Almond and Sesame Seed Brittle – Boulokunio

While we Ashkenazim eat Hamentashen (see here and here) on Purim, Sephardic communities have some very interesting foods for the occasion.

From Stella’s Sephardic Kitchen by Stella Cohen…

Almond and Sesame Brittle

Detail from photo by: Marc Hoberman, on page 211

Toasted cinnamon seeds, honey and almonds make a deep-golden, chewy treat. Popupar at any celebration, this ancient confection is traditionally offered over the Festivals of Purim and Hanukkah (Feast of Lights). These petite treats, not unlike the nut bars that are popular today are utterly addictive.

5 cups hulled sesame seeds
1 tablespoon plain (all purpose) flour
1 tablespoon blanched spit almonds, toasted

For the syrup:

1 1/2 cups clear honey
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 1/2 cups sugar

SPRINKLE 1 cup of sesame seeds with a pinch of flour and toast lightly in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat for 4 minutes or until lightly golden. Shake the pan often and stir with a wooden spoon. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat this process, 1 cup at a time, with the remaining four cups of sesame seeds.

HEAT the honey, water and sugar in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until it thickens and reaches the soft ball stage *. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into a very large, heatproof bowl.

ADD the almonds and 3 cups of sesame seeds and stir together vigorously with a wooden spoon. Spread the hot mixture onto an oiled worktop. Sprinkle in the remaining two cups of sesame seeds, working it a little at a time into the mixture. Dampen your hands with cold water and roll into four ropes about 1 inch in diameter. Cut diagonally into 1 inch sections using a sharp knife dipped into hot water. Allow to cool at room temperature until hardened.

STELLA’S HINTS:

* The soft ball stage is reached when a small drop of syrup forms into a little ball at the bottom of a cup of cold water. It will flatten and feel soft and pliable.

To store: Place the brittle between layers of baking paper and store in an airtight container up to 1 month.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Strawberry Zabaglione

Zabaglione or Zabaione is a delicious Italian dessert made by whisking egg yolks, wine and sugar. The beating is done over simmering water so that the egg yolks gently cook as they thicken into a light, foamy custard. It is best made right before serving.

In France they call sabayon and in Uruguay – where I grew up – we called it sambayon. Regardless of what one calls it, this dessert is like ambrosia of the gods! Here we present you a delicious variation of it:

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb strawberries, halved in or quartered, depending on size.
• 3 egg yolks
• 8 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons sherry *

Directions

1. Divide the strawberries among 4 shallow 1 1/4 cup ovenproof dishes or use a large 5 cup dish.
2. Put the egg yolks, sugar and 4 tablespoons of the sherry in a large bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Cook the mixture, whisking continuously using a handheld electric beater, for 5 minutes, until the mixture is very thick and frothy and almost fills the bowl halfway.
3. Add the remaining sherry and cook until it thickens again. Pour the mixture over the strawberries and sift the confectioner’s sugar over the top.
4. Cook under a preheated hot broiler for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden, or caramelize the sugar with a cook’s blowtorch. Serve immediately.

Between preparation and cooking time it took 20 minutes to have it ready. Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Lemon Coconut Mousse

In our search for ever more delicious, easy to prepare, desserts (if lemon is an ingredient, that immediately makes it a prime candidate!), we came across the following in Lévana Kirschenbaum‘s The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen (page 356):

Another treat born of good flavor matchmaking. Anyone not a lemon lover need not apply!

Detail from photo by Meir Pliskin, on page 357

1 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup cold water

1 15-ounce can coconut milk

3 tablespoons lemon zest

1/4 cup rum

1 cup light agave syrup

1 pound silken tofu

1 8-ouncecontainer dairy-free cream cheese

1 cup toasted coconut for topping
(about 15 minutes in a 325 F oven),
optional

Dissolve the gelatin in the water, and resrve. Bring the coconut milk and the lemon juice to just below boiling  in a small saucepan. Transfer the warm mixture to a food processor with the reserved gelatin mixture and process about 30 seconds. Add a;; remaining ingredients and process until perfectly smooth. Pour into a bowl or small individual cups and chill. Tap with toasted coconut, if desired. Makes a dozen servings.

variation: lemon coconut pie GFA

This will make for a more dramatic presentation, with just a couple minutes more work, for the crust. Grind about 12 ounces graham crackers (gluten-free OK) with 1/2 cup oil in a food processor and press firmly into a 12 inch pie plate, then pour the mousse batter on top, and chill. Cut into wedges. Makes a dozen servings.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy! I’ll be having these on Shabbat eve.

