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Growing up, my paternal grandmother hosted Rosh Hashanah dinners, the traditional, festive and elegant menu repeated itself year after year with very little variation. There were a few items on the menu that we always looked forward to and always made their appearance on the table. Leek patties, whole fish with the head to symbolize fertility, a new fruit of the season, often pomegranates and this apple jam to symbolize a sweet year just to name a few.
My grandmother hosted the dinners and my mom made her special apple jam. The jam is quite simple; apples, sugar, lemon juice and mastic. Mastic is what makes the jam so special; it becomes fragrant as soon as it is added to the hot jam and leaves a delicate aftertaste. While I am huge fan of mastic, it is important to make sure not to add too much as when it’s used in large amounts, it has a tendency to overpower the taste of the other ingredients, and here the star ingredient is the apple, therefore to let the apple flavor shine, there should just be a hint of mastic.
- 4 medium apples (I used golden delicious)
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Small piece of mastic
Peel and grate the apples, toss with the lemon juice as you grate so the apples don’t turn brown. Place the grated apples and the sugar in a medium noncorrosive pot over medium high heat, cook the apples stirring frequently until most of the liquid has evaporated and the apples are cooked. Using a mortar and pestle, crush a small piece of mastic with a teaspoon of sugar, add to the jam, stir, turn off the heat and place the jam in a jar until ready to serve.
 Printable Recipe
Rosh Hashanah 5771 falls on September 8th 2010, so I thought I would share another challah recipe. Traditionally, challah is braided (usually two 6 stranded loaves) but for Rosh Hashanah the loaves are shaped into a spiral symbolizing the circle of life.
I adapted the recipe from Maggie Glezer’s book, A Blessing of Bread. I have yet to find a better challah recipe than Ms. Glezer’s sourdough challah but I am always trying new recipes. This challah is made with instant yeast and has very little liquid; in fact the dough feels very stiff while mixing and shaping. I mixed and kneaded the dough by hand because as it was pointed out in the recipe, it was too stiff for the stand mixer and while you can mix it in the food processor, I find it warms up the dough more than I would like.
Despite being very stiff and dry looking dough, the baked challah is surprisingly moist and tender with a nice fine crumb and delicate buttery crust. Instead of using a mild honey as it is suggested in the book, I used a very fragrant, dark, chestnut honey and that made the loaf that much more flavourful. It also stays fresh for days after baking and the leftovers make the perfect French toast (I’ll be posting the recipe soon).
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup warm water
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup honey
- For glazing: 1 egg and a pinch of salt
In a small bowl, make slurry using the yeast, ¼ cup of all-purpose flour and water, let it stand for about 10 minutes, the top should get bubbly.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt, make a well and add the slurry, eggs, oil and the honey, knead until the dough looks smooth. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 2 hours or until it has doubled in volume, it took less time for me because it was an especially hot and humid day.
Divide the dough into two 15 ounce or one 24 oz. (680 grams) and the rest into three smaller loaves (I did the latter). Roll the dough first into a rope and then shape it into a spiral. At this point the dough can be refrigerated for 24 hours.
Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let the loaves proof until doubled in size again. Meanwhile, prepare the egg wash for glazing by gently beating the egg with a pinch of salt.
Preheat the oven to 350F and brush the loaves with the egg wash and bake until evenly golden and a thermometer inserted in the middle of the loaves registers 200F.
If you make one large and three smaller loaves, remove the smaller ones as soon as they are done and continue baking the large one. The smaller ones bake relatively quickly but the large loaf spends a long time in the oven, so if the loaf gets too dark, tent with a piece of aluminum foil to prevent it from burning.
Once the loaves are baked, remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Printable Recipe
Eggplant is one of my favourite vegetables and like all produce, eggplant too is best when it’s locally grown and eaten shortly after it has been picked. Lots of recipes call for salting the eggplants and draining the dark liquid prior to cooking to get rid of the bitter taste. That step is not necessary when using fresh, sweet eggplants.
Eggplants tend to absorb oil like a sponge and you get to add more oil as you fry, less so with this recipe. Dipping the eggplant slices in beaten eggs prevent the excessive absorption of the oil and makes the dish lighter. This recipe is really simple, it calls for only a few ingredients and make for a good appetizer and leftovers are always welcome here! My mom makes fantastic sandwiches with leftover cold sliced roasted chicken, fried eggplant and sliced tomatoes on fresh baguettes!
- 2-3 medium eggplants
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Oil for frying
- Kosher salt or fleur de sel
Wash and trim the eggplants, peel the eggplant (like shown in the picture) using a vegetable peeler and cut into ½ inch slices. Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet, dip the eggplant slices into the eggs and fry on both sides until golden. Drain on paper towels, season with salt and serve at room temperature.
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Armiko is a traditional Sephardic dish that is usually made during the summer months when the tomatoes are sun ripened and plentiful. It’s a simple vegetarian dish that can be served as a side dish or like an appetizer. Armiko recipes change from city to city, some are eaten cold, some warm. The recipe below is my favourite, growing up, my mom made this version fairly often, it’s a great summer dish, and it definitely gets better the next day.
- 3 lb. tomatoes
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large white or yellow onions, diced
- 2 green peppers
- Kosher salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/3 cup uncooked rice
- Parsley
Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Wash and cut a small X on the tomatoes, blanch in boiling water for about 30 seconds, remove the tomatoes, let cool for a few minutes. Peel and core them, cut into small chunks, set aside.
Heat the olive oil over high heat in a large pot, add the onions and cook for 5-6 minutes, add the peppers and cook for a few more minutes, add the tomatoes and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, add the sugar, season with salt, turn the heat to medium low, cover with a lid and cook until the tomatoes are soft and some of the liquid has evaporated. Add the rice; turn the heat to low and cook until the rice is cooked. Let the armiko rest for a few hours at room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold.
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I made these zucchini fritters using the leftovers from the stuffed zucchini. I often toss the centres into a big pot and make my special potage which consists of all the vegetables and herbs I have in the fridge or make a zucchini gratin but every once in a while I make these fritters. They are always a hit with dinner guests; they can be served hot or at room temperature. The fritters are simple to make but there is a crucial step, as soon as salt is added to the zucchini, they release all of their liquid and by the time the third fritter is placed on the skillet, the mixture looks like a shredded zucchini soup. So, try to squeeze as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible and start with only 3 tablespoons of flour and add another one only if you think the fritters are going to fall apart. Adding more flour makes cakey fritters, rather than crisp ones. As for the cheese in the mixture, you could use any hard cheese or even feta or you could leave it out if you want to make the fritters dairy free.
- 1 lb zucchini, grated
- 2 eggs
- 3-4 tbsp all-purpose unbleached flour
- 2 oz. kasseri or kashkaval cheese any other hard cheese
- 1/3 cup dill, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup green onion, chopped
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup canola oil for frying
Wash and trim the zucchini (or use the leftovers from the stuffed zucchini), grate with the coarse side of the box grater, place in a colander and sprinkle with a little salt, let stand for a few minutes, and squeeze as much liquid as you can. Mix the zucchini with the eggs, 3 tablespoons of flour, cheese, dill and green onion, season with salt.
Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet, place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and cook on both sides until golden brown. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
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