Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers

Historians tell us that Queen Esther, hero of Purim, was a vegetarian. Rice-and-veggie stuffed peppers is a delicious way to honor that remarkable woman, who was successful in preventing the annihilation of the Jews in ancient Persia.

My grandmother made a similar dish. I don’t have her recipe but have been experimenting with the ingredients for years and this is the closest I’ve come to the dish I remember her serving when I was a child.

Stuffed Peppers

• 8 bell peppers

• 1 cup rice

• 2 tablespoons currants or raisins

• 5 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 medium onions, chopped

• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, optional

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 large tomato, chopped

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground allspice

• 1-3/4 cups vegetable stock

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Place the peppers in a deep bowl and pour boiling water over them. Weight them down to keep them under the water. Let rest for 5 minutes. Drain and repeat the process with cold water. Cut a lid from the top of the peppers, but reserve the lids. Scoop out and discard the seeds and membranes. Set the peppers aside. Place the rice and currants in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let rest for 30 minutes. Drain. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and pine nuts, if used, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until the onion has softened and is slightly golden. Add the rice and currants and some salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato, sugar and allspice and cook for another minute, stirring occasionally. Add the stock, bring to a boil, cover the pan and lower the heat. Cook for 18-20 minutes or until the rice is soft and all the liquid has been absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the parsley, dill, mint and lemon juice. Let cool. Use to fill the peppers. Place lids on top. (You may prepare to this point and cook later). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the peppers in a baking dish. Add 2 cups of water to the dish. Bake the peppers for 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving (warm or at room temperature).

Makes 8 servings

Snails! The Dessert Kind (M'Hencha)

Years ago, when we were in Egypt, I tried this dessert, called m’hencha, because it looked so pretty.

It was like a Proustian moment because it tasted so similar to my Romanian Jewish grandma’s turte, which is like baklava only made with almonds instead of walnuts, and sweetened with sugar syrup, not honey.

Unlike my grandma’s version, m’hencha is shaped like a snail, which I think looks much lovelier and so I decided to make this for New Year’s, when the cousins come for a visit. (I’m using honey instead of the syrup my grandma used.)

I’ll be curious to see if my cousin also remembers this delicious pastry from back in the day.

M’Hencha

• 2-1/2 cups ground almonds

• 1/2 pound butter, melted

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 pound phyllo dough

• 6-8 tablespoons honey

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the almonds, 4 tablespoons melted butter, sugar, orange peel and cinnamon until well combined. Set aside. Using one phyllo sheet at a time, spread the dough out on a flat surface and brush lightly with melted butter. Top with the next phyllo sheet and repeat, using 4 sheets of phyllo. Spread about an inch of the almond mixture in a line about an inch from the edge on the long side. Roll the dough, jelly roll style, then coil it into a snake shape. Place the pastry on a cookie sheet. Brush with butter. Repeat 5 more times to make 6 pastries. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. While the pastries are baking, heat the honey until it is warm and liquefied. Pour the warm honey over the pastries and serve. NOTE: you can make smaller pastries: cut the phyllo sheets in half and proceed as above (makes 12).

Makes 6 servings

Romanian Cornmeal Cheese Cake

My grandmother occasionally made a fabulous cornmeal dish — she called it mamaliga, the national dish of Romania — and served it with sweetened, mashed farmer cheese and sour cream. Sometimes with a drizzle of maple syrup over everything.

I never knew it as Malai, a classic Romanian Shavuot treat, but that’s what it was. But it wasn’t her usual, plain “cornmeal mush” because it also had eggs and sugar mixed into the batter.

All I knew was how delicious it tasted.

So, over the years I experimented over and over until I made a version that tastes something like what I remember.

Here it is, in time for Shavuot.

Romanian MALAI

The Batter:

• 6 tablespoons butter

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup finely ground cornmeal

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2/3 cup milk, half-and-half or buttermilk

• 2 large eggs

• filling

• sour cream, whipped cream, ice cream, etc. optional

• extra sugar or maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch cake pan. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to distribute the ingredients evenly. Add the milk, eggs and cooled, melted butter and mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Spoon one half of the cornmeal mixture into the prepared pan and spread the batter to make it even. Top with the filling. Top with the remaining batter (spread the batter to make a smooth, even top crust). Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the cake is set.

Serve the cake warm, room temperature or slightly chilled. Serve plain or topped with sour cream (traditional), whipped cream or ice cream. (I add about 2 teaspoons of sugar for each cup of sour cream used as a garnish).

