a cake by many names

this cake originates from the mediterranean and middle east and goes by many names depending on who is making it. sephardic jews called it tishpishti, chamali (shamali/samali) or gâteau de semoule. in arabic, it can be called basboussa or h'risa or namoura. it is also called revani by the greeks. a few of the names can also indicate what is in it (like those with coconut) besides where it is from. i am sure i have missed a few, so forgive me if i haven't mentioned them.

some versions are made with yogurt and some with milk. this recipe can use soy milk to ensure it can be eaten at a meal with meat and includes oil instead of butter. amongst sephardi jews, this cake is seen often at either rosh hashanaha or passover where it is made using matzo meal. it traditionally has (wal)nuts and cinnamon in it. in all versions, like many of these types of cakes, a syrup is made from either sugar or honey (or a combination of both) and is poured over the baked cake to absorb.

this is a very popular cake with young and old. it is made in a 'tifsin' [round pan here, in this case]. this version has no nuts (it is the one i make for a friend who is allergic to them) and the batter is not pre-scored as is usually done in many recipes for it. the measurements for this recipe [and some others i have] are done with 'la kupa', or a turkish tulip-style teacup [also called 'le verre'].

until i measured it to write out the recipe, i had no clue how much it equaled. try getting an exact measurement for some of these recipes — that's old-world ancestor recipes for you!! so for convenience and recipe translation, it adds up to a 1/2 cup in standard measurement (4 oz). it is also used to measure out portions for turkish coffee — but only up to the first line!

tishpishti, hold the nuts

cake ingredients:

1/2 c oil
1/4 c sugar
3 large eggs

1/2 c AP flour
1 c semolina (fine grind; not pasta flour)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

1/2 c milk, yogurt or soy milk [or analogue - almond/rice milk, o.j., water]
1 1/2 - 2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 tsp orange zest if wanted
1 tsp orange flower water [m'aa zaher] or rosewater

syrup ingredients:

1 1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp honey [optional]
1 1/2 c water
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp orange flower water or rose water

the original was/is:

1 k(upa) olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 k. sugar
4 small eggs

1 k. flour
2 k. semolina
1 [pkg] levure chimique
1/8 tsp soda / salt

1 k. yogurt/milk/water
almendre, vanille
orange zest & m'aa zaher

2 k. sugar + 1/2 k. honey
3 k. water
demi citron
m'aa zaher
pistaches moulues (p décorer)

method:

make the syrup. put all but the orange flower water or rosewater in a small pot, stir to mix and cook over medium heat about 15 minutes until you get a very thin syrup. it is thinner than, say, maple syrup. remember it will thicken when it cools and this must absorb into the cake. add the flower water and set this aside to cool.

if it gets too thick — something you do not want in this instance — you can try adding several tablespoons of water to thin it to what you need but i don't suggest it. just keep an eye on it. again remember, you don't want a viscous syrup.

remember, the rule of thumb is hot syrup to cold pastry or cold syrup to hot pastry. we are working with the latter method.

now, preheat oven to between 375 and 400F [190C].

grease your baking tin with margarine or butter. don't use oil as it does not adhere well to the pan which you need. (you can use a round 8 inch but it should not have very short sides as syrup will be added and it may not contain it).

place all the dry ingredients in a bowl. add the oil and eggs. stir well.

add the milk, extract, flower water and stir again. put this batter into the pan and give it a gentle whack or two on the counter to release any bubbles.

put it in the oven to bake for 55 minutes to 60 minutes.

you will notice that it will have pulled away from the sides and condensed. the surface will seem a little oily, that is normal. it will also be a dark golden colour.

pour the cooled thin syrup over the hot cake.

after a few minutes, the cake will start to absorb the liquid and it will eventually disappear. they may be a bit left over. this is fine and normal.

about 15 - 20 minutes later cut it into diamonds. the procedure is as follows:

• make cuts all the way through cake spaced about 2 inches apart from top of pan to bottom;
• make same cuts now at a 45 degree angle and you will end up with diamond shapes (draw it on a piece of paper first if you can't imagine it, to get the idea before you cut);



• the little uneven ones are for noshing or giving to kids. adults [guests] usually get the perfect diamonds.

