpacha magazine.

She certainly has the credentials! And what variety in this book.

Perfect for Pesach features more than 125 recipes, with mouth-watering photography by kosher blogger and cookbook author Miriam Pascal.

There are appetizers, such as Hush Puppy Potato Knishes and Southwestern Chicken Egg Rolls; dips and salads, including Chimichurri Coleslaw and Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad; soups such as Kitchen Sink Vegetable Soup and Kale, Apple and Sausage Soup; fish dishes like Red Snapper en Papillote and Sweet and Sour Tilapia; poultry choices like White Wine and Herb Roasted Turkey Roll and Hawaiian Pargiyot; meat recipes such as Coffee Infused Chili and Maple Glazed Rack of Ribs; dairy recipes such as Quinoa Granola Parfait and Oozy Fried Mozzarella; side dishes like Cauliflower Fried “Rice” and Broccoli Kishka Kugel; and desserts including Pomegranate Pistachio Semifreddo and Mini Lemon Curd Trifles.

In her introduction, Nachman writes that her intention is to present “recipes that are easy to make with ingredients that are generally easily accessible from your local supermarket or online.” She highly recommends using fresh lemons and limes, fresh herbs, fresh spices, and a variety of oils.

Each recipe includes cook’s tip, ideas for year-round serving, an author’s comment and, my favourite, method steps that are numbered. The press release says all the recipes are gluten-free.

Don’t bother to look around for a house gift if you are going to a seder at a friend or relative’s home. Perfect for Passover is the perfect gift – all year round.

Here are just two of Nachman’s recipes.

ZUCCHINI KUGEL
pareve, 8-10 servings

6 medium zucchini, grated with peel
1 grated onion
4 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups matzah meal
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 cup oil
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking pan.
Add all ingredients to a large bowl; stir well to combine.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake, uncovered, for 90 minutes, until lightly browned and centre is firm.

FUDGY CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE WITH COFFEE GLAZE
pareve, freezer-friendly

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup potato starch
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tbsp imitation vanilla extract
6 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a Bundt pan well; set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder, potato starch, coffee, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs. Add dry ingredients; stir to combine.
Pour batter into Bundt pan; bake 40-45 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely in the pan. Remove from pan; glaze with coffee glaze, below.

Coffee glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp brewed coffee
1 tsp oil

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients to form a glaze. If the glaze is too thick to pour, add water, a half teaspoon at a time, until desired texture is reached.
Pour glaze over cooled cake.

Food with long history

What food, served with cooked beef, is an essential component of a traditional wedding dinner in southern Germany? It is also used in salad served with lamb dishes at Easter in Transylvania and other Romanian regions. In Serbia, it is an essential condiment with cooked meat, including roasted pig. In Slovenia, it is a traditional Easter dish, grated and mixed with sour cream, hard-boiled eggs or apples. And, in southern Italy, it is a main course with eggs, cheese and sausage. It is probably indigenous to eastern Europe but has been cultivated since antiquity and was known in Egypt in 1500 BCE.

One final hint, and you will know immediately. According to the Haggadah, we are to eat it to symbolize the bitterness of slavery in Egypt. “And they made their lives bitter with hard labour, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of work in the field….” (Exodus 1:14)

Maror is one of the foods on the seder plate, which we bless then dip into charoset to symbolize the mortar the Israelites used to bind the bricks. Shaking off the charoset, we eat the minimum amount of maror, the volume of an olive.

Horseradish. The English word, coined in the 1590s, combined horse, meaning coarse or strong, and the word radish.

According to John Cooper in Eat and Be Satisfied: A Social History of Jewish Food, “the Mishnah enumerated five vegetables that could be utilized as the bitter herb for the seder service, all of which should have leaves. The five are chazeret, ilshin, tamchah, charchavina and maror.”

Chazeret refers to lettuce; ulshin is either endive or chicory or both; tamchah was a leafy, dull green herb also known as horehoud, which is used in cough medicine and liqueur; charchavina was either field or sea eryngo; and maror possibly a wild lettuce or type of cilantro. Sephardim interpret chazeret as Romaine lettuce.

