creative jewish mom

Cooking With Fennel

Engraving source here, photo source here.

Are you familiar with fennel? It's a very popular root vegetable here in the Mediterranean and Middle East, and for good reason! And my friends, right now is fennel season, which means that not only is fennel quite inexpensive, it's at it's best! 

I am enjoying fennel everyday as I just can't resist. We love it raw as a simply delicious salad, and it's great with my Moroccan yellow chicken recipe. The other night I tried it with some ground chicken pot-cooked patties, and it was perfect. You can also roast it Italian style, or even use it in white bean soups. While I think the taste is quite mild, there are those who prefer it cooked and milder. However you choose, think about including some fennel in your menu planning!

Note: Cut off the stalks and generally the outer layer is removed to reveal the more tender inside. Any small leafy green areas should also be removed as they may contain bugs. 

 

Baking Delicious Challah Without Eggs

Challah is one of those things that connects many Jewish families to their Jewish roots, and when it's home baked it's even more special. So while many think they just don't have the time, I can tell you, it's worth the extra effort and once you get the hang of it you'll want to fit it into your busy schedule. (Plus you can always bake it anytime and freeze it— loaves frozen just after cooling taste just as delicious!) And you can ask my family, and they'll tell you.....the smell of challahs baking on Fridays in our home is a family tradition they wouldn't give up easily, nor would they want to forfeit the actual eating of those challahs at our Shabbat meals on Friday night and Saturday morning.

Up to now, I have shared with you most of my tried and true recipes, and at long last, I'm happy to say, I've finally found a moment to share my favorite challah recipe with you, as well as a few important tips.

I should start by saying, that while my challahs were always good, my husband wasn't 100% happy. So I suggested that if he were to buy me a copy of Tamar Ansh's book A Taste of Challah, that maybe I'd find a recipe in there that would suit him. And sure enough Tamar's basic egg-free challah was amazing the very first time I tried it, and I've been using the same recipe (with a few minor adjustments) for about four years. When I suggest to my family that I may change the recipe (namely to make a more healthful whole wheat version), there are some sad faces in the crowd. So, since this is the only white bread that we eat all week, I'm going to stick with this recipe for now, and continue making whole wheat pitas for myself!

Always Perfect No-Egg Challah: basic white flour challah dough

• 16-17 cups freshly sifted white flour (I use 2 kilos)
• 4 3/5- 5 cups warm water
• 1 1/3 - 1 1/2 cups sugar (I use 1 cup sugar and it is plenty sweet!)
• 75 grams fresh yeast or 3 T dry yeast granules
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 T salt

Directions:

This is how I've been making challah for years, it is similar to Tamar's technique in A Taste Of Challah, and I highly recommend her book for lots more tips and great recipes.

1. If you live in Israel, sift your flour to make sure it is bug free. You can always pre-sift the flour and store it in the freezer until you need it.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the yeast, a tablespoon or two of sugar and about half a cup of warm water (part of the total amount of water) mix, and set aside. This insures that the yeast is actually working and that it doesn't come in contact with salt which can limit its ability.
3. I use a mixer which can handle 2 kilos of flour, so I add the liquids first and then the solids. If you'll be mixing and kneading the dough by hand you add the liquids to the solids in a large bowl, and once you have something that looks like dough, you knead it on your clean counter top.
4. So it goes like this— I place in my mixer bowl the oil, the water the salt and the sugar, and to this I add approx one kilo of flour. After this is mixed, I check to make sure my yeast is bubbling and I add this as well, followed by the second kilo of flour. I let my mixer do the kneading for about 10 minutes.
5. Once I have dough that is a nice consistency, neither too dry or too sticky, I take the whole amount and place it in a large garbage bag, usually the same one into which I've sifted my flour. Some people like to place a little oil on the outside of their ball of dough, but I don't. I just seal the garbage bag tightly and place it in a warm place on my counter.
6. The dough will take at least an hour to rise, and very often you'll find that the garbage bag blows up into a large balloon! If you don't get a balloon just poke the bag to make sure that the dough is very soft.
7. Remove the dough from the bag, punch it down, and if you'd like to make the special blessing for baking challah, remove a large egg-sized portion and make the blessing. (You can find that info on google in many places.)
8. Using a rolling pin, roll the entire portion of dough out into a large pizza like shape, making sure to pop any bubbles you may see in the dough. Then depending on how you'll form your loaves, and how many loaves or rolls you'll be baking cut this pizza shape into strips.
9. Form the strips into balls, and leave on the counter to rest for about 10 minutes.
10. Roll those balls out into long snakes for braiding and braid. Most braided loaves look the nicest if you tuck the ends under. For the nicest braided loaves try to make snakes that are fatter in the middle. (tutorial for this in the future!)
11. Pre-heat your oven, in my case to 180C. Many people like to bake challahs on a higher temp. like say 200 C for ten minutes and then they turn the oven down for the remaining baking time.
12. Set loaves on your baking paper lined oven racks, or in loaf pans, and set aside until loaves have risen and look like the photo above. (Note, I am very fortunate to have a 90 cm oven, so I can bake all my challahs at one time on one rack.) This may take up to an hour or more, but you don't want to leave them too long or your braids will break apart.
13. Just before placing in the oven brush on egg white (truthfully I use the whole egg, but most don't.) and sprinkle on the topping of your choice, in our case poppy seeds.
14. Bake until nicely browned, and bottoms are hard. I use a convection setting on my oven and baking time is only about 30 minutes, but on a regular setting baking may take up to an hour for large loaves. Rolls of course take much less time, so be sure to watch them!
15. Set aside your loaves to cool, and enjoy! And if you have any questions, drop me a line at crafts@creativejewishmom.com

 

A New Spice In My Life: Introducing Baharat!

