My Best Brisket

Brisket was a dish I became familiar with after I was married.  My Sephardic mother never served this ultimate pot roast when I was growing up.  I loved brisket the first time I tasted it.  The juicy, melt in your mouth, savory-sweet meat is an easy dish to make for everything from Shabbat and holiday dinners to tailgate parties for the team.   I reworked all the old recipes I had,  and with the addition of dried porcini mushrooms, slowly caramelized onions, and red wine it is delicious.  The leftovers make great beef au jus sandwiches.

Dateline: Two Days Before Rosh Hashanah

Every year as soon as the days start getting shorter, my instinct to start preparing for Rosh Hashanah kicks in.  Three weeks ago I placed an order with the kosher butcher and wrote out my menu plans for several dinners.  I started baking as well.  I am not preparing for one evenings celebration, but for a whole month of holiday dinners and lunches.  So far I have extended invitations to guests for 5 different occasions.
Restocking cupboards, rearranging furniture, and making sure to lay in a supply of aluminum foil and dishwasher soap is part of the preparation.  Last Wednesday, I turned on my back up refrigerator and freezer in anticipation of filling it soon.  I am so glad it still works!

Pumpkin Borekas

PETITE PUMPKIN BOREKAS

Borekas are the Sephardic Jewish version of the turnover or empanada.  Turkish in origin, the Sephardic Jews adopted these pastries as their own.  I make borekas with homemade dough, the way my mom and my grandmother did, and bake them until crisp and golden.  Once a year for Jewish New Year, I make smaller versions filled with cinnamon-scented pumpkin.  The kids at the table think of them as mini pumpkin pies, and they can easily eat five.
Make these up to 1 month ahead and freeze in an airtight container.  To reheat, defrost, and heat on a baking sheet in a 300º oven for 10 minutes
Filling
1 28 ounce can pure pumpkin
1 and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
Dough
4 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup safflower oil
1 cup ice water
Topping
1 egg, beaten
1 cup sesame seeds
Stir the filling ingredients together in a medium bowl.  The filling should not be runny and should retain its shape if mounded.
To make the dough, measure 4 cups of flour into a mixing bowl.  Add the salt and blend.  Whisk the oil and water together in a small bowl.  Stir the liquid into the flour with a fork.  Using your hands, gently gather the dough into a ball.  Squeeze the dough together but do not knead it like bread.
Divide the dough into pieces a little larger then an unshelled walnut.  Roll each piece in your hands to make a smooth ball.  Place the ball on a wood or stone surface and using a rolling pin, flatten it out into an even circle about 3 inches in diameter.  Do not flour or grease the countertop.  Take care not to roll over the edges of the circles, as this will thin out the edges.

I roll out 2 sets 24 at a time.  This number fits onto a baking sheet perfectly if you make three columns of 8.  After you have your first 24 circles, place a small teaspoon or so of filling in the center of each.  Fold the circles in half and seal the edges of the resulting half moon shapes by pressing down and then by twisting them into a rope like edge.  This signature edge (repulgo in Ladino, Judeo Spanish) takes a little practice.  Or use the tines of a fork to seal the edges.  Make sure no pumpkin is oozing out, or the borekas will leak when baking.  Repeat the rolling and filling with the rest of the balls.

Brush the top of each boreka with beaten egg and dip it in sesame seeds.  Place on the baking sheet.  I use a silicone baking sheet liner for easy clean up.

Bake borekas at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden.  Remove from the oven and place each one gently on a cooling rack.