CS

Coffee & Chocolate Panna Cottas

I desperately needed another chocolate fix this week (let me add that I started feeding my weekly chocolate habit, this past Monday at Levana Kirschenbaum‘s with some of her fabulous Chocolate Truffles; I continued with Easy Chocolate Squares), therefore I had no choice but to turn to François Payard‘s Chocolate Epiphany. Leafing through the pages, to my surprised delight, I came across an interesting dessert which I just had to try; as usual, Pâtissier Payard did not disappoint!

From page 130:

Serves 6

Chocolate Panna Cotta

• 1 tbsp unflavored powdered gelatin
• 2 cups whole milk
• 4 oz  50% chocolate chopped
• 1/2 cup Dutch -processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup sugar

Coffee Panna Cotta

• 1 tbsp unflavextractored powdered gelatin
• 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 tbsp instant coffee granules
• 1  tbsp pure vanilla
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar

Garnish

• 1/2 cup apricot preserves

Directions

CHOCOLATE PANNA COTTA:

1. Sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tbsp of the whole milk, and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl.
2. Combine the cocoa powderand the sugar. Put the remaining milk and sugar mixture in a small saucepan over medium high heat, and bring almost to a boil. Whisk the gelatin into the milk, then pour the milk ovrer the chocolate. Whisk the gelatin into the milk, then pour the milk over the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a a small pitcher or a bowl with a spout, and set it aside to cool to room temperature.

MAKE THE COFFEE PANNA COTTA:

1. Sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoonsof the milk, and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Combine the remaining milk and the coffe, vanilla bean, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring almost to a boil. Whisk the gelatin into a mixture until combined. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small pitcher or a a bowl with a spout, and set it aside to cool to room temperature. If using vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean, whisk it in it now.

ASSEMBLE THE DESSERT:

1. Pour some of the chocolate mixture into six tall, clear 4-ounce glasses, so that it fills up about one fourth of each glass. Place the glasses in the freezer to set the panna cotta, but do not let it freeze solid. This will take about 30 minutes. Then pour some coffee mixture over the chocolate one, to fill the glasses halfway. Return the glasses to the freezer to let the coffee panna coota set, about 30 minutes.
2. Repeat the process with one more layer each of chocolate and coffee. The last layer does not need to be put in the freezer. Refrigerate the glasses until the panna cotta layers are set, about the 30 minutes, or overnight.
3. To serve, garnish with a dollop of apricot preserves.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

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Poached Nectarines

Summer is fast approaching, so what could be better than this recipe adapted (by Kosher Revolution‘s author Geila Hocherman) from Dede Wilson‘s Unforgettable Desserts?

Poached Nectarines with Rosé Granité and Frozen Sabayon

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

Poached Nectarines

• 1 1/2 cup slightly fruity rosé wine
• 1 1/2 cup of water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 ripe nectarines

Granité

• 1 cup slightly fruity rose
• 1 cup poaching liquid

Sabayon

• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup slightly fruity rosé wine
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup MIMICREAM HealthyTop
• 1 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup chilled warm water

Photo by Alexandra Grablewski – Page 264

DIRECTIONS

For the poached nectarines – Stir together the wine, water, and sugar in a narrow , deep saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Add the fruit; the liquid should cover the fruit. Simmer just until the fruit is tender when pierced with a knife tip, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the poached fruit from the liquid with a slotted spoon and set aside on a cutting board. Measure out 1 cup of the poaching liquid and set aside. Boil any remaining poaching liquid until it reduces and becomes thick and syrupy. Cool and then pour into an airtight container. Once the fruit is cool, chop into 1/2-inch dice, discarding the pits. Scrape the fruit into the container with the syrup. Refrigerate until chilled or for up to 3 days.

For the granité – Stir together the wine and the 1 cup reserved poaching liquid in a 8-inchmetal baking pan. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze until solid or for up to 3 days.

For the sabayon – Whisk the egg yolks and wine together in the top of a double boiler (or deep bowl for a makeshift double boiler). Whisk in the sugar. Set over boiling water that just touches the bottom of the bowl and whisk constantly until very thick and almost tripled  in volume. The mixture should form a ribbon when you lift the whisk; this will take 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately set over a bowl of ice water. Whisk the mixture until it is completely cool. Whip the HeathyTop in a separate clean bowl until soft peaks form, add the unflavored gelatin (diluted in the water) and then fold into the egg mixture. Scrape into an airtight container and freeze until solid or for up to 3 days.