let it absorb for a few hours. serve at room temperature. don't refrigerate the cake. store on the counter covered with tin foil. it will be good for a day or two.

et voilà. enjoy with turkish coffee or mint tea.

hmph....the 24th of december and STILL no snow?

when i woke up this morning, the sun was shining and it felt cold in my room.


getting up, i looked out the window and felt it odd seeing decorations everywhere and not a flake of snow in sight.

it seemed like i should be living in some hotter climate for this. i mean, it's canada after all!! this is the first time in my life i have not seen snow this late into the month. every year it comes later and later. well, looks like whoever decides on dropping snow on canada had decided to wait til the 26th of december. at least, in my part of the woods, that is.

regardless, for all those celebrating i wish tidings of joy and happiness for you.

happy holidays 2006

happy holidays 2006

happy listening. from a group i like [for now] called copeland.

sweet and spicy chickpea & mint salad

this salad [or appetizer] can be served two ways, with or without tuna. it is sweet and meant to be enjoyed in small portions. the coolness of the mint and sweetness of the sugar go very well together. using tuna makes it incredibly high in protein, though on its own is just as good. i would only advise only using fresh mint for this one.

sweet and spicy chickpea & mint salad


ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly in half moons
small handful of mint leaves, chopped finely
2 - 3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp white vinegar
2 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
red chili flakes or hot sauce, like sriracha

1 can tuna, well-drained
slivered roasted red pepper or sundried tomato

method:

slice onion and mince garlic and mint and put in a medium to large bowl. add the sugar, vinegar, oil and salt and pepper and mix well. add as much hot sauce or chili flakes as you like. mix well and let sit for 20 minutes. stir once or twice.

drain the chickpeas well and add to the bowl. mix well and let marinate for 1/2 hour. taste and adjust.

add tuna and sun dried tomato or roasted red pepper slivers before serving, if using.

8 lights burning bright — happy holidays

חג אורים שמח
happy 8th night

i will leave you with a final little song. i know, i know, you've heard it all before. this is a good rendition, however. adam, you're a funny man.

unfried chicken & a different kind of kasha and bowties for the last night of hanukkah

oven fried (read ungreasy) chicken alongside crispy latkes and applesauce with a different kind of "kasha" and bowties makes for a nice finale for the 8th night of hanukkah.

enough said.

happy holidays to all.

oven 'fried' chicken for hanukkah. or any day.

this dish is simple to make and honestly really good for not being deep fried. while not cooked in oil the traditional way, it is a healthier choice and less messy way to end the holiday. save the grease for the latkes to serve alongside the chicken.

ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c soy milk or water
2.5 c corn flake crumbs (crushed but not pulverized)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

i sometimes add onion & garlic powder, paprika. you can use smoked or hot paprika but be careful how much you add. too much will ruin things. i have also used wasabi powder. sometimes i add lemon zest. anything will work. good old plain style is wonderful, too.

1 chicken [3 pounds], cut up 8 pieces skin on
5 tbsp margarine or oil, margarine melted

method:

preheat oven to 350 F

mix eggs and soy milk in a dish like a pyrex. in another bowl, mix together the corn flake crumbs, salt, and pepper.

place the coating mixture in a ziploc plastic bag. take chicken pieces and coat them in the egg mixture, then add them to in crumbs and shake to coat.

place chicken pieces in greased pyrex baking dish or disposable tin pan. drizzle chicken w/ melted margarine. you may also drizzle honey over chicken at this point, too.

bake the chicken uncovered 1 hour.


'un-kasha' & mini bowties

i have renamed this "un-kasha and bowties" as the recipe reminded me of a very traditional jewish side dish.

the recipe is from norene gilletz, a well known jewish cookbook author in canada. her recipes are always good. this one is from her (russian) grandmother and is really nice as an alternative to kasha, or buckwheat groats which is used in the traditional kasha varnishkes. it uses semolina (cream of wheat) of all things and it's very unique and delicious. a must try, it always disappears. and no, it's not mushy at all. a terrific alternative for buckwheat haters.

ingredients:

2 c mini bowties or mini shells

2 large onions
1 - 2 tbsp oil

1 c semolina [wheatlets]
2 c boiled pasta water

1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

method:

cook pasta. drain and reserve 2 c pasta water. set pasta aside covered.

