HAMANTASHEN 2

Poppyseed filled Hamantashen - one with and one without

 [Recipe alert: I posted an earlier version of this recipe some time back. This is the 2017 updated version. Mostly it relates with the manner in which the poppyseed filling is made. This is an easier version.]

This is one of those Jewish pastries made for a particular holiday, Purim. But nowadays you can find them everyday on the pastry shelves, even in your local supermarket. They are sometimes filled with prune or apricot pastes as well as the poppy seeds.

Purim and St. Patrick’s Day are very close together. One year I made Corned Beef and Cabbage and served Hamantashen for dessert. I like to use special foods to mark times of the year. It’s the ritualistic in me. Foods that are made once a year seem to mark certain times and help to create a memory of continuity and harmony.

Poppy seeds, a tiny seed, come both in black and white.  The black ones are used here.

This particular version is not too sweet. If you like to have them sweeter, add some more of that sweet stuff...sugar...to the dough and the filling, if you must. Remember though, that you are going to dust them with confectioner’s sugar later.

HAMANTASHEN

makes 36-40 cookies

Almond Dough

Mix together in a bowl:

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup pulverized almonds (Trader Joe's ground almonds)

In another bowl (of a mixer, preferably), beat together until smooth:

1 cup or less of sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

Then add:

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

Add dry (the flour mixture) to wet (the butter/sugar mixture). Mix until it forms a ball then take out on to a lightly floured surface. (I tried making this in a food processor. It’s possible. Add the dry ingredients, then the zest, eggs, add some orange juice if  too thick) Knead lightly until it holds together and is smooth and pliant, not stiff. Divide the dough into four sections. You can refrigerate it covered up to 24 hours. You can also use it right away. On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll each section to about ¼-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter with a scalloped or straight edge, cut rounds in the dough. Pick up the scraps and knead them together, put aside.

Working one at a time, moisten the edge of the circle, using your finger, with a bit of water (put some in a small dish) so that the dough holds together. Put a full teaspoon of filling in the center. Pull up one arc of the circle into another, pinching the ends together, then pull up the third arc and pinch those ends together well. You don’t want them to open up when baked.  Leave an opening in the center where you can see the filling. You will have made a triangular shape with an open center. See photo.

Place on a sheet pan that is covered with parchment paper. Repeat with each circle. Roll out the other three sections of dough in the same manner. Knead the scraps from each section and keep re-rolling until most of the dough has been used.

Brush each hamantashen with the egg glaze. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, checking after 15 minutes, until slightly golden. Cool. Place on a grate to cool. Store in a closed container. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar to serve.

Egg glaze:

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream or water

Prune filling:

2 cups prune butter

1/2 cup ground almonds

1 tablespoon orange zest

1-2 tablespoons orange juice or orange flower water

Mix until a smooth, soft paste.

Poppy Seed Filling:

3/4 cup poppy seeds

1 tablespoon, chia seeds (optional)

½ cup almond milk or orange juice

3 tablespoons honey

¼ cup brown sugar

grated zest of ½ orange

juice of ½ lemon

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2/3 cup raisins, chopped

½ tablespoon brandy

½ tablespoon Cointreau or other orange liqueur

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

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Grind the poppy and chia seeds in a spice grinder in batches. Heat the seeds with the milk or orange juice. Add the other ingredients then cook it down with medium-heat until it becomes a thick paste. Cool. Can be made and refrigerated, covered, the day before. Serve sprinkled with confctioners sugar.

MUSHROOM PATE

 MUSHROOM PATE

 Do you forage for wild things, like mushrooms? This recipe was created after foraging with the experts. I don't recommend doing it on your own because we don't want to lose you! Hunting for mushrooms is one of my pleasures and I don't get to do it frequently enough. This recipe was created after a hunt where we found a copious amount of a mushroom called "Hen-of-the-Woods," or Maitake. Ground nuts are used for flavor and filler. Just take some whole nuts, toast in a hot pan, then pulse in a food processor, or purchase them already ground.


1 nice big piece of Maitake (Grifola frondosa), about 2 cups
2-3 shallots, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil or other nut oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
Port
Vodka
Dash hot sauce
Sea Salt
Black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup ground hazelnuts
1/4 cup breadcrumbs, preferably fresh
1 teaspoon lemon juice
a few scrapings of nutmeg, optional



Clean off the Maitake, or other mushrooms (you can create this with an assortment of wild mushrooms as well), by dusting away any leaves or forest matter and wash thoroughly. Slice into small pieces.