Rabbi Alexander Suslin of Frankfurt, who died in 1394, was the first authority to permit the use of horseradish where lettuce was not available, although this vegetable was primarily a fleshy root that did not strictly conform with the halachic requirement of eating leaves. The Talmud also says, besides leaves, maror should have white sap and dull green foliage, neither of which is in horseradish. The medieval German rabbinic authorities appear to have identified horseradish incorrectly: merretich, in German, with merirta, the Aramaic form of maror, the Hebrew for bitter.

Prior to this, according to Gil Marks in the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, Eliezer ben Nathan of Mainz, who lived from 1090 to 1170, mentions chrain (paste made with horseradish). Rabbi Eleazar ben Judah of Worms in Sefer ha-Rokeach (published around 1200) included it in his charoset ingredients.

It was not until Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Ben Nathan Heller (1579-1654) of Moravia, in his commentary on the Mishnah, considered horseradish to be the tamchah mentioned in the Talmud. In Hebrew, it is called chazeret, which is on the talmudic list of accepted types of maror.

Horseradish is a root vegetable in the same family as mustard, wasabi, broccoli and cabbage. When the plant grows, it can reach 4.9 feet and is cultivated for its root, which has hardly any aroma. When the root is cut or grated, cells break down and produce an oil, which irritates the nose and eyes.

German immigrants in the late 1800s began growing horseradish in Collinsville, Ill., a Mississippi River basin area adjacent to St. Louis. This self-proclaimed horseradish capital of the world – this is where most of the world’s supply is grown, some six millions gallons annually – has been hosting the Horseradish Festival since 1988.

The first American Jewish cookbook, Jewish Cookery (1871), included a recipe for horseradish stew. When the Settlement Cookbook was published in 1901, horseradish sauce, beer and relish were included.

H.J. Heinz processed and bottled horseradish in 1869. In 1932, Hyman Gold and his wife, Tillie, processed and bottled horseradish in their Brooklyn apartment.

Today, Gold’s and other private labels produce 90,000 bottles a day of the classic plain and grated beet horseradish without sugar.

My husband likes to tell the story of coming home from school one day before Passover, at the age of 8, and going into the kitchen where his grandmother was grating the horseradish; she made horseradish almost every week. He jumped up on a chair, took one big whiff and fell over backwards! Thank goodness his father was in the room and caught him.

Time to make hamantashen

When Eastern Europeans immigrated to America, they brought their hamantashen recipes with them. (photo from Infrogmation via Wikimedia Commons)

When it comes to Purim pastries, hamantashen are what most of us think of first. The word is taken from the German mohn, meaning poppy seeds, and taschen, referring to pockets. Some say the pockets refer to Haman, who stuffed his pockets with bribe money.

The original name, mohntaschen, and the tradition of eating them, may date back as far as the 12th century. Israeli historian, caterer and cook Shmil Holland says that, when Jews fled Germany for Eastern Europe in the late Middle Ages, they took the poppy seed pastry with them and added the Yiddish prefix ha, thus making it hamantash.

In the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, Gil Marks (z”l) writes that Eastern Europeans and their foods came to dominate the Ashkenazi world in the 19th century, and “hamantashen emerged as the quintessential Ashkenazic Purim treat.” The original dough was kuchen, a rich yeast dough, and common fillings include poppy seeds, chocolate, prunes or other fruit fillings. When Eastern Europeans immigrated to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the idea came with them.

(An aside: In 18th-century Bohemia, Jews added a prune filling. The story is that a local merchant was accused of selling poisoned plum jam; when he was cleared of the charges, his family marked the occasion as a holiday, called povidl Purim, or plum jam Purim.)

In addition to the pocket imagery, several other explanations have been suggested for the triangular shape of hamantashen. Some say they represent a triangular-shaped hat worn by Haman, the villain in the Purim story, and that we eat them as a reminder that his cruel plot was foiled. Others say they represent Esther’s strength and the three founders of Judaism: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as a midrash says that, while reflecting on his plan to get rid of the Jews, Haman realized the three Patriarchs would intercede.

Yet another explanation lies in the cookies’ name in Israel, oznei Haman, Haman’s ears – perhaps referencing an old custom of cutting off the ears of criminals before they were executed. When the resulting treat became known as Haman’s ears for Purim is unknown, although it is mentioned as early as 1550. However, according to Marks, historical oznei Haman were strips of dough fried in honey or sugar syrup – a 13th-century Andalusian cookbook has a recipe for this “ear” dish and it was adopted by Sephardim.