For the assembly – Have 6 to 8 clear wine goblets available. Right before serving, scoop a layer of fruit into the bottom of the glasses. Top with a scoop of sabayon. Use a fork to make course, icy flakes of granité and scoop them onto the sabayon. Repeat the layers, ending with the granité, and serve immediately.

– TIP –

The sabayon will freeze pretty solid. In theory, it is best after it has softened at room
temperature for about 5 minutes. The reason I don’t suggest taking it out ahead of time is
that because by the time you have all of the desserts assembled, it will have come to the
proper temperature and consistency.

Delicious snack, perfect at any time. Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Cherry Heering in Holy Day Dessert…

Considering the great memories Cherry Heering brought back of family simchas as I and later my kids were growing up, considering I discovered it on a kiddush on my very first Shabbat on these American shores, I hust had to incorporate it into the Rosh Hashana meals.

SYR, obliged with two delightful dessert recipes and here they are:

SYR’s Cherry Heering Sorbet

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh or frozen cherries, pitted and halved.
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon Cherry Heering
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Bring cherries, sugar, water, and lemon juice to a slow boil in a heavy saucepan, stirring until cherries are soft
   and liquid is syrupy. Cool to room temperature.
2. Add teaspoon of Cherry Heering. Blend in a food processor until smooth with minimal pulp.
3. Freeze with ice cream maker according to instructions, or freeze in containe.
4. Blend once more in food processor and refreeze in airtight container.
5. Scoop and serve.

SYR’s Cherry Heering Syrup

Serves 24

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh or frozen cherries, pitted and halved.
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon Cherry Heering
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Bring cherries, sugar, ¾ cups water, and lemon juice to a slow boil- medium heat, in a heavy saucepan, stirring until cherries are soft and liquid is syrupy.
2. Stir 1/4 cup lukewarm water and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth. Pour and stir into boiling cherry syrup. Boil, stirring constantly, until liquid thickens, for about 1 minute.
3. Cool to room temperature, add 1 teaspoon of Cherry Heering. Store in syrup bottle or container.

The Peter Heering distributor in the US had sent us a bottle of Cherry Heering and a bottle of Heering Coffee Liqueur for Purim; the Coffee Liqueur was finished so I decided to use the last of the Cherry Heering and the results were delicious!

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Peach Cobbler

This makes a great dessert, whether for Shabbat or any other occasion:

Ingredients

• 6 peaches, peeled and sliced
• 4 tablespoons 10x confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
• parve vanilla ice cream (or dairy if you do not intend this dish to cap a fleishig meal)

Cobbler Topping

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup 10x confectioners’ sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted margarine (or butter, if this will be a milchig dessert)
• 1 egg
• 5-6 tablespoons almond milk (or milk, if this will be a milchig dessert)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Put the peaches in an ovenproof dish; add the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch , and almond extract, toss them all together. Bake the peaches in the oven for 20 minutes.
3. While the peaches are baking make the cobbler topping, sift the flour, all but 2 tablespoons of sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Rub in the margarine with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
4. Combine the egg and tablespoons of almond milk in a pitcher and mix into the dry ingredients with a fork until a soft, sticky dough forms. If the dough seems dry, stir in the extra tablespoon of milk.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F. remove peaches from oven and drop spoonfuls of the topping over the surface, without smoothing. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar, return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and firm – topping will spread as it cooks.
6. Serve at room temperature with ice cream on the side.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Geila Hocherman’s Cinco de Mayo Recipes – Part 2

[Geila gives us two more superb recipes! Editor]

Sweetcorn Salad

Photo by: Antonis Achilleous, Kosher Revolution on page 137

Serves 6

This delicious – and beautiful – salad began with a bag of sweetcorn kernels I’d scraped from cobs served at a barbecue. In my house, company is a constant. To feed a hungry crowd one day and to use up the kernels, I invented this salad. With toasted pine nuts, onion, pepper and a tantalising sesame oil-based dressing, the salad goes beautifully with my Surimi Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Mayonnaise or with any grilled meat or fish.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon grapeseed or rapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 6 corn on the cobs
• 1/2 cup sugar, if needed
• 1 orange, yellow or red pepper, cored, deseeded and cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 1 red onion, diced
• 4 scallions, white part only, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. In a small frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the nuts and toast, stirring, until aromatic and beginning to color, about 3 minutes. Set the nuts aside.
2. Fill a large pan with water and bring to the boil. Taste the sweetcorn; if it’s not sufficiently sweet, add the sugar to the water. Add the corn on the cobs and cook until just tender, 5–7 minutes. Drain, and when the cobs are cool, cut off the kernels using a large knife. Transfer the kernels to a large bowl.
3. Add the pepper, onion, spring onions, cilantro and reserved nuts, and toss. In a small bowl, combine the sesame oil, vinegar, mirin and salt, and blend well. Pour over the sweetcorn mixture and toss well. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Geila’s Tip

Never add salt to the water in which you boil sweetcorn. It toughens the kernels.

