1,000 Jewish Recipes (130 page)

³
⁄
₄
cup sugar

3 cups water

1 vanilla bean

3 or 4 strips of lemon rind (optional)

1
¹
⁄
₂
pounds ripe, fairly firm pears

¹
⁄
₂
lemon

2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

1.
Combine sugar, water, and vanilla bean, and lemon rind, if using, in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring gently to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat.

2.
Peel pears. Rub them well with cut side of lemon half, squeezing lemon a little so some juice comes out on pears. Cut pears in half lengthwise. With point of peeler, remove flower end and core of each pear, including long, stringy part that continues to stem.

3.
Return syrup to a boil and add pear halves and lemon juice. Reduce heat to low. Cover with a lid that is a bit too small for saucepan, to keep pears submerged. Cook about 12 minutes or until pears are very tender when pierced with a sharp knife.

4.
Let pears cool in their syrup. Taste syrup; if you would like a stronger vanilla flavor, add vanilla extract. Serve pears warm, room temperature, or cold, with a little syrup spooned over them.

Russian-Style Prune Compote with Tea

1 pound prunes (with pits)

3
¹
⁄
₂
cups light brewed tea

¹
⁄
₂
cup sugar

1 lemon

1.
Put prunes and tea in glass bowl. Cover with a plate to keep prunes submerged. Let soak 8 hours or overnight at room temperature.

2.
Gently transfer prunes and their soaking liquid to a medium saucepan. Add enough water to just cover fruit. Add sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring very gently, until sugar dissolves. Cover and cook over low heat 25 minutes.

3.
Cut lemon into thin rounds, discarding ends. Remove any seeds. Add lemon slices to saucepan. Continue cooking about 5 minutes or until prunes are tender. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Serve cold.

Pear Cake with Honey
 
or
 

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

¹
⁄
₃
cup honey

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

2
¹
⁄
₂
teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

2 pounds ripe pears, peeled, halved, cored, and finely diced

1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13 × 9 × 2-inch cake pan, line base and sides of pan with a sheet of foil and grease foil.

2.
Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in honey. Add eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Mix flour with baking powder and stir mixture into egg mixture. Stir in grated rind. Last, stir in pears.

3.
Spread batter in prepared cake pan. Smooth top. Bake 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in cake's center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack about 20 minutes or until just warm. Turn out onto a rack. Cool to room temperature.

Purim

Purim takes place in late February or March. Like Hanukkah, its origin is not in the Torah but in an historic event in the life of the Jewish people. Purim's story is recounted in the Book of Esther. It tells of the Persian King Ahasueros who married Esther, a Jewish woman, and made her the queen. When the king's evil advisor, Haman, plotted to destroy the Jewish community, Esther interceded with the king and saved the Jews.

Purim is celebrated with costumes. Children dress up as Queen Esther, King Ahasueros, and other characters from the Purim story, or as their favorite movie heroes. Adults also often attend costume parties. At the synagogue, children are encouraged to make lots of noise when the name "Haman" is mentioned during the reading of the Book of Esther.

Holiday pastries and other foods celebrate the defeat of the wicked Haman and his evil plan. Three-cornered, filled cookies called
hamantaschen
are the main Purim treats. In Yiddish the name means "Haman's pockets" although some say the cookie recalls the shape of his hat. The Hebrew name for these treats are
oznei
Haman
or "Haman's ears," which is also the name for certain Sephardic fried pastries served on the holiday. When I was growing up, poppy seed and prune were the only fillings for hamantaschen. I was surprised to discover that in Israel, date filling rivals poppy seed in popularity.

The Purim feast is accompanied by wine. For the main course, many people—particularly in Israel and France—serve turkey. Although the source of this tradition is unclear, the Book of Esther says that King Ahasueros ruled from India to Ethiopia. The word for turkey is expressed as "India bird" in Hebrew and French, so to Jews on this holiday the turkey represents Ahasueros. (Another theory is that the turkey is considered a foolish bird and Ahasueros a foolish king, but that may just be a cultural joke.) Most people celebrate Purim with vegetarian foods, and beans, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), nuts, and dried fruits are on the menu in many homes. Jews in Tunisia serve hard boiled eggs with fava beans. Other Jews in North Africa serve couscous garnished with raisins. Ashkenazic Jews sprinkle poppy seeds on their noodles.

The story behind the vegetarian customs is that Esther became a vegetarian when she married the king, in order to avoid eating meat that was not kosher. Even today, her solution of following a vegetarian diet is often the choice of Orthodox Jews who are traveling or who are in situations in which kosher food is difficult to find.

A popular Purim custom is exchanging sweets—hamantaschen, cookies, chocolates, candies, and bite-size pieces of cake. Most are homemade but busy people combine some homemade treats with some purchased ones. Children in costume often bring them arranged in pretty boxes to friends, neighbors, and relatives.

= Pareve  
= Dairy  
= Meat

SALADS, APPETIZERS, AND SOUPS

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Capers