Whatever their name, the reason behind eating hamantashen remains the same: remembering how close the Jewish people came to tragedy and celebrating the fact that they escaped death.

Here are some recipes from my family for your own celebration of Purim, which starts this year on March 12. My grandmother (z”l) made the most beautiful-looking yeast hamantashen.

GRANDMA’S PRUNE FILLING

1 1/2 cups finely cut prunes
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon juice

Place prunes in a saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until soft.
Mash prunes, add sugar and lemon juice.

GRANDMA’S POPPY SEED FILLING

1 cup ground poppy seeds
1/4 cup milk or water
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla

Place poppy seeds, milk or water, butter or margarine, raisins, nuts and honey in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until milk or water is absorbed.
Add vanilla.

GRANDMA’S YEAST HAMANTASHEN

4 tsp dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
4-5 cups flour
vegetable oil

Day before baking:

Dissolve yeast in a bowl with warm milk. Let stand.
Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl. Add yeast mixture, butter or margarine, salt and sour cream and blend well.
Add four cups flour and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the rest of the flour and knead until the dough is smooth and does not stick to your hands.
Grease a large mixing bowl and add the dough. Turn the dough until it is covered with the oil. Cover with a cloth and refrigerate overnight.

Next day:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a cookie sheet.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured board to 1/4-inch thick.
Cut into 16 squares. Place a spoonful of filling on each. Fold to form triangles. Place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise one hour until double in size.
Bake for 20 minutes or until brown.

MOM’S COOKIE HAMANTASHEN

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
juice of half an orange or 1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a cookie sheet.
In a mixing bowl, blend eggs, sugar and margarine.
Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.
Add vanilla and orange juice or sour cream and blend into a dough. Refrigerate 20 minutes.
Roll out dough 1/4-inch thick. Cut into three-inch circles. Place one tablespoon of filling in the centre of each and fold to make a triangle. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes.

A celebration needs dessert

Rosie Daykin’s apple-stuffed challah.

Ten years ago, Rosie Daykin opened Butter Bakery and Café in Vancouver. Five years ago, it moved to its current location on Mackenzie Street and began offering breakfast and lunch, in addition to baked goods. The bakery has grown to have its products distributed and sold in more than 300 grocery stores and high-end retailers, including Whole Foods, Dean and Deluca and Crate and Barrel.

Daykin published her first cookbook in 2013, Butter Baked Goods: Nostalgic Recipes from a Little Neighborhood Bakery, and her second in 2015, Butter Celebrates! A Year of Sweet Recipes to Share with Family and Friends, both via Appetite by Random House. Just last month, the U.S. edition came out from Knopf, with the subtitle “Delicious Recipes for Special Occasions,” and this reviewer received a copy.

After the essays “Essential Elements and Entertaining,” “Buts and Bobs for Successful Baking” and “Some Gentle Reminders,” the book jumps into the holidays – there are 117 recipes and 185 photographs.

There are recipes for almost every occasion. The book is divided into Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Butter Babies, Welcome Wagon, Butter Creams and Frostings, Summer Celebrations, Zelda’s Birthday Party, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas and Happy New Year. A final essay is on packaging your goodies.

This is not a Jewish cookbook, however, there are new and creative holiday recipes and the offerings for Chanukah are sufganiyot, apple-stuffed challah and chocolate hazelnut rugelach.

As Daykin writes, “What kind of celebration could it be without baked goods?” With that said, here are two of her three Chanukah recipes. If you’re not feeling up to baking, you can always pick up something at the bakery, of course – and they also sell a variety of gift boxes that would bring a smile to many a face. Butter Bakery and Café is located at 4907 Mackenzie St., and is open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT RUGELACH

“Traditional rugelach is filled with jam, fruit and nuts, but chocolate and hazelnut seemed just a smidge more celebratory to me,” writes Daykin. “It also provided me with another excuse to spread Nutella on something. These little crescent-shaped cookies fall under the more-ish category of baking. You eat one and you have to have more.”

