Matzah Brei

The school year is winding down, homework is grinding to a halt and suddenly you have more projects and finals than you know what to do with. Another thing winding down? Your meal plan. Suddenly your social life increases as you cling like a sea lichen to various people you sat next to that one time in college writing, because they happen to have some extra points on their meal card. This makes for some awkward conversations as you attempt to bum your way through the next few weeks.

But, fortunately you are one of the lucky ones! You have access to a kitchen. And this kitchen has working appliances, like a stove and an oven. Yay!

Unfortunately, you're just about broke. So, retract that last yay.

What to do?

Hey, remember those Jewish friends you have? The ones who celebrate Passover? I bet they have a ton of leftover food you could have. Probably several boxes of matzah under the sink. And trust me, they won't be touching that stuff for another year anyway. It's a Jew thing.

Don't know anybody who has extra matzah? Time to check out that discounted aisle at the supermarket.

So now you and your several boxes of life-giving matzah are in the kitchen. You've had matzah toast with jam, matzah crackers in your chicken noodle soup and matzah sandwiches that have crumbled onto your lap, and you're feeling a little iffy about my advice.

Sorry about that. You have tons of eggs, right? Here, have a recipe. It's like making french toast and a large omelette at the same time. It's fantastic.

Matzah Brei
(Recipe from The Jewish Holiday Kitchen by Joan Nathan)
serves 3-4 people

Ingredients:
Boiling Water
3 sheets of Matzah
2 eggs
salt and pepper (to taste)
butter (for frying)

Boil and pour the hot water into a large heat resistant bowl. Take the matzah and break into pieces, dropping them into the bowl.  Allow the matzah to soak for 15 minutes. Drain. Gently squeeze the excess moisture from the matzot.

Place the matzah back into the bowl.
Crack the two eggs into a small dish. Gently beat the eggs with a folk, just enough to separate the yolk. Add salt and pepper. Pour mixture over the matzah.

Butter your skillet or just a flat frying pan.You shouldn't need more than a tablespoon of butter at a time if you're making in two batches, but feel free to use less if you are making smaller portions. If you have a large pan, you can pour the entire mixture into the pan at once. Allow it to cook for 3-4 minutes or until it is brown on one side.

Flip and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

Serve warm.

Drizzle maple syrup or honey on top. Add cinnamon if desired.

Hamantaschen Part 2

Once you've made the dough and let it rest for several hours it's time to make your hamantaschen. Roll out part of the dough on a lightly floured surface, until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. You don't want it so thin that it is slightly transparent, but a little thicker is fine. If you don't have a rolling pin, try using a thick glass, making sure to press down gently as you roll.


Using a glass/ measuring cup/two-inch circular object of your choice, cut out circles from the dough and set aside. Make the circles as close to each other as you can without overlapping to save time. Any remaining dough can be rerolled.


Take a small custard dish or bowl and fill it with water.


Take out desired filling(s).


Dip your index finger in the water and draw a circle around the top edges of a hamanataschen. Immediately add about a teaspoon or two of filling. If you add too much filling, you will be able to tell, because the hamantaschen will not close easily. Simply remove excess filling.

Essentially, what you will be doing is folding the edges of a circle into thirds.


Fold the top edge of the circle so that it covers the edge of the filling. Take more water and gently rub down the edges of the fold. The edges should nearly disappear into the cookie. Turn and fold remaining edges of the hamantaschen similarly two more times so that they overlap, making sure to use water to bind them together. There should be a well defined triangle of filling visible.

Move completed hamantaschen to a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes until tops begin to turn brown. Cool on a baking rack.

Traditional fillings include poppy seed and other fruit fillings including prunes.


Jam Filling
Ingredients:
jam of your choice
chopped nuts


These fruit fillings can be easily made using different kind of jams. Be warned that the jam may bubble out of your hamantaschen, however. To keep this from happening, simply add a few finely chopped nuts to your jam in a small custard dish.


Poppy seed filling is a bit more complex. It is also my favorite kind of hamantaschen filling. This recipe does make a lot of it, however, so it should be made for a large party or if you only make one kind of filling, otherwise you may have a lot leftover. Poppy seed filling can also be bought at some supermarkets in the baking section, next to other canned pie fillings.