A Sephardic Rosh Hashanah

A Sephardic Tradition for Rosh Hashanah

My family has a unique culinary heritage, migrating from the Holy Land to Spain; my ancestors lived and flourished in the Golden Age for centuries.  The Golden Age was a time of religious tolerance in Spain’s history from around 711  to the 13^th century, an age of civility, poetry, enlightened medicine, and delightful cuisine.  If you visit Spain today, you will find influences in art, architecture, poetry and the ethnic makeup of the people left from their presence in cities like Toledo, Barcelona, and Seville.  The history of Spain is full of famous Jewish physicians and various advisors to the ruling caliphate.
When times changed and Jews faced the cruel expulsion edict by Queen Isabella (1492), my ancestors chose an escape route, heading east, along Mediterranean shores.  Ultimately, they settled in parts of the Ottoman Empire, centered in Turkey.  The Sephardic people took this route at the Sultan’s invitation, as he welcomed us into his lands.
The Sephardim settled in exotic places like Salonika, Rhodes,and Turkish cities and towns.  In these Mediterranean, cerulean blue skied islands and coastal towns my family found a safe haven where they would flourish.  They lived a gracious life style with family and friends, indulging in the abundance of regional foods with which to create holidays and celebrations.  From an elaborate afternoon coffee time called La Tavla de Dulce (the tray of sweets) to this Rosh Hashanah feast, my mother, grandmother, and great grandmothers used local fresh ingredients.
The influences from Spain to the Eastern Mediterranean on the cuisine of the Sephardim were truly incredible.  This part of the globe features much  fine cooking and sophiscated flavors.  Jewish dietary law with rules about useable ingredients and combining gives the cuisine a unique difference.
Now that I represent the next generation of Sephardic home cooks I put my American influence into the mix and the cuisine continues to evolve.  Sephardic Jewish cuisine is a culinary heritage, rich in the diversity

Pastelicos (meat and rice borekas)

 

PASTELICOS WITH MEAT AND RICE
Pastelicos are triangular borekas with a savory meat and rice filling.  As with other Sephardic pastry, you can find versions in different shapes, with different dough and different spice blends.  This is the recipe my mother always made, but with the addition of the cinnamon and allspice.  A Pastel is a pie in Ladino or Judeo Spanish, and these individual small ‘pies’ use the suffix indicating smallness.  Crispy, savory, and beautiful, they are great hors d’oeuvres for parties and special holiday dinners.  I always make them for Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year and Sukkot, Feast of the Tabernacles.  Be sure and count more then one per person when planning how many to bake.
Filling
2 pounds ground chuck meat
2 large onions finely chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
½ cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup long grain rice
1 and ½ cup water
Dough
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup ice water
3/4 cup safflower oil
Topping 
1 beaten egg
½ cup sesame seeds
Preheat a large sauté pan until hot.  Add the oil and then the onions and turn the temperature down to medium.  Occasionally stir the onions with a wooden spoon, sautéing on medium heat until sweet and golden.  Push the onions aside and add the ground chuck and sauté until browned and starting to stick.  As you stir the onions and chuck meat, break it up with your spoons, so it becomes crumbly with no large chunks of ground meat intact.
Stir in the parsley; add the seasoning, and the pine nuts.  Next, mix the uncooked rice with the meat and onions.  Add the water to cover the mixture and place a lid on the pan.  Reduce the heat to low and let steam until all the water is absorbed and the rice cooks, about 15 minutes.  Cool the filling down before using.  It is best to make it the night before and refrigerate.  This much filling will require 2 batches of dough.
For the dough measure the flour into a bowl and add the salt.  In a two cup glass measuring pitcher, combine the liquids.  Beat the liquids with a small whisk to emulsify.  Pour the liquid into the flour and stir with a fork.  When the dough holds together, use your hands to finish gathering the dough into a ball.  All the flour will incorporate and the dough should be soft and pliable.  Separate the dough into 42 to 44 walnut size pieces.  Roll each small piece into a smooth ball.  With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a circle, no bigger then 3 inches in diameter, taking care not to go over the edges with the rolling pin and make them thin. 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare 4 rimmed baking sheets.  Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in each circle.  Close the filled circles by folding the dough in a triangle shape.  Place the Pastelicos on the prepared baking sheets.  Brush all the Pastelicos with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake in a 400 degree oven until golden and crispy about 15 to 17 minutes.
After the Pastelicos cool, they keep well for two days in the refrigerator or I freeze them in airtight containers.  Reheat in a 300 degree oven for 10-15 minutes to re-crisp.