1,000 Jewish Recipes (161 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1 ounce dried Polish mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms
1
1
â
4
pounds green cabbage (about
1
â
2
large), cored, rinsed, and finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
â
4
cup vegetable or chicken broth
2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)
1 large egg beaten with a pinch of salt (for glaze)
1.
Prepare dough the day before baking.
2.
Soak mushrooms in a bowl of hot water 30 minutes. Remove from water. If using shiitake mushrooms, remove stems. Chop mushrooms.
3.
Boil cabbage in a large pan of boiling salted water 2 minutes or until wilted. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain well. Squeeze out excess liquid.
4.
Melt butter in a large skillet. Add cabbage, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Add dried mushrooms and broth and cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until mixture is thick. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Stir in sour cream, if using. Adjust seasoning. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
5.
Lightly grease 2 or 3 baking sheets. Cut dough into 4 pieces; return 3 pieces to refrigerator. Shape fourth piece into a round. Roll it on a lightly floured surface until it is about
1
â
8
-inch thick. With a 3-inch cutter, cut out rounds; reserving scraps.
6.
Brush each round of dough lightly with egg glaze. Place 1
1
â
2
teaspoons filling in center of each round. Shape filling in an oval across center of round, leaving a 3/8-inch border at each end. Bring up 2 long opposite edges around filling and mold dough around it to a boat-like shape, joining two edges at the top, over filling. Pinch edges together along top, fluting them neatly. Arrange piroshki 1
1
â
2
inches apart on baking sheets. Cover with a lightly dampened towel and let rise in a warm place 15 minutes. Continue with remaining dough and filling.
7.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush piroshki with more egg glaze. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.
8.
Knead dough scraps together and refrigerate 2 hours. Refrigerate remaining filling. Prepare more piroshki. Serve them warm.
 or
Â
This dough is easiest to roll if you make it a day ahead and refrigerate it. If you're using a meat or poultry filling or serving the
piroshki
in a
fleishig
dinner, make the dough with water and either margarine or vegetable oil. For instructions on shaping
piroshki
, see
Piroshki with Cabbage and Mushrooms
.
1
â
4
cup lukewarm water
1 envelope dry yeast (
1
â
4
-ounce or 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon sugar
About 3
1
â
4
cups all-purpose flour
1
1
â
2
teaspoons salt
1
â
2
cup lukewarm milk or water, or more if needed
7 tablespoons melted butter or pareve margarine or vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1.
Pour lukewarm water into a small bowl. Sprinkle with yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let mixture stand 10 minutes, or until it is foamy.
2.
Combine 3 cups flour with salt in a large bowl, or in bowl of mixer if you have a dough hook. Mix flour with salt and make a well in center. To well add yeast mixture,
1
â
2
cup milk, butter, eggs, and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar. Mix ingredients with a dough hook or with you hands until they come together to a soft dough, adding more milk or water by tablespoons if needed.
3.
If using mixer, beat dough at medium speed about 10 minutes or until smooth, adding more flour as necessary if dough is too sticky.
4.
If making dough by hand, knead on a lightly floured surface, adding more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking, 10 to 15 minutes or until smooth.
5.
Form dough into a ball, put it in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat it with oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place 1 to 1
1
â
2
hours or until it is double in bulk. Punch it down and knead again lightly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Moroccan Jews serve these tasty pastry appetizers at dinners celebrating special occasions. The filling might be
Potato Filling for Cigars
or chicken, but the most popular one is of beef spiced with cumin, chiles, and garlic.
A traditional way to make these pastries is to use "brik" wrappers, also called
ouarka
leaves, which are very thin, delicate crepe-like rounds made of flour and water. They are not widely available and are difficult to use. Pastry cigars are sometimes made using phyllo sheets cut in rectangles of about 8 by 3 inches. Perla Abergel, a friend of mine in California, gave me the great idea of using won ton wrappers, and they work very well.
1
1
â
4
cups diced cooked beef
1 large clove garlic, minced
1
â
2
teaspoon finely minced jalapeño pepper, or cayenne pepper to taste
1
â
2
teaspoon ground cumin
1
â
4
teaspoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 large egg white
One-half 12-ounce package won ton wrappers
Vegetable oil for frying, about 1 inch deep
1.
Put beef in food processor with garlic and jalapeño and chop together to blend well. Transfer to a bowl. Add cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add 1
1
â
2
to 2 teaspoons egg white, or enough to moisten lightly.
2.
Remove 1 won ton wrapper from package. Take 1 slightly rounded teaspoon filling and put it along longer side of wrapper,
1
â
4
-inch from edge nearest you, leaving
1
â
2
-inch of pastry free at each side. Press to compact filling in finger shape. Fold 2 pastry edges, at left and right, over filling. Brush edge of dough farthest from you with remaining egg white. Roll up dough with filling, from edge nearest you to opposite edge, to form cigar shape. Press to seal to egg-brushed dough.
3.
In deep, heavy saucepan, heat 1 inch oil to 340°F or 350°F on a frying thermometer. Fry pastries in batches 2 to 2
1
â
2
minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels. Serve hot.
Potato fillings are almost as popular as meat fillings for Moroccan cigars and they have the advantage of being pareve, thus suitable for serving with any other food. These crisp, bite-size pastries make tasty appetizers. To shape and fry the pastries, see
Spicy Moroccan Cigars
. If you like, serve a small amount of spicy salsa such as
Sephardic Salsa
or
Cilantro Salsa
as an accompaniment.
1
â
2
pound boiling potatoes
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1
â
2
teaspoon finely minced jalapeño pepper, or cayenne pepper to taste
1
â
2
teaspoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 large egg white
1.
Put potatoes in a saucepan with water to cover and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat about 30 minutes or until very tender. Drain and leave until cool enough to handle.
2.
Heat oil in a small skillet, add onion, and sauté over medium-low heat, stirring often, about 5 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Add garlic, jalapeño pepper, and paprika and sauté over low heat, stirring, 1 minute.
3.
Peel potatoes. Cut each into a few pieces, put in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Lightly stir in onion mixture. Season filling with salt and pepper; it should be seasoned generously. Stir in 2 teaspoons egg white, or enough to moisten lightly. Refrigerate in a covered container until ready to use.
Serve these savory pastries with vegetable soups, vegetables in sauce, or on their own as an appetizer. They're easy to make and a great dairy choice for Shavuot.
1
â
2
cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1
â
2
cup water
1
â
4
teaspoon salt