Poppy Seed Filling
(adapted from Jewish Holiday Kitchen )
Ingredients:
1/4 pound sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 pound poppy seeds
1/2 egg white
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
rind and juice of 1/2 lemon or orange
1 oz raisins
1/2 oz figs or dates or additional raisins
cinnamon to taste
1/2 cup raspberry jam
2 tablespoon butter


Combine the sugar and water in a pot. Simmer mixture over low heat.
Grind the poppy seeds in a food processor or blender.  Add to sugar mixture.

Add egg white, vanilla, lemon or orange rind and juice, raisins, figs, and cinnamon.  Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.  


Add jam and butter and continue simmering until butter is melted and all ingredients are combined.  You can use the filling then or let it chill in refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes until the filling becomes a bit firmer.

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Now you're ready for the nontraditional fillings. Basically, the sky's the limit.


One of the interesting things about baking hamantaschen with friends who didn't grow up eating the traditional flavors is that they come up with something so blasphemous- like pumpkin pie hamantaschen- that you have to stare at them in shock and horror for several minutes.... Then totally do it.


And it turned out awesome.


Non-traditional Fillings:


Chocolate Options

Ingredients:

Chocolate Chips
Nutella


They both melt beautifully. Apply peanut butter when necessary. 
Chopped nuts as well.

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Lemon Curd
Ingredients:
Lemon Curd Jar


Doesn't burn. Thank goodness. Add white chocolate chips for extra sweetness.

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Pumpkin Pie Filling
Ingredients:
about 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
skim milk
dash or two of bootstrap molasses
generous pinch of cinnamon and ginger
dash of nutmeg 
(pumpkin pie spice works as well)


Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. You want to use just enough milk to wet the mixture without it becoming watery. 


This only makes enough for 3-4 hamantaschen, which if you've made it this far, you may find relieving, as you probably have started to wonder just how many batches of dough you'll need for all these fillings. 
If you want to make a larger batch of pumpkin filling, simply increase the amount of pumpkin and add a little extra of everything else.

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Pop those hamantaschen in the oven for 10-15 minutes, at 375 degrees. Let cool 3-4 minutes.

Bite.  Chew.  


Smile.

Hamantaschen- Part 1

Hamantaschen. Traditional Purim cookies. I could go on about them for hours.


If the only hamantaschen you have ever consumed came from a grocery store, drop everything and get your apron ready. It's time to make the real stuff.

Normally, what you can find in the bakery section of your local supermarket is in reality a jam cookie with a basic sugar cookie base. This is not what hamantaschen are supposed to taste like. They are actually made from a thin, flaky, slightly sweetened dough. There is a wide range of filling options, from traditional to non-traditional. And furthermore, hamantaschen are meant to be shared and enjoyed by family and friends.


Every year, my parents and I would go to a hamantaschen making party. For me, this was the highlight of Purim and an essential part of the holiday. We would walk into the house, where the dough would be sitting out on long wooden tables. The adults would roll out the dough, which had been prepared by the host, while the children ran about, impatiently waiting with glass cups to cut the circles.


When the dough was prepared, we would then busy ourselves filling as many hamantaschen as we could, with as many different flavors as possible. Chocolate would always a favorite around the younger set, as well as peanut butter, and we were determined to make as many of our favorites as possible, knowing that they could very well be eaten as soon as we turned our backs.


Our hosts and some of the adults would whisk in and out of the rooms with large baking sheets. We would fill them up quickly with cookies and pop them into several ovens. As soon as they were done, they would be placed onto cooling racks, where they would inevibly be found and devoured, warm and delicious. As many hamantaschen as we ate, there were always more.

Eventually, the remainder would be packed up and we would take our spoils home.

So many different types of hamantashen fillings. Endless possibilities. Let's get started.


Hamantashen Dough
from Jewish Holiday Kitchen
(makes enough for 24-36 depending on size)


Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk or water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 to 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour


Cream butter and sugar. Add the egg and continue mixing until smooth. Add milk and vanilla. Stir in the shifted flour until a ball of dough is formed. 


If you do not have a dough hook or a food processor to help mix the dough, roll up your sleeves and wash your hands. Add the flour a little at a time, mixing with a spoon, scraping down the sides and making sure to incorporate all the flour from the bottom of the bowl. Continue adding flour, until mixture becomes harder to work with and stick your hands right in, adding more flour until it becomes a workable dough.


Once your dough is formed chill dough 2-3 hours or overnight.


The cookies will need to bake in the oven at 375 degrees. 


Proper folding technique will be discussed in a later post, as well as different kinds of fillings, both traditional and nontraditional.


Happy Purim Everyone!