Makes 8-10 servings

THE Filling:

• 1 pound farmer’s cheese

• 1 large egg

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon peel

Mix the farmer’s cheese, egg, sugar and lemon peel until the ingredients are well blended.

Romanian Cheese Turnovers (Placinta cu Branza)

This has been a year like no other, but, in an effort to make New Year’s weekend somewhat normal (and with hopes that 2021 will be much better!), the cousins who always spend New Year’s with us have agreed to self-isolate, take Covid tests and so on, and if the tests are negative, they will come and stay with us for a few days!!!

I am so looking forward to that!

Our New Year’s Eve celebration is always an hors d’oeuvre fest. We start at about noon, have a few nibbles. A few hours later we have more nibbles and then at about 7:00-8:00 p.m. our final round. Dessert is much later, maybe 10:00 or 11:00 p.m.

We are doing the same thing this year. TRADITION!

The company and the food style will help us all feel … normal. If only for the long weekend.

I make some classics every year. Gougeres. Stuffed mushrooms. Matbucha. Chicken wings.

This year I am adding these mini-cheese turnovers. The filling is classic — my grandmother (my visiting cousin’s grandma as well) made a similar cheese mixture and wrapped it up in phyllo dough, as I also have many times. But puff pastry is easier to work with and every bit as delicious. We have eaten several of these as I worked to finalize the recipe. The New Year’s stash is safely stored away in my freezer.

Romanian Cheese TUrnovers (Placinta cu Branza)

• 1-1/4 cups crumbled feta cheese

• 1 7.5 ounce package farmer cheese (about one cup)(or use dry curd cottage cheese)

• 1/4 cup sour cream

• 1 large egg

• 2 medium scallions, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry*

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the feta cheese, farmer cheese, sour cream, egg, scallion and dill in a mixing bowl and mix together until the mixture is uniform and the ingredients evenly distributed. Roll one sheet of the puff pastry into a 12”x 12” or 13”x13”square. Cut out 9 or 16 squares. Place equal amounts of cheese filling in the center of each. Wet two sides of each square lightly with some water. Fold the dry sides of the dough in half over the filling to meet the wet sides and to form triangles. Press the ends to seal the dough tightly. Press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal the sides completely. Place the pieces on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 18 or 32

*You can make this as strudel, using buttered phyllo leaves

Potlagela

I know I am not alone in in thinking I want “my old life back” —— seeing my kids and grandkids, giving them a hug. Seeing family and friends without having to sit at least six feet away, always outside. Going out for dinner. Going to the opera.

All that.

I’ve managed to find ways that help me through this stressful time. One of them is making foods that remind me of “the good old days.”

So I’ve baked some Apple Brown Bettys, because they remind me of my parents (z”l), who once lived nearby. It was my Dad’s favorite dessert, my Mom made it often and there was always some left for me when I’d visit, at least twice a week. (Apple Brown Betty is also good for socially distanced company because you can bake the ingredients in individual ramekins.)

Almond Crusted Chicken Nuggets have been on my menu recently because they remind me of my very special cousin and lifelong friend, Leslie. She and her husband Neil spend every New Year’s weekend with us and I always serve these for hors d’oeuvre. (Another winner for social distancing!)

There’s always a reason to make my grandma’s award-winning challah, so that’s nothing new in my house.

BUT, my other grandma used to make potlagela, a Romanian specialty. I hated this dish when I was a youngster but last year, when I grew my own eggplants, I decided to give her recipe a try and realized how delicious this dish is. That revelation also brought back some terrific memories.

SO, here it is. My Grandma Hoffman’s version of Potlagela. She used vegetable oil, but I prefer olive oil. Either will work. She also cooked her eggplant right on top of the cooktop burner, so if you have a gas burner, you can do it that way too. OR, you can cook it on an outdoor grill, which I’ve done many times.

This dip is so perfect for summer. Especially perfect for eating outdoors socially distanced because you can serve it in separate bowls for other people.

Serve with pita or bagel chips.

Potlagela

• 1 large eggplant

• 1-2 scallions or one shallot or small onion

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tomato, chopped, optional

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash the surface of the eggplant, then wipe it dry. Coat the surface with a thin film of olive oil. Prick the skin in a few places with the tines of a fork. Place the eggplant on a baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, turning the eggplant once or twice during the cooking. Remove the eggplant from the oven. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and stem and place the flesh in a bowl. Mash the eggplant with the back of a fork. Add the scallion, garlic, optional tomato and olive oil and mix the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add the lemon juice and mix again. Season to taste with salt and pepper; sprinkle with some parsley.

Makes 4 servings