 Maitake Mushroom

Chopped Shallots

Saute the shallots and garlic in a combination of butter and olive oil.

Sauteing Shallots and Garlic

 Olive oil and butter

Add the mushrooms and saute for about 15 minutes, until they release their moisture and are cooked through. While stirring add the fresh herbs, celery seeds and a splash or two of Port and Vodka. Cook another 5 minutes. Add a bit of salt and pepper. This might look a dry but don't worry.

Chopped Mushrooms

 

Thyme and Rosemary

Mushrooms added to the shallots and garlic, celery seeds, herbs, Port, Vodka, salt and pepper and saute.

Port and Vodka

Coarse Grey Sea Salt

In a separate pan, dry toast the ground almonds, hazelnuts and breadcrumbs.

Ground almonds, hazelnuts, breadcrumbs toasting

Put everything into a food processor and pulse to puree, add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, water and several pieces of butter, lemon juice and some freshly scraped nutmeg. The mixture should be smooth. Add enough water to make a creamy mixture. Not too tight and not too loose. Taste. Adjust seasonings.

Everything in the food processor.

The mixture. Nice and smooth.

Take out and put into a serving dish. Cover and refrigerate to let the flavors mingle. Tastes better the next day, or at least after a couple of hours. Serve on crusty bread or crackers.

 

If you don't have any Port or Vodka in your pantry just add a dash of honey and a bit more water, or use a good dry Sherry. You don't have to run out and purchase some just to make this recipe.

However, that said, sipping a bit of Port or Sherry, or Vodka, with friends, while enjoying this pate would add a great deal to everyone's day. Bon Appetit.

• HAMANTASCHEN

(adapted from NY Times, Shmil Holland's "Schmaltz" and 2nd Avenue Deli cookbook)

There was a recipe in the New York Times in March 2011 for Hamantaschen and since I had not made any before, though I had collected several recipes, I thought it was time to give it a go. Some friends were coming by for Corned Beef and Cabbage and I thought Hamantaschen would be a great dessert, even though I was also making Flummery (more on that later). St. Patrick's Day and Purim were about a day apart this year, so I decided to celebrate St. Purim's Day!! I tried making the dough from the NY Times recipe and found that it did not hold together so I turned to the 2nd Ave Deli cookbook for the dough and pretty much followed that recipe except that I added some lemon zest. I like to put lemon zest in almost everything. Either use organic lemons or wash a lemon very well with dishwashing soap and hot water, then wipe dry. The Hamantaschen turned out  pretty good (see hips) and they weren't very sweet so if you like sweet, add sugar to both the dough and filling, you silly person.

• Almond Dough

3 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2teaspoon salt

1 cup pulverized almonds (Trader Joe's Ground Almonds)

Mix the above together.

1 cup or less of sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

Beaten together, then add

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Add dry to wet. Mix until it forms a ball then take out and knead.

Egg glaze:

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Divide the dough into four sections. No, you don't have to refrigerate it first. Roll each section to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut  into 4 inch diameter rounds. Put about a teaspoon of filling in the center. Fold two sides together and pinch. Fold up bottom but leave an opening in the center so you can see the filling. Brush with egg glaze. Sprinkle with sugar.

Do the same to the rest of the dough and re-roll the scraps. Place on a greased or parchment covered sheetpan. Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees F., until golden. Cool. Serve with some powdered sugar sprinkled on top, if you like.

Rolling out the dough.

The poppy seed filling.

Some filling on the round of dough.

Cutting out the dough.

Pinching two sides together.

Pinch three sides together.

Hot out of the oven.

Eat one!

• The Filling:

3/4 cup poppy seeds
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

3 tablespoons honey

¼ cup brown sugar

grated zest of ½ orange

2/3 cup raisins or sultanas

juice of ½ lemon

2 teaspoons lemon zest

½ tablespoon brandy

½ tablespoon cointreau or other orange liqueur

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Soak the poppy seeds in boiling water then drain. Process with honey, brown sugar, raisins, juices, zests, liqueurs, vanilla extract. If you are not thrilled with how ground up the poppy seeds are then put the entire mixture into a large mortar and grind away with a pestle until you love what the mush has become. Put it all into a saucepan and cook it, while stirring, until the ingredients all meld together. The end result looks like a poppy seed caviar. If you love it, everyone else will too.