—OooO—

Coconut Flan

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• ¼ cup water
• 8 eggs
• 1 15 ounce can cream of coconut- Roland, coco lopez
• 2 tablespoons Mexican vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. Place sugar and corn syrup in small heavy bottomed saucepan with the water and stir.  Over medium heat let the sugar melt until it begins to turn color.  Once coloring has begun you may swirl the pan. When the caramel is medium amber pour into a greased 9 inch pan that has been placed on a dishtowel in a roasting pan.
3. Blend together the vanilla, eggs, and cream of coconut.  Pour the mixture over the caramel.  Place pan in oven and fill with hot water that comes half way up side of pan.
4. Bake for one hour or until custard is set and knife comes out clean.
5. Cool completely.  Run knife along edge and invert onto a plate and serve.

Enjoy!

Geila Hocherman

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Viennese Chocolate Fingers

SYR and I are both confirmed, hopeless, chocoholics. Yes, we love chocolate in almost any shape or form. Here is a recipe she adapted (to make it pareve) from Jacqueline Bellefontaine‘s What’s Cooking Chocolate:

Makes about 18

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sweet margarine
• 6 tbsp confectioner’s sugar
• 1 1/2 cups self – rising flour, sifted
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 7 ounces dark chocolate

Directions

1. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets. Beat the sweet margarine and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat the flour and cornstarch into the mixture.
2. Melt 2 1/4 oz of the dark chocolate and beat into the cookie dough.
3. Place in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe fingers bout 2 inches long on the prepared cookie sheets, slightly spaced apart to allow for spreading during cooking.
4. Bake in a prepared oven at 375 F for 12-15 minutes. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets, then carefully transfer with a spatula to a wire rack and let cool completely.
5. Melt the remaining, dark chocolate and dip one end of each cookie in the chocolate, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl.
6. Place the cookies on a sheet of baking parchment and allow to completely set before serving.

Not only do these cookies practically “melt in your mouth,” but the taste is almost unequaled by anything else I can remember. They went so fast, I never got a chance to shoot my own picture and had to use the photo above, a detail from the one appearing  in the book!

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Fresh & Easy

A well known New York Chef once told me that when he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, he prided himself of making a pasta dish that required thirty ingredients. Sure, it was absolutely delicious, but it took a loooong time to prepare. Soon, however, he outgrew that urge as he realized you can still make delicious dishes with far fewer ingredients, less preparation time and those tasting them would still lick their fingers.

Leah Schapira‘s Fresh and Easy follows the latter philosophy, as the book makes food preparation fun, healthy, quick!

The book is divided into nine sections:

• Menus
• Soups
• Salads
• Dips & Sauces
• Side Dishes
• Brunch &Lunch
• Main Dishes
• Traditional
• Desserts

The Menus section is subdivided into five sections:

• Appetizer Ideas
• Pesach Menu
• Make-in Take-out
• Quick and Easy
• Freezes Well

Each of these subsections sports tempting thumbnail photos of various dishes and the page numbers where they can be found.

It wasn’t easy choosing just one favorite recipe, but I finally opted for a dessert:

Chocolate Mousse With Pear Chips

Ingredients

• 8 eggs separated
• 12 oz bittersweet chocolate (not baking)
• 1 teaspoon coffee granules (dissolved in 3 teaspoons boiling water)
• 1/4 cup red wine

         Pear Chips

• 2 firm pears
• 1 cup sugar

Directions

1. In a mixer, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
2. Over a double boiler, melt the chocolatre with the coffee. Beat the egg yolks with a fork and quickly add to double boiler, mixing well. Add the red wine. Remove from heat.
3. Fold in the egg whites until combined. Place in individual cups for serving refrigerate.
4. To prepare pear chips, preheat oven to 325F.
5. Thinly slice the pears and lighly coat each side with sugar. Place the pear slices in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Turn the pears over and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the pears in the oven to cool and dry.
6. Before serving, garnish mousse with chocolate shavings and caramelized pear chips.

With great photography, a nice – easy on the eyes – layout, this book is a delight to hold and salivate as you look at the featured recipes,  truly fresh and easy

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS