north african chickpea flour cookies

these are a very easy-to-make type of cookie which uses a combination of chickpea and all purpose flour. they fall into the class of cookies called ghoreyba which generally involves a type of oil or fat mixed with a flour of some sort and sugar. they do not use eggs and can be made vegan [(if soy margarine is used) — can't vouch for its success as i've never tried this route].

this particular sort of ghoreyba is made into ropes and then rolled in sesame seeds before being cut and baked. they will only be at their best for a few days, however. they don't seem to have a very long shelf life. for those of you not used to using chickpea flour and who decide to try this recipe, you may find there is a tinge of bitterness. this is mostly overcome by the roasting of the raw chickpea flour.

you will notice that the recipe uses olive oil. this is because it is a recipe of north african origin. i'm sure it could be interchanged with regular oil if you don't have or want to use it. just make sure you use a mild olive oil and not extra virgin.



ghoreyba soumsoum (sesame)

ingredients:

1 1/2 c toasted chickpea flour
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 c granulated sugar

1/4 c mild olive oil
6 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, melted

1 tbsp water or more as necessary

generous 1/2 cup sesame seeds, or more as needed

method:

preheat oven 325F

if the chickpea flour you are using is not already toasted, then place it in a dry fry pan or wok and over medium heat, cook it until it darkens and is fragrant. it should take about 5 to 10 minutes. you must do this or the cookies will not taste good.

put the toasted chickpea flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, and sugar in a food processor and blend to mix.

now add olive oil and butter and process until combined. add the water, using only enough to make a cohesive dough. when it comes together into a ball, it is ready.

knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth for about 30 seconds.

divide this dough into six equal balls. roll each one into a log which measures about 3/4 inches in diameter.

roll it in the sesame seeds. press to make sure they stay on.

cut each of the rolls diagonally into about 2" [5 cm] slices. take the end pieces and press them together so as not to waste them.

place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.


bake approximately 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

place cookies on a rack and let cool. they will be at their best for about 3 days.

enjoy!

end of the holiday

looks like i didn't get around to posting all that i wanted for the passover holiday. the days flew by and there was, unfortunately, little time for writing and uploading pictures. i will surely get around to it — though i'll probably save some of the [holiday] stuff for next year. i mean, who, really, eats passover food the rest of the year?? :o

after "packing up the show" for another year,

today is isru chag and mimouna, and lots of food was abound [at several of my friends' places] to end passover. for those whose celebrate/d,

תרבחו ותסעדו

better late than never

uggh ..... passover always wipes me out. after killing myself for a month or longer, i inevitably miss out of taking care of "regular" things in my life. it is only after the two seders are "said and done with" that things seem to go back to normal. for the past week [the worst], i've been busy running around buying the last of the food, getting the house ready, managing changing guest lists for the seder, and cooking. it is at those times one wishes for the 36 hour day. [so, to all those whose blogs i normally visit, a big sorry — you're not being ignored!]. getting back to food, this should have been posted earlier but time did not permit and my kitchen was not ready to start cooking in.

the following is the condiment of condiments when it comes to holiday fare like gefilte fish. ok, it's much easier to buy it ready made but what else does one do with a huge horseradish root that you need for the seder plate?! [they don't sell small pieces here]. not one to throw things out, i make my own hrein with the majority of the root and save the rest for use during the ceremonial part.


hrein
horseradish and beet condiment

this is basically jewish wasabi. sometimes called a sauce or a relish, it is served with gefilte fish and adds the necessary zip/zing to the sweetened fish dish. of course, it can be used for other things like smoked turkey or brisket. hrein is also good with mashed potatoes.

the only caveat i have for this is that you need to check out your horseradish root. for some reason, in different crops/years the root is much stronger than others. this year's tasted like complete fire whereas the one i bought last year, paled in comparison and had absolutely no bite or edge to it whatsoever. i added a ground up fresh hot red chili to it to doctor it up.


ingredients:

1/2 lb horseradish root, peeled
1 medium sized beet, peeled (uncooked!)
2 tsp salt
2 - 4 tbsp sugar
1/4 c white vinegar

method:

peel the horseradish root and chop it into sections about 1 to 2 inches wide. peel the beet under running water to avoid staining your hands and cut off the root and stem ends.