in a dry fry pan add the semolina and cook over medium heat until the semolina browns nicely. be careful to keep stirring and not to brown it. set aside.

chop onions and fry them in the oil in a large frypan until nice and browned. add the semolina and stir until mixed. heat the pasta water and add the water slowly and stir. watch out as you add the water as it may splutter. add the salt and pepper. stir well.

add the bowties or other pasta like the mini shells and mix well. taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

enjoy!

seven lights for seven nights

happy 7th night

sweet couscous and the 7th night

around this time — the six & seventh nights — i always seem to feel a bit sad that, in another day or two, the holidays will soon be over for us and "the rest of the world" is just only beginning their full revelry and merriment. while others will still have christmas trees blinking and presents underneath them, the smell of pine wafting through the air, holiday music in the background and fireplaces crackling away, my home will be back to the normal everyday routine and unadorned. and when everyone else will wake up to open presents, many jewish families will be planning which movies to see on december 25th and where to "go for chinese" this year. mmmm, eggrolls. yes, that's what many of us do when nothing BUT nothing is open on the 25th of december, save for the corner stores, local video/dvd shop and of course, the theatres and chinese restaurants. i am sure we must be their biggest cashpull in north america on that day. some traditions die hard.

* * * * * *

the seventh night of hanukkah is a special night. it actually has a name and is called (c)hag ha'banot [חג הבנות], or loosely translated, festival of the daughters. it commemorates the heroism of judith [יהודית], the jewish woman who killed the enemy, the assyrian general holofernes, and helped in saving the jewish people after the destruction of their holy temple, central to judaism.

photo: wikipedia painting by Christophano Allori, dated 1613

judith's importance as a heroine has been featured on various menoras of antiquity [medieval] and is a popular named given to jewish girls to this day. this is the basis for the evening of the seventh candle in countries of north africa such as morocco, tunisia and algeria. it is also the evening of two important events: the slaying of holofernes and the new moon of the month of tevet [טבת] or as it is called in hebrew, rosh (c)hodesh [ראש חודש]. rosh (c)hodesh is also significant as it is usually celebrated by women.

this celebration on the seventh night is primarily observed by women, and with much enjoyment. dancing and feasting are high on the list. dairy foods are eaten and to drink, is milk and/or buttermilk. in particular, a dish of sweetened couscous either very simply made, as seen below, or more elaborately prepared with a variety of sweet dried fruit. i seem to have some remote memory of salty feta filled burekas being served near the last day of hanukkah which is probably related to the salty cheese in the story of how judith made holofernes very thirsty forcing him to drink copious amounts of wine and eventually lead to his demise once well-inebriated.

to read more about this celebration, read the ritualwell article. of note is that women can celebrate this at home. the authors explains the how and why.

i will add here that i have seen this being noted as a celebration which takes place on the occasion of the 6th candle. rosh (c)hodesh this month takes place over two days.

here are two recipes for you to try (and the burekas 0ne from the link above).


sweet couscous

serves 6 (dairy)

According to The Book of Jewish Food, sweet couscous is a festive Jewish dish in North Africa. In Morocco, it was served at Hanukkah in bowls with wooden spoons. It is the custom to serve cold milk or buttermilk with it, in little tea glasses.

Ingredients:

1 cup couscous
boiling water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon unsalted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar, or to taste

1/3 cup raisins, soaked in warm water for a few minutes

Directions:

Prepare the couscous: Place 1 cup of couscous, salt, margarine and 1 cup of boiling water in a large bowl; stir to mix, cover the bowl with a plate and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes. At this point, some recipes call for occasional stirring with a fork to fluff it while it is steaming; others call for not stirring until it is fully steamed. If the couscous is still crunchy, add 1/4 cup more of boiling water, cover and let sit another 5 minutes. Then stir it to fluff and separate the grains of couscous.