1 1/2 cups pastry flour
1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1⁄2 tsp salt
1⁄2 cup cream cheese, full fat
1⁄2 cup butter, room temperature
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Nutella
1⁄2 cup hazelnuts

Finishing touches:
1 large egg
1 tbsp water
Course sanding sugar

Makes: two dozen cookies.

You will need: two (11-by-17-inch) rimmed cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Storage: these cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to one week or in the freezer for up to three months.

On a large piece of parchment paper, sift the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and butter on high speed until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Turn the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients. Continue to beat until well combined.
Divide the dough in two. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the Nutella in a small bowl and use a spoon to give it a good stir to help loosen it up. This will make it easier to spread across the tender dough.
Use a large chef’s knife to chop the hazelnuts. Set aside.
Place a chilled piece of dough on a lightly floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll it into a circle about nine inches in diameter.
Use a small offset spatula to carefully spread the Nutella across the dough. The dough is very tender, so work carefully to avoid it tearing it. If it does tear, not to worry, just press it back together.
Sprinkle half of the chopped hazelnuts over the top of the Nutella.
Use the large chef’s knife to cut the dough into quarters and then each quarter into thirds, just like if you were cutting a pie.
Start at the wide end of a piece of dough and roll it toward the point. Bend the two ends in slightly to create a crescent shape and then place it on a prepared tray.
Repeat with the balance of the dough.
Combine the egg and water in a small bowl and whisk them together. Use your pastry brush to lightly coat the top and sides of each cookie. Sprinkle generously with the sanding sugar.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until the cookies have puffed up and are a lovely golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to wire racks to cool.

APPLE-STUFFED CHALLAH

“I wondered what would happen if I melded the idea of a butter cinnamon bun and challah loaf. Oh, believe me, people … good things happened. This bread is wonderful warm from the oven or lightly toasted with butter, but in French toast it has found its true calling. So, you might want to say ‘hola’ to this challah all the time.”

1 package instant yeast
1⁄4 cup warm water
4 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp liquid honey
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3⁄4 cup water

Apple stuffing:
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes (something tart, like a Granny Smith, works well)
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp liquid honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Finishing touches:
1 large egg
2 tbsp water
Coarse sanding sugar

Makes: one loaf, eight to 10 slices.

You will need: one (11-by-17-inch) rimmed cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Storage: this challah can be kept well wrapped or in an airtight container for several days, especially because you can toast it.

For the challah, in a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast into the warm water. Set aside to bloom.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, butter and salt on medium speed. Continue to beat until the butter has been distributed throughout the flour.
In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, eggs, egg yolks, oil and water. Turn the mixer speed to low and add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Add the yeast with its water and continue beating until well combined.
Stop the mixer and change the paddle attachment to a dough hook.
Turn the mixer speed to high and let the dough hook knead the dough for at least five minutes, until it is shiny, smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free spot and allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the apple stuffing. In a medium bowl, combine the chopped apple, brown sugar, honey and cinnamon. Use a wooden spoon to stir and coat all the apples. Set aside.
Once the dough has fully risen, remove the plastic wrap and punch down the dough to release the air produced by the yeast. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes.
Use a knife to divide the dough into three equal pieces. Use your rolling pin to roll each piece into a rectangle approximately 14 inches long and six inches wide. Place one-third of the apple filling down the centre of a piece of dough. Pull one side of the dough over the filling and pinch to seal it closed on the other side and at the top and bottom. This will create a filled log of dough. Repeat with the other two pieces of dough.
Lay one of the logs vertically along the centre of the prepared cookie sheet. Lay a second log across the middle of it, with the ends of the log pointing at 10 o’clock and four o’clock. Then lay the third log across the middle on top, with the ends pointing at two o’clock and eight o’clock. Braid one side of the loaf from the middle down and then tuck the ends under. Turn the cookie sheet and repeat with the other side.
In a small bowl, combine the egg and water and use your pastry brush to generously coat the top and sides of the loaf with the egg wash. Sprinkle with the sanding sugar.
Cover the loaf loosely with a sheet of plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place to rise again until it has nearly doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the loaf for 30 to 40 minutes, or until it is a lovely golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to cool for at least 20 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cutting board and slicing.

Sybil Kaplan is 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.