I know, you thought this photo was of pigments right? Wrong, this is one example of the artful way in which spices are sold in Morocco. Yes, spices! No, not those little jars you buy in the grocery store, I'm talking about the real freshly ground thing, that plays heavily in the Middle Eastern/Northern African cuisine. So while the spice mix called "baharat" isn't exactly Moroccan, it's similar to a spice mix Moroccans might use, and in any case I just couldn't resist showing you these photos....look at those cloth bags, and the colors in those spice towers....great inspiration for something, right?

Baharat is a North African/Middle Eastern/Turkish spice mix. Baharat simply means "spice" in Arabic. A traditional baharat mixture is used similarly to the way Indians use garam masala, or the Moroccans use  rat el hanuot, and may even apparently be used as a final flavor booster after a meal has been prepared.

This blend is often used to season lamb but I read that it is an all-purpose flavor enhancer useful for fish, chicken, beef, tomato sauces and soups, and that it’s a great addition to lentil dishes, pilafs and meatloaf. Or it can be used as a rub for virtually anything on the barbeque.  While I actually purchased mine in the spice section at Super Sol (really Shufer Sol...) you can make it yourself with this recipe:

Baharat
2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom

My sealed bag of baharat hung out in the spice cabinet for a good year until a few weeks ago I decided to open it, and boy was I surprised! First of all, no matter how you use it, your house will smell like you are baking a delicious spice cake, and from what I can tell with my experimenting so far, you really can't go wrong assuming you like the taste in general.

Here's a list of how I've used it with the results:

1. As the main spice in my Moroccan meatball recipe, together with just turmeric and paprika. I used only ground chicken, which is preferable health-wise, and the results were amazing. Infact the spice gave the meat the color of my usual half meat/half chicken version, and they were so delicious and rich, seconds were requested!

2. As the main spice in a simple tomato sauce served over whole wheat pasta. Again I added some paprika, and turmeric, and the results were delicious. Even my daughter who has been passing on the tomato sauce liked it! (3 onions, 6 eyes of garlic chopped and sauteed, and then combined with 250g tomato paste, one or two fresh tomatos grated- a little Israeli secret, and water to achieve the consistency you enjoy.)

3. As a rub on grilled chicken. Good but would have been better had I combined with with oil and garlic and made a wetter rub.

Oh and by the way, wouldn't this be a great little gift? Make some yourself, or buy the ready made mixture, make some beautiful labels, package the mixture in nice little containers, possibly with a little circle of fabric tied around the top, jam style,  and give as holiday gifts with some cooking ideas. You're welcome!

Serve A Delicious And Healthy Israeli Salad For Breakfast!

Okay, I have to admit it, this salad looks really delicious. And guess what? It is!  One of the interesting things about basic Israeli cuisine is the emphasis on fresh vegetables for breakfast and for supper, which is traditionally a light meal. (The largest meat meal is eaten in the afternoon, a very healthy way to go, but I still haven't adjusted to this.....) The vegetables in Israel are delicious and it was here that I first saw someone eating a whole tomato like a fruit. And cucumbers, which are generally much smaller than the American version, are also taken to school with a sandwich and eaten whole. No dainty vegetable sticks around here!

Getting back to this salad, it makes a great breakfast/brunch meal together with eggs and toast, and of course would be delicious anytime with grilled cheese sandwiches, soup or even pasta. Though I highly recommend treating yourself to a salad for breakfast, there's really nothing like it. Oh, and just for the record, a real Israeli salad doesn't have cheese on top, that's my little personal touch, inspired by a Greek salad!

Ingredients:

• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• red peppers
• yellow peppers
• carrots
• fresh parsely (optional, not seen in photo)
• red onion or green onions (optional)
• salty white cheese such as feta or bulgarian cheese
• fresh lemon juice
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Chop all the vegetables into tiny squares. The traditional Israeli salad is tomatoes and cucumbers finely chopped, but I like the look and taste of a few more vegetables. And carrots chopped in tiny squares gives a really nice crunch to the combination.
2. Add a touch of oil, go on the light side
3. Squeeze at least one whole lemon for a large bowl and 1/2 a lemon for a small bowl, and add juice to salad
4. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix
5. Add chopped parsley and chopped red or green onion if desired
6. Chop cheese into small squares and serve salad with cheese on top

Note: If salad will not be eaten fairly soon after preparation, omit the tomatoes and put them in right before serving so that salad will retain its crispness.