in a food processor, grind the horseradish with the vinegar. it should be very well ground. do NOT breathe in the fumes. alternatively, you may grate it very finely on a box grater the old fashioned way but it is more work and you need to cover your nose and mouth to avoid breathing in the fumes. it will make you choke!

chop the beet into a few pieces and add it to the horseradish and process until it is finely chopped or grate it finely, either by hand or with the processor attachment.

place this carefully in a bowl. don't wear good clothes when making this or it may splatter and the stains are hard to get out.

add the salt and sugar. mix well and let it sit.


after 2o minutes, the juices will have come out. taste the hrein and adjust the sugar and salt to your liking.

variation: just use the horseradish and grind extremely finely.

store covered in the fridge. will be good for a few months.

enjoy!

to those celebrating the passover holiday, a big
pesach same'ach
[only a few more days of matza left to go!]
and
those who will be celebrating easter this weekend,
happy holiday!

a holiday classic

one of the most typical appetizers served at jewish holiday meals or functions is the famous chopped liver. for those who are adventurous enough to make it themselves, this dish can be whipped up in no time and with little effort — most people, however, seem to buy it from the deli these days.

the best chopped liver is made from schmaltz and griven [rendered chicken fat, onions & cracklings (skin)]. the taste of the once ubiquitous schmaltz is unique but is no longer a common household pantry item as it was in the days of our parents and grandparents. regardless, i like to have a small supply frozen for the times i want to make something like chopped liver. as for griven, an old world delicacy, well ... it's something that has to be eaten to truly appreciate. it's no wonder why it brings back memories for older generations — it really is that good :)

for passover purposes, chopped liver is usually served on pieces of matza instead of challah as is done the rest of the year. topped with fried onions, it can be garnished with hardboiled egg and/or cucumber slices.



classic chopped liver
gehakte leber

this can either be made the old fashioned way by chopping everything by hand or the more modern method, with a food processor. i prefer the latter however the texture is more like a pate de foie instead of the classic "gehakteh" [chopped] one.

makes for 10 - 12 servings

ingredients:

1 lb chicken livers
1 -2 large onions, cut in half rings & fried or griven
schmaltz or veg oil
1 large egg, hardboiled, or more, up to 3
1/4 c manischewitz wine [or similar sweet red]
1 tsp sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp onion powder & garlic powder, each [opt]
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

extra fried onion for garnishing/serving (use from above amount).

method:

peel and cut onion in half. cut each half into thin half rings. heat schmaltz or oil and fry onion until golden brown but not crispy. set aside covered.

heat oven to about 475 F and place the chicken livers on a tin foil, separating each beforehand. if there is excess fat on them, remove it before grilling.

cook the livers for 20 minutes until they look browned and the liquid released is clear. to test if they are cooked, cut one in half. it should be slightly pink inside.


remove the livers from the oven and let them cool. discard the liquid.

processor method:

place the onions in the processor and pulse a few times to break them up. add the livers and pulse a few more times.

add the eggs, the wine and seasonings and pulse more until you get the texture you like.

taste and adjust seasonings.

by hand:

place the liver, onion or griven and egg on a board and with a cleaver chopped it to the desired fineness. place this in bowl and add the remaining ingredients. adjust to taste.

enjoy!

a canadian pasta event & a passover connection

passover means a big no to many of the foods we eat, and take for granted, on a daily basis. admittedly, this isn't the holiday for those who rely heavily on carbohydrate based comestibles like cereal and pastas as their dietary staples since all those things are banned during the 8 day observance.

until not too long ago, foods like passover noodles were just not available or even imagineable. noodles, or lokshen as they are called in yiddish, where limited to ones made from eggs and were not store-bought. they were made like you would do for a very, very thin omelette, rolled up and cut into pinwheels. these home-style were, and still are, served in soup in place of or alongside matzo balls. due to innovation and market demand, i'm sure, new products such as passover pastas and cereal have become easily accessible in grocery stores stocking passover goods. personally, i find it a bit strange to be a consumer of these things since the point of the holiday is to rid oneself from even possessing these items, whether they are kosher or not for passover use. in any event, it's not in my family tradition to use such foods so i refrain from doing so.