Wonders of Mediterranean

Joyce Goldstein was chef and owner of Square One restaurant in San Francisco; prior to that, she was chef at Chez Panisse café. Today, she is a cooking teacher, restaurant consultant and cookbook author. Her bibliography lists 60 cookbooks, the most recent being The New Mediterranean Jewish Table (University of California Press, 2016).

The introductory essays are very informative – “Jews in America,” “Mediterranean Jewish Communities” and “Old World Food in a New World Kitchen.” Goldstein reminds us that “not all Jewish cooking traditions come from Eastern Europe,” and that the delicious and varied cuisines of North African and Mediterranean Jews “have been nearly unknown until recently.”

She writes, “This Mediterranean Jewish cookbook for the modern kitchen will build and expand on carefully selected recipes from many of my cookbooks.” The recipes are from the cultures of the Sephardim (those expelled from the Iberian Peninsula), the Maghrebi (those from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Egypt) and Mizrachi (Jews from Muslim lands since biblical times).

After an explanation about kosher laws and the food of Jewish holidays, there are 11 cookbook chapters covering appetizers, spreads and salads (49 recipes), savory pastries (21 recipes), eggs and fritters (24 recipes), soups (29 recipes), rice, pasta and grains (31 recipes), vegetables (48 recipes), fish (46 recipes), poultry (23 recipes), meat (49 recipes), condiments and preserves (24 recipes) and desserts (51 recipes). There are a whopping 395 recipes in all.

Each chapter has an explanatory essay, in addition to a list of ingredients and instructions. The volume is so large: recipes go from page to page.

The publisher calls this “an authoritative guide … a treasury filled with vibrant, seasonal recipes … the story of how Jewish cooks successfully brought the local ingredients, techniques and traditions of their new homelands into their kitchens.”

Just reading about the origins of each recipe is a wonderful learning experience, but here are two recipes to try.

ARTICHOKE SOUP (CREMA DI CARCIOFI)
(serves six to eight)

juice of one lemon
12 artichokes
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cloves minced garlic
12 ounces russet potatoes, peeled and diced or 1/2 cup white rice
3 cups vegetable broth plus more for thinning as needed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
chopped toasted hazelnuts or pine nuts or chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or mint for garnish
milk or heavy cream as needed for thinning (optional)

Have ready a large bowl of water to which you have added the lemon juice.

Working with one artichoke at a time, trim the stem to two inches if it is tender, then peel away the dark green fibrous outer layer. If the stem is tough, trim it off flush with the bottom. Pull off and discard all of the leaves. Pare away the dark green areas from the base. Cut the artichoke in half lengthwise and carefully remove the choke from each half with a small pointed spoon or a paring knife, then cut each half lengthwise into quarter-inch slices and slip them into the lemon water.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Drain the artichokes, add to the pan and sauté for a few minutes.

Add the garlic, potatoes and about 1.5 cups of the broth or enough just to cover the artichokes. Cover the pan and simmer over medium heat until the artichokes are very tender and almost falling apart, 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat and cool slightly. In batches, transfer to a food processor and purée until smooth, then return the purée to the saucepan.

Add the remaining 1.5 cups broth and reheat, adding more broth if needed to achieve a consistency you like. You can also add a little cream or milk if you prefer a richer soup.

Season with salt and pepper.

To intensify the artichoke flavor, make the soup a few hours or a day ahead and reheat at serving time. To serve, ladle into soup bowls and garnish with hazelnuts, pine nuts, parsley or mint.

TURKISH HAZELNUT TEA CAKES (GATEAUX DES NOISETTES)
(makes 24 small cakes)

1 vanilla bean, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs
1 cup plus 3 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
grated zest of 2 lemons or 1 lemon and 1 orange
1 1/3 cups toasted, peeled and ground hazelnuts

Butter 24 muffin pan cups, dust with flour and tap out the excess.

In a spice mill or food processor, grind the vanilla bean with the sugar until the bean is ground to a powder.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl, beat together butter, confectioners sugar and vanilla sugar until creamy and pale. Add eggs and lemon zest and beat until incorporated. Fold in nuts and flour mixture until combined.

Spoon batter into muffin cups, two-thirds full. Let rest for one hour.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centre emerges dry, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn on to racks. Let cool completely.