Enjoy! And if your kids like it, so spend a few extra minutes in the morning and send them to school with a little container of salad. You'll feel like such a good mother! Now if I can just figure out how to take my own advice, I'll feel like a good mother too!

Delicious Home Baked Pita Bread (whole wheat!)

Ever wonder how to go about baking your own Pita bread? No? Yes? That's right, you can easily buy them at the store, but the ones I bake at home don't compare to anything I could buy, not even close.....Now that I have discovered how to do it myself, I quite simply can't live without this delicious alternative to sliced bread. Pitas are amazing pockets for the sandwich filling of your choice, and unlike bread can really hold a nice assortment of salads and dressings. And when you  keep a stash frozen in your freezer, you can have a nice fresh Pita at a moment's notice.

Recipe:

2 kilos whole wheat flour
3 Tblsp dry yeast
2 Tblsp silan (date syrup) or honey
2 Tblsp olive/canola oil
2 Tblsp salt
4  1/2-6 cups water (depending on type of flour— organic whole wheat flour requires much more water)

To Make The Dough:

Step 1:
Combine one kilo of flour with entire quantity of warm water, silan and yeast. If using a mixer add water and then flour. If mixing by hand add water to flour. Allow runny dough mixture to stand for about 20-30 minutes such that the mixture rises, doubling in size.
Step 2:
Add remaining kilo of flour, salt and oil. Mix until a nice moist, but not too sticky dough is formed. Put the dough in a plastic garbage bag, seal the bag and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
(Don't forget to perform the amazing mitzvah of taking challah)

Forming The Already Risen Dough and Baking:

Step 1: Divide the dough into approximately 26 balls, and dip each ball in flour to coat. Allow balls to rest approximately 10 minutes.

Step 2: Roll out balls using a rolling pin. Start rolling and alternate turning dough and rolling to obtain a round shape, and an even thickness. You don't want the pitas to be either too thick or thin, examine this photo for an approxiate guide.  Pat around the edges of the circle to obtain a more perfect shape. If you will be baking one pita at a time, as described here, roll out about 10 or so of the balls and proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Plug in the top of your electric pita pot (saluf pot) and place the bottom portion of the pot on a low flame. (More information about pot at end of post)

Step 4: Brush olive oil on top of pita and sprinkle with zatar (optional) When coil of pan is hot, carefully place pita into center of pot, and close the lid.

Step 5: After approximately 1 min 20sec, lift lid to check status of pita. If the pita top is lightly browned, carefully remove from pan and place on dry towel. Some pitas may need another 10-15 seconds— if so close lid and check again shortly. While baking, if pita is the right thickness it will blow up like a balloon!

Step 6: While each individual pita is baking, alternate rolling out additional pita balls and brushing on a light coat of olive oil (optional) To get the timing right may take some practice, but it's worth the effort.
And if you burn a pita or two in the process, well that's part of the game! While you are baking the pitas don't plan to do anything but that, or it is simply too nerve wracking as well as dangerous, given the extremely hot open coil in the top of the pan!

Step 7: Allow pitas to cool completely, and those that will not be eaten the same day should be wrapped tightly and frozen to preserve freshness.

For Baking Pitas In The Oven—Here are two alternatives from friends in the know:

A.My French/Algerian neighbor who is an experienced baker came up with this alternative, which I have not yet tried myself but will at the soonest possible moment this week (hopefully)

1. Turn oven on grill setting
2. Cover oven tray or rack with baking paper and place as many pitas as you can on tray
3. Insert tray into heated oven on level closest to grill element
4. After approximately 1 minute check pitas, and if lightly browned turn over and bake on second side for another minute or so. Remove from rack onto dry towel and continue with next batch.

Note: Depending on the proximity of your rack to the exposed coil, the pita can rise and touch the coil, but my neighbor says this doesn't happen too often. So to be on the safe side, make slightly smaller pitas than I suggested, say 28 for 2 kilos, if using this oven baking technique.

B. My friend Keter who is neither French nor Algerian, but surely knows how to cook up a storm for the truck loads of guests that visit, read this post and gave her input as follows:

"I used to bake them in a turbo oven and the best result was to heat the oven up as high as possible, while putting a few rolled out pitas on the tray - then quickly putting the tray on the lowest rack in the oven allowing the pita to get the most amount of heat at one time. sThey puff up beautifully without needing to be flipped. Good luck! Any method is definitely worth it!!!"

About The Pita Pot:
I am sorry to report that the specific technique I describe here may only be applicable to residents of countries that use 220V, as the pot described may not be available in the United States in a 120V version. (I did a search on google and only saw pots like mine for sale.) The cost of the pot that I use is 60NIS in the souk, without the cord. When purchased in a housewares store the price should be around 80-85NIS. The cord costs an additional 20NIS. 

Bon Appetit! I wish you all the very best if you decide to try this, and please ask your questions in the comments section below so that everyone can benefit!