why am i telling you this, you ask?

a little while back, i was kindly invited by ruth of once upon a feast to participate in an event she is hosting called presto pasta nights. unfortunately, at the time she first wrote, i was inundated with life's "stuff" and had no time whatsoever to contribute. this, added to the current getting everything ready for the huge passover holiday, left me with little time to breathe let alone blog [ergo my lapse in posting the past several weeks].

additionally, i was faced with a little dilemma as ruth was looking for something from me that could be made during passover. what was the dilemma? well, i don't use pasta ever during the holiday! i did not want to say anything at the time — i wanted to see if i could come up with an alternative and i think i did. this should help those who do not use pasta for passover or cannot find it locally.

so without further ado, i'm offering a much loved "pasta" popular in many parts of the world which is acceptable for the pessah holiday.


potato gnocchi for passover

making gnocchi is easy and fun. it may take a bit of practice at first but the steps are quickly learned. as i don't have time to post pictures for the recipe itself right now, you can follow the steps here to see how to do it yourself. have fun! you can use their recipe for a non-passover version. michael chiarello also has a nice non-passover version with pictures on his great site , napa style.

photo: wvpb

ingredients:

3 floury potatoes, medium sized

1/3 c matzo cake meal
1/2 c potato starch
1 large egg

salt

method:

bake the potatoes well wrapped in tin foil until they are done. pierce the potatoes several times before wrapping them. once they cool down a bit, either mash or rice them. it takes about 50 minutes for them to bake @ 350 F.

you can also boil potatoes until they test cooked with a fork [usually 15-20 minutes]. drain them and let cool a bit. peel them while still warm and mash or rice them.

what's the difference? the baked ones make for a better gnocchi as there is less water content.

place the mashed potatoes on some flat surface dusted with potato potato starch.

make a well in center of potatoes and add the potato starch and cake meal. add the egg and some salt. with a fork beat the egg in the center to scramble it up. don't let it overflow or run out of the center.

with your hands, incorporate the ingredients by knead the dough until it is soft and not overly sticky.

at this point, the dough needs to rest. cover it and leave it for about 30 minutes.

divide the dough into four parts.

roll each part into a long, cigar shape, which is about 3/4 of an inch thick.

with a knife and some potato flour [should the dough still be sticky], cut the dough in 1/2 inch pieces.

take a piece of dough against your index finger and with the fork in the other hand, press down slightly on each one with the tines to give the typical gnocchi indentations. the gnocchi should roll as you do this [see the tutorial i mention above for a visual explanation and the finished product or the video below]. this gives you an indentation and gives the ridges, both of which help the pasta to cook faster and provide a place for the sauce to pool. don't get frustrated, it takes practice! they will still taste amazing even it they don't all come out perfectly.

cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. they will cook quickly but wait a good minute or so once they rise to the surface of the water.

remove drain them well once they are cooked.

serve with your favourite tomato sauce. here and here are two basic sauces.

these can also be simply sauteed in olive oil [or butter or a combination of the two] with garlic and chopped basil leaves and then seasoned with salt and pepper.

enjoy!

ok, i'll be extra nice — here's a video of how to do it for those of you who, like me, are visual.


VideoJug: How To Make Gnocchi

a nice passover appetizer

passover is a holiday which is traditionally heavily centered around meat, with many families only having one separate set of dishes for the holiday instead of the typical three as during the rest of the year [dairy, meat & neutral/parve].

this spring holiday is probably one of the only times when my diet consists of lots of meat so i guess this will be my opportunity to fill up my blog with all those meat dishes that are good for anytime of the year, not just passover.

the following recipe is an appetizer i have long loved and look forward to eating at the seder meal. it is typically served with a zesty tomato sauce called salade cuite.


les croquettes de pomme de terre pour pessah
passover meat stuffed potato croquettes

makes 18

ingredients:

potato casing:

4 to 5 large potatoes [idaho]
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
chopped parsley, optional

filling:

