Halva Swirl Brownies

By Shannon Sarna for The Nosher

For some time now I had in my head that I wanted to make a brownie that involved halva, that delicious Middle Eastern sesame confection. I researched. I pondered.

And then when I got a jar of the brand-new Soomsoom Foods Tehina, I knew it was my sign to go for it. What I loved about using this particular sesame paste was the super smooth consistency, easy pour-ability and also the fantastic plastic container. Much less messy or tricky to open than the metal cans!

I used this recipe for Nutella Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies from Lovin’ in the Oven as the inspiration for my recipe.

While I chose to sprinkle the halva pieces on top of the brownies, you could also mix them into the brownie batter itself, or make a double batch of the brownies and do a layer of brownie filled with the tahini-cream cheese filling. The possibilities are endless.

Want to make this “semi-homemade” or pareve? Use some tried-and-true store-bought brownie mix and mix as directed. Add 1/4 cup chocolate chips to batter, and sprinkle 1/2 cup crumbled halva on top for another variation.

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Alfajores Cookies

Alfajores is a South American cookie. It is an elegant soft cookie which is sandwiched together with dulche de leche or vanilla custard and rolled in coconut.

Ingredients

1 cup/s Flour
1 cup/s Sugar
1 tablespoon/s Baking Powder
1 tablespoon/s Vanilla Sugar
300 gram/s Corn Starch
3 Eggs
200 gram/s Butter Or Margarine Melted
1 Dulche De Leche
1 Coconut

Preparation
Mix all ingredients in an electric mixer until well blended. Roll out a layer of the dough not too thinly nor thickly and cut out circles using the top of a glass. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, until it looks just baked. Be very careful not to burn it. When cool, sandwich 2 cookies with a layer of dulche de leche or vanilla custard and then roll the sides in coconut or colored sprinkles.

From CulinaryKosher.com

Texas Cholent No 9

Cholent that has a Texas twang.

By Ari White on MyJewishLearning
Ingredients


1 lb Naval Pastrami
1 lb 2nd Cut Brisket or Flanken
1 lb Bullet of Salami
1-2 marrow bones
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large sweet potato
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup mixed beans soaked in water overnight
2 onions
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder or cayenne
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 lb kishke, cut into 3 slices
1 can Dr. Pepper
3/4 lb pearled barley, washed
water

Directions

Place your onions, quartered, marrow bones and brisket in a roasting pan and put under a broiler until both sides have good color, then place in crockpot.

Cut your potatoes into manageable pieces, usually 6-8 per potato and add to pot as well.

Add beans, remaining meats (whole), spices, ketchup, teriyaki, and BBQ sauce into the pot.

Pour as evenly as possible your washed pearled barley over everything else.

Add can of Dr Pepper.

Place the 3 slices of kishke in the center over your pile of barley.

Fill to the brim with water and cover with lid.

Set mode on high for six hours, then leave in warm mode overnight. Do not touch.

Before serving break up the large slabs of meat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Unstuffed Cabbage

From The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Stuffed cabbage is one of my favorite Ashkenazi dishes, but it takes FOREVER to make. The leaves need to be boiled, then drained, then trimmed. Then the meat filling needs to be mixed. Then the filling needs to be rolled up into each cabbage leaf, and then it all needs to slowly cook. By the time it’s all done, I’m not just hungry, I’m super duper hungry!

I was on the phone kvetching about how long the process takes with my friend Beth, and she suggested I make Unstuffed Cabbage. A friend had served it to her once for dinner. She didn’t have the recipe, but she gave me the basic concept… make a bed of cabbage, make the filling into meatballs, cover it with sauce and cook. This idea was intriguing, so I went for it! Here’s what I came up with.

For the meatballs, I used a combination of ground beef and ground chicken. This allowed us to enjoy the flavor of the beef with a reduction in fat and calories. You can substitute ground beef only or ground chicken only if you prefer. If you use chicken, be sure to make it dark meat chicken, which will give you some extra flavor. Note that if you use ground chicken only, the meatballs will be quite sticky when you’re trying to form them, and you may need more matzo meal to help them hold together. Keep a wet towel handy!

Normally stuffed cabbage has rice in the filling, but I left it out of this dish because we’re watching our carb intake. It is very filling without the rice, making it a healthy comfort food option. It’s perfect for the colder months of the year, a warming and wonderful one pot meal. It’s also kosher for Passover– bonus!

