Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (135 page)
4.
Just before serving, heat remaining tablespoon oil in a medium skillet. Add mushrooms and sauté over medium heat about 3 minutes or until tender. Add asparagus, salt, and pepper and sauté about 1 minute. Gently fluff rice with a fork. Stir in parsley. Adjust seasoning. Gently stir in asparagus-mushroom mixture. Serve hot.
HAMANTASCHEN
 or
Â
No matter what dough or filling you use to make these three-cornered filled Purim cookies, homemade or purchased, you shape hamantaschen the same way. Use cookie dough, knish dough, rugelach dough, or yeast dough. You can even make hamantaschen from extra challah dough. Hamantaschen made with yeast dough are best when warm. Wrap them in foil and heat them in the oven.
Eastern European Cookie Dough
or
Refrigerator Yeast Dough
Prune Filling
or
Creamy Poppy Seed Filling with Raisins
or other homemade fillings
1 large egg, beaten with a pinch of salt, for glaze (optional)
1.
Grease 2 baking sheets. Cut dough in four pieces. Roll out one piece on a lightly floured surface until about
1
â
8
-inch thick. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut dough into rounds. Brush edges lightly with water. Put 1 teaspoon filling in center of each round. (Avoid the temptation to use extra filling, or it may ooze out during baking.) Pull up edges of circle in 3 arcs that meet in center above filling. Close them firmly. Pinch edges to seal. With a spatula, transfer to baking sheet, placing them 1 inch apart, and refrigerate. Wrap and refrigerate scraps at least 30 minutes.
2.
Roll remaining dough and shape more hamantaschen. Do the same with the scraps. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight before baking to firm dough. If using yeast dough, cover chilled hamantaschen with plastic wrap or a slightly damp cloth and let rise at room temperature about 15 minutes.
3.
Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Brush hamantaschen with egg glaze, if using. Bake hamantaschen about 14 minutes or until they are lightly golden at edges and golden on the bottom. Transfer to a rack to cool.
 or
Â
1
â
2
pounds dough, enough for 3 dozen hamantaschen (including scraps); or 2 dozen hamantaschen, if scraps are not used
Favored among Jews of Polish and Hungarian descent, this dough makes crisp, delicious hamantaschen. In countries where the metric system is used, it is also known as One, Two, Three Dough because it has 100 grams sugar, 200 grams butter, and 300 grams flour, with enough liquid to hold the dough together. The liquid can be water, juice, milk, beaten egg, or any combination. I use powdered sugar instead of granulated to make the dough easier to roll out.
2
3
â
4
cups all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter or firm margarine, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, beaten
1 to 3 tablespoons water
1.
Combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and process briefly to blend. Scatter butter pieces over mixture. Process with brief pulses until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add vanilla to beaten egg. Pour mixture evenly over mixture in processor. Process with brief pulses, scraping down the sides occasionally, until dough just begins to come together in a ball. If crumbs are dry, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon water and process briefly; repeat if crumbs are still dry.
2.
Transfer dough to a work surface. Knead lightly to blend. With a rubber spatula, transfer dough to a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap, and push it together. Shape dough into a flat disk. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.
3.
Remove dough from refrigerator 30 minutes before using.
Note:
This amount of dough needs about 1 cup filling.
 or
Â
1
â
2
to 3 dozen hamantaschen
Jewish bakers enjoy using a variety of yeast doughs for making hamantaschen, from challah dough to sour cream dough to ultra-rich, buttery brioche made by French Jews.
This is a quick and easy yeast dough to make because it doesn't require rising and waiting. The dough is sometimes called "crisp" or "cold" yeast dough, because it is mixed and refrigerated, much like pie pastry. This is not just for convenience; letting the dough rise less (it rises slightly in the refrigerator) helps to make the hamantaschen somewhat crisp, rather than bread-like. Besides, chilling the dough makes it easier to roll out. The dough is richer than many yeast doughs, so the hamantaschen stay fresh-tasting for longer. The yeast gives them a special texture, different from cookie-dough hamantaschen.
Use water for the milk and nondairy margarine or vegetable oil if you want these to be pareve.
1
â
4
cup lukewarm water
1 envelope dry yeast
1
â
3
cup sugar
3 to 3
1
â
4
cups all-purpose flour
1
â
2
cup (1 stick) soft butter or margarine or 7 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1
â
2
teaspoon salt
About
1
â
2
cup lukewarm milk or additional water
1.
Pour
1
â
4
cup of water into small bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar over yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir if not smooth.
2.
Sift 3 cups of flour into bowl of an electric mixer fitted with dough hook. Make a large, deep well in center. Add butter, remaining sugar, egg, grated lemon rind, and salt. Mix with dough hook to blend liquid ingredients thoroughly; most of flour will remain on edges of well.
3.
To well, add yeast mixture and milk or water. Mix at medium-low speed, pushing flour in from sides of bowl and scraping dough down occasionally from bowl and hook, until dough just begins to cling to hook, about 7 minutes. If dough is too soft to cling to hook, gradually beat in more flour. Knead by mixing at medium speed, scraping down twice, until dough is smooth, partially clings to hook, and almost cleans sides of bowl, about 5 more minutes. Dough should be soft and smooth.
4.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put it on a plate. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
5.
Remove dough from refrigerator 30 minutes before using.
Hamantaschen made with this dough have a pleasing sweet taste and slightly crunchy texture. This dough is made with healthful canola oil instead of butter or margarine. The dough is pareve so the hamantaschen can be served after any kind of meal.