4 tsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp each of: cumin, cinnamon, coriander*
pinch nutmeg, optional
salt, pepper to taste
1 lb ground beef
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 c red wine vinegar (KLP)
1/4 c chopped parsley

*these are sefardi spice combinations; you can use whatever spices you enjoy.

matzo meal or potato starch
1 egg, beaten

method:

in skillet, heat oil and fry onion and garlic until softened. add spices and fry a minute longer.

add beef and break up as while frying. cook until it is no longer pink. drain off all fat.

stir in vinegar and sugar. cook until liquid evaporates.

transfer to a food processor and process until you get a paste [la "miga"]. shape these into 18 ovals which measure 2" x 1 1/2". chill them to make them firm up. do not skip this part or they won't hold together properly.

for potato casing:

boil potatoes with skin on in salted water until soft. rinse and peel while still warm. mash them well.

add the salt and pepper and only 1 egg. mix well. divide into 18 equal portions.

to make the croquettes:

using matzo meal or potato starch, flour your hands well. take a portion of the potatoes and form it around a portion of the meat. make sure it is well closed. you can freeze these at this point, too.

dip each croquette into the egg which you have beaten well in a bowl. fry these in oil until golden. only fry about 6 at a time.

when golden brown, drain on paper towel.

serve warm or room temperature with a tomato sauce [salade cuite].

enjoy!

the "other" gefilte fish

this one is for those people who hate [gefilte] fish or are allergic to it and comes in extremely useful at yomtov [holiday time]. it is an old recipe for a facsimile of the most jewish of appetizers and uses ground chicken or turkey of all things.

having made this many times, i can say it's "nisht geferlach" [loosely translated .... "not too shabby!"] and worth trying once. in yiddish, it is called falsher which means false. in ultra religious circles from which the recipe originates, rules are strictly adhered to; who knows, the fish may have consumed bread before it was bought and not digested it making it not kosher for the holiday! a definite no-no at pessah.

this can also be made gluten free [no matzo meal] by using potato starch.

remember, pictures to follow one of these days. for now, use your imagination.

falsher [gefilte chicken or turkey]

16 portions, approximately

ingredients:

10 c chicken stock
2 onions, sliced
5 stalks celery, sliced
5 carrots, sliced thinly

salt & pepper
sugar, optional

2 lbs ground chicken or turkey
2 eggs
1/2 c matzo meal or potato starch

method:

in big pot, place the stock with 1 onion, 3 stalks of celery and 3 carrots. bring to boil and then simmer.

in a food processor or grinder (or by hand with the classic wooden bowl and hackmesser), place chicken or turkey with the rest of the onion, celery and carrots. process/grind/chop until all is well blended. place this in a bowl. i like to grind the vegetable a bit first if using the food processor.

add eggs, matzo meal or potato starch, with a 1/2 c of stock and then season with salt and pepper. add sugar if using. the mixture will be very, very soft.

with wet hands, make it the same way you would gefilte fish balls. they will expand as they cook also.

place these carefully into the stock which has been brought to a boil.

cover and simmer for at least a half hour. they don't need to boil for hours as with the fish.

nota bene: do a small test before by boiling a small piece to check for salt and pepper.

garnish as you would with traditional gefilte fish on a bed of lettuce.

enjoy!

and that's the way the ball bounces ....

with less than two weeks left before the first seder, there is much to do before the night of april 2nd, 2007. every day counts at this point, and for some every minute — there are still ovens and stoves to scour, food to rid the house of before the end of the month, not to mention shopping to be done, guest lists to confirm, and final decisions on what to make for the holiday, especially on the first two nights.

something funny however seems to happen at this time every year. people start to get anxious over what to serve searching through tons of cookbooks, the internet, and magazines and often, in the end, after much racking of the brains, revert back to basics of what has been typically served since time immemorial. part of me thinks there is something comforting sticking with the old standards. i've usually ended up doing one night traditional and one non-traditional to curb, or rather, appease my need to make new things. i can't count how many times i've been at some seder where someone has served non-traditional dishes only to notice the questioning look of "so .... where's the brisket? what do you mean there's no brisket?!" i guess the rule of thumb is "know your crowd" before you get creative.

passover would not be passover without the classic soup addition of matzo balls, otherwise known in yiddish as halkes or knaidlach. while there are undoubtedly as many recipes for these as there are cooks, there are probably equal numbers of cooks with their own secrets as to how to make the perfect matzo ball. much of it comes down to three things:

• size: i have seen matzo balls at some of our delis taking up the size of the bowl itself, as big as a small grapefruit and in other instances as small as large marbles for a more refined and manageable size.
  
  
• texture: hard or soft is always the issue. i've often heard that if they're hard, they were not made properly. who knows, i like them both ways.
  
  
• taste: that's a personal issue but i tend to go with the "know your crowd" caveat before getting creative and having no one eat them.
  

in terms of tricks people use to make matzo balls come out perfectly, the common ones are beating the egg whites before adding them or using seltzer or soda water. i've never done it that way and don't need to since i use the following recipe. the other recipes are different in that one is stuffed with onions and baked before adding it to the soup and the other has ground almonds in it. which ever way you try it, i still firmly believe opening the pot before they've finished cooking equals matzo ball death!

i unfortunately can't post pictures until later on for the first two recipes as the kitchen's not ready [yet]! they will be added later. i will add pessah recipes over the next week and a half but, as i said, no pictures — for now you'll have to use your imagination.

before going any further though, a famous little story:

When Marilyn Monroe first visited Arthur Miller's parents for Friday night supper, her ignorance of Jewish food was all too apparent. "Gee, Arthur, these matzo balls [dumplings] are pretty nice," Monroe declared. "But isn't there any other part of the matzo you can eat?"

quoted from chicken soup, please article.

never-fail soft matzo balls

this recipe always works. not much more to say than that.

ingredients:

4 eggs
4 tbsp oil
4 tbsp ice water
1 c matzo meal

1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt
1/8 - 1/4 tsp pepper

salted water for boiling

method:

whisk together the eggs and oil then add the water with the salt and pepper. add the matzo meal with a spoon and then set aside in fridge for at least 2 hrs [overnight is best].

when ready to make the matzo balls, heat a large pot of water to boiling and add salt [~1 tsp]. fill a bowl with water to moisten hands while forming them. using a tablespoon, take the mixture and form smooth balls. make them all like this and place them on a plate. then add them to boiling water one at a time.

note before cooking all of them: it's best to take a small marble sized piece and let it cook for 10 minutes or so [covered] and then taste it before continuing with all of them to adjust for salt and pepper.

cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and set the heat to low. cook for 30 minutes exactly and don't open the pot to peek inside even though it's tempting.

remove the pot from the burner and still closed, let it rest for 15 minutes.

makes 12 large matzo balls or 24 smaller ones. they can be made before the holiday and frozen until needed.


stuffed & baked matzo balls

the following recipe is interesting in that each matzo balls has a little stuffing inside it and has been baked to a golden brown before serving in the soup. i've tried it on guests and the consensus was that they were very good. it is from joan nathan. it's a little more work than usual and not as soft texturally as the other two recipes here but it's worth the results.

ingredients:

stuffing:

1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp oil or shmaltz
2 tbsp matzo meal
1 egg yolk
salt, pepper to taste
1/8 tsp cinnamon

matzo ball itself:

4 eggs
2 tbsp shmaltz or margarine
1 c matzo meal
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped parsley
4 tbsp chicken soup or water

12 c water

method:

for the matzo balls:

beat eggs and fat together. stir in matzo meal, salt and parsley. add the 4 tbsp (up to 6) of chicken stock or water. put in fridge for 1 hour at least.

for stuffing:

fry the onion in oil or fat until very browned and crisp. remove from heat and put in small bowl. add the matzo meal and seasonings. mix in the egg yolk and stir well.

to make the matzo balls:

divide the matzo meal mixture into 12 portions. dip hands in water and make a ball. press a hole in the center with your thumb and wiggle it a bit to enlarge the hole. add 1/12 of the stuffing mixture, about 1 tsp, and close up the matzo ball.

do this to all of them. add the matzo balls to the 12 c salted water which has been brought to a boil. lower the heat to simmer and cook the stuffed balls well covered for 1/2 hour.

preheat the oven to 350F. oil a 12 portion KLP muffin tin.

remove the balls from water after 30 minutes. place each one in the greased muffin tin. oil the matzo ball a bit too before baking. bake them until they are golden brown.

serve these in chicken soup as you normally would.


knaidlach mit mandlen

this version has the addition of ground almonds [mandlen] in it. i usually make very small knaidlach with these by the tsp or 1/2 tsp. the final texture should be soft.

ingredients:

1 large egg
3 tbsp unmelted soft margarine, leveled

3 - 4 tbsp water or stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
pepper to taste

2 tbsp ground almonds, leveled
6 tbsp matzo meal, leveled

method:

beat the egg well with a wire whisk.

mix egg and margarine together.

add stock or water and seasonings.

with a spoon, mix in the almonds and matzo meal and stir well.

refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

take spoonfuls and form the balls with wet hands.

add them to boiling and salted water or the soup itself and cook covered for 30 minutes.

do not lift lid during cooking or they will sink to the bottom and chances are they will harden.

enjoy!

i will leave you with this question — is it just me or does almost everyone feel they can't eat anymore once the matzo ball soup part is done??

pet food recall

pet owners — dogs & cats —

MAKE SURE you check the list of foods that have been recalled and IMMEDIATELY stop feeding your dog or cat them.

to be on the safe side, i would head to the vet immediately. many pets are dying from kidney failure or possibly could due to complications from eating these foods.

MENUFOODS has announced that you should keep your original packaging of the foods and any vet bills in case they pay out for losses.

recipe revisited

here is the step-by-step for one of my favourite soups i gave the recipe for in a previous post. no need to look back for the ingredients and measurements, all is here [there are some other recipes for some great soups in that post too, however] .

stay away from the canned version of this one, the following is extremely easy and even better — especially since you made it yourself! trust me, you won't be sorry you took the time to make this. it goes even faster if you buy fresh presliced mushrooms.

easy cream of mushroom soup

this can be made dairy with whole milk & butter or parve [non dairy] with soymilk and margarine with just as good results. while it does not use cream, i do suggest using whole milk though you can make it with 2% with good results.

ingredients:

2 - 3 small containers of white button or café mushrooms, sliced
1/2 small onion, diced
3 -4 vegetable bouillon cubes [or equivalent in powder ~ 2 1/2 T]
2 c water
2 tbsp butter or oil

1/4 c butter or margarine
3 tbsp flour
1 -2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

3 c whole milk or plain soymilk

method:

in a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil or butter & fry the onions over med-low heat until coloured [lightly browned] and remove to a plate to cool. the onions should not crisp as they fry .... they will be pureed later therefore turn down the heat if they fry too quickly.

while onions are frying, slice the mushrooms.

add these to a large soup pot with 1 tbsp oil or butter and saute until they soften, approx. 5 min on medium heat.

add the water and the bouillon cubes or powder and stir to dissolve. break up the cubes first to speed things up. cover the pot and simmer 20 to 25 minutes over low heat.

once this is done, set it aside and take another pot. and melt the 1/4 c of butter or margarine on low heat.

add the flour and make a roux. this roux is not 1:1 so don't add more flour.

keeping the heat low, stir it constantly so it does not burn. it should be bubbling.

cook about 3 to 4 minutes and then add the milk and whisk quickly so that lumps do not form [or any that have formed will be dissoved]. turn up the heat med-high and keep whisking until it is thickened, approx. 5 to 10 minutes. it should not be super thickened in terms of final texture.

add this milk mixture with the salt and pepper to the mushroom mixture and stir well to blend.

in a blender, add the onions you fried and about 1/3 to 1/2 of the mushroom mixture or a little less and carefully purée this. watch out because it will fly out of the blender if you are not careful. you might want to do small amounts or start of on a slow setting and work up to purée.

be careful as it is hot. return this to the soup pot and stir. add more butter, salt & pepper if desired. i also add a tsp of sugar.

enjoy!