Claudia Roden offers serving ideas:

serve this shaped as a cone, sprinkled with lines of cinnamon and confectionery sugar down the sides, and raisins if you wish; with a mixture of toasted pine nuts, chopped almonds and pistachios; with dates and chopped almonds on top.

recipe excerpted from jewz.com


ricotta latkes — לביבות גבינת ריקוטה

a light dairy latke which cookbook author gloria kaufer-greene says predates potato latkes. these, therefore, must be quite old. potatoes only came to ashkenazi jews in recent history from south america.

you can cut the recipe in half and use a smaller container of ricotta if it is only for a few people. a full recipe yields about 30 - 2 inch (small) latkes as per the author though i get more than that. they are very light and one can easily consume many. they are very, very good.


ingredients:

one 15 or 16 oz container ricotta
4 eggs
6 tbsp AP flour
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 or 2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 - 2 pkgs vanilla sugar [my addition]

method:

mix all together in a blender or food processor and blend until creamy. the batter will be like a thinner than regular cheesecake one.

fry on medium heat until golden brown in butter. they will puff up a bit but not stay that way. take care when flipping them as they are fragile. i would not recommend crowding the pan.

serve with conserves, jam and/or sour cream.

enjoy!

six down, two to go

happy 6th night

for those of you who want(ed) to make your own candles, look here for how to do it. forgot to include this earlier in the week. oops!

how could i forget monkey!

well, i completely forgot about this site for my latke post so i am including it here. my bad. my shame.

visit monkey and watch as monkey makes tasty latkes.

we love you, little monkey. happy hanbananukkah.

(i wonder if a little monkey will visit again??)

more hanukkah sweets & treats

hanukkah is, and has been, celebrated worldwide for many centuries by all those practising the faith. the only exception would be that of the jews with ethiopian backgrounds. having settled in, or inhabited, all parts of the globe, save for a few places, a tremendous variety of food and recipes from everywhere jews have lived, has been integrated into both their everyday and ceremonial cuisine. from siberia to south africa and new york to shanghai, jews have been adept at adapting and adopting local flavours, provided they could be eaten. many an item has been reworked with respect to the dietary laws and has led to the tremendous variety and diversity of what today is called jewish cuisine.

in food terms, most of what we eat for this holiday involves the frying items in oil to honour the miracle of the oil which burned for 8 days when it was supposed to last one day. this can become tedious after a few days and is not the healthiest of things to do for eight days straight, not to mention causing tremendous lingering smells of oil in one's home. from what i know, i will add here that frying so many things in oil is more of an ashkenazi tradition than a sephardic one. some of the foods served during this time such as bimuelos are fried however. some [sephardic] people will also eat dairy foods depending on which customs they follow. in the end, all these dishes, fried or not, taste wonderful.

the item for today's post is sweets. it is sephardic in origin, is not complicated and does not involve any oil. in fact, it is pretty much straightforward and something which is enjoyed by many people all over the world.

photo: sesame flower & pod

sesame candy — סוכריות סומסום

this treat is eaten at hanukkah and is very good if you like sesame seeds. as i cannot find my recipe for it at the moment, i am giving you another from gloria kaufer greene which works nicely. i will post mine when i lay my hands on it! obviously, this candy is not limited to just the middle east, look here, here and here for examples. whichever way you make it, it's great.

ingredients:

vegetable oil

2 c sesame seeds (12 oz)
1/2 c honey
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger (powder)

method:

take a 9 in square cake pan or pyrex and coat it with oil.

in an ungreased fry pan place the sesame seeds and dry fry them for 5 to 10 minutes over medium heat until they are toasted. do not overbrown them. place them in a bowl to cool and wipe out the fry pan so it is completely clean.

add the honey, sugar and spices to the skillet and mix. bring it to a boil over medium heat. keep stirring until it comes to a rolling boil and cook this stirring for another two minutes. it must be boiling. do not exceed 2 minutes of full boiling. immediately remove from heat and add the sesame seeds. do not delay. stir until well mixed. transfer this quickly to your cake pan and press down with a spatula that has been dipped in water. make sure the spatula is heat resistant.

press this into an even layer. cool it for 15 minutes or until solid but lukewarm. run the spatula along the sides to loosen the candy and then turn the whole thing carefully onto a flat surface and with a sharp knife cut into fingers or squares. you can also make little squares or diamonds.

let these cool completely and store at room temperature. like all candy, this is best made when your kitchen is dry.

☺
enjoy!