Now, before you try this recipe, you should know that it’s not a Polish-style sweet and sour sauce (emphasis on the sweet). I prefer my stuffed cabbage on the savory side. If you’re looking for a more sweet and sour dish, try these: Sweet and Sour Meatballs. However, if you like savory meatballs, you will totally dig this dish! Guaranteed.

Update: I recently posted a recipe for traditional Stuffed Cabbage Leaves, click here to read.

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Zalabia

Hanukkah might be over, so this can be a great time to experiment with Jewish cooking customs from around the world.

This recipe has been adapted by Martha Stewart from "The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey From Samarkand to New York" by Claudia Roden.

FOR THE SUGAR SYRUP
5 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon rose or orange-blossom water

FOR THE BATTER
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 2/3 cups warm water
Light vegetable oil, for frying, plus more for coating spoons

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1
To make the syrup: Combine sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat, and simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Add rose or orange-blossom water, and simmer for a few seconds longer. Remove from heat, and let cool. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

STEP 2
To make the batter: Whisk to combine flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Gradually stir in water, beating vigorously until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for at least 1 1/4 hours. Uncover, and beat once more. Cover, and let rise again, about 30 minutes.

STEP 3
Heat 2 inches of oil in a deep saucepan over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 375 degrees. Dip two tablespoons in a small bowl of oil to coat. Working in batches, spoon about a tablespoon of batter into hot oil. Fry, turning occasionally, until puffed, crisp, and golden. Reduce the heat a little so that the fritters are thoroughly cooked without getting too brown. The light batter produces irregular rather than round fritters.

STEP 4
Using a slotted spoon, remove fritters, and transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Dip fritters in the cold syrup for a few seconds to coat and soak up some syrup. These are best served hot, but they may also be served at room temperature.

Jews From Cochin Bring Their Unique Indian Cuisine to Israeli Diners

On a moshav in southern Israel, the women behind Matamey Cochin keep alive the flavors of an ancient Jewish community

By Dana Kessler for Tablet Magazine
One of Israel’s well-known traditions is “the great trip to the East” that young adults take after completing their army service—whether it’s to “find themselves” in ashrams, lie on the beach in Goa, or smoke weed all day far from their parents’ observing eyes. This tradition is one of the reasons Israelis think they know all about India (the other being the fact that Israelis think they know all about everything). But many Israelis don’t know that Jews have a history in India that dates back to antiquity.

While there are different groups of Jews in India, living in different areas, the Cochin Jews of South India are the oldest, dating back to biblical times. These Jews, whom the Hindu Raja granted their own area in the southern Indian port city of Cochin (known today as Kochi) during the Middle Ages, lived peacefully in what is now part of the state of Kerala. Even though they never suffered persecution, most of them immigrated to Israel in the 1950s and early ’60s. The majority settled in moshavim around the country, while some moved to various cities. In the 1960s, there were between 2,000 and 3,000 Cochin Jews in Israel. Nowadays, there are very few Jews left in Cochin, while the community in Israel, which grew due to intermarriages, totals between 7,000 and 8,000 members.

One of the moshavim where most Cochin Israelis are situated is Nevatim, in the south of Israel. Nevatim used to be an agricultural settlement, but since the local agriculture died down in the 1980s, the moshav has been striving to revive its economy by turning it into a tourist attraction, based on the heritage of its Cochin Jews. Tourists, from Israel and abroad, visit Nevatim for its beautiful synagogue, cultural center, and museum, as well as for the traditional food cooked and served by the women of Matamey Cochin.

Matamey Cochin (“Cochin delicacies”) is a business operated by eight local women between the ages of 55 and 65 who host Cochin-style meals in their homes or in the local hospitality tent, for groups who make reservations. When the idea of hosting traditional meals in the moshav came up, the women of Nevatim turned to Smadar Kaplinsky, who develops small businesses for women in Israel. She helped them get their enterprise off the ground four years ago this month, and, with the assistance of Partnership 2000 and the Jewish Agency, the women of Nevatim started holding cooking workshops for Taglit-Birthright Israel and other youth groups, as well as hosting meals for visitors. In addition to providing traditional meals for groups from the United States and Canada a few times a year, they cater mainly to groups from Israel.

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