Around the Passover Table (27 page)
Read Around the Passover Table Online
Authors: Jayne Cohen
1
â
3
cup evaporated milk, half-and-half, or cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1
â
4
teaspoon salt
FOR THE MATZOH BRIE
Unsalted butter for greasing the pan, plus 2 tablespoons, melted and cooled
4 whole plain matzohs
1
â
2
cup evaporated milk, half-and-half, or cream
4 large eggs
3
â
4
teaspoon kosher-for-Passover vanilla extract
1
â
8
teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated light brown or white sugar
Optional accompaniments:
sour cream or yogurt cream
MAKE
the caramelized apples: peel, core, and cut each apple into small chunks. In a large heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the apples and cook, lifting and turning occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Add the maple syrup and cinnamon, and continue cooking until the apples are just tender, 4 to 6 minutes, depending on the variety of apples. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a bowl and set aside.
BOIL
the syrup remaining in the skillet until it becomes a thick, luscious, golden caramel. Stir it frequently while it cooks, taking care that it does not burn. (Although its aroma will be tantalizing, do not taste it; the syrup is scorching hot and will badly burn your tongue.) Off the heat, very carefully add the milk, half-and-half, or cream, the lemon juice, and the salt and stir well. Return the skillet to the heat and simmer the sauce, stirring, until smooth and somewhat thickened. Return the apples to the skillet and stir until thoroughly coated with caramel sauce. Set aside to cool slightly.
GENEROUSLY
butter the bottom and sides of a large, shallow metal baking pan (approximately 13 by 9 inches, or its equivalent).
MAKE
the matzoh brie: break the matzohs into small pieces and spread them evenly in the prepared pan. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, half-and-half, or cream, eggs, vanilla, salt, and sugar. Beat in the cooled, melted butter. Pour this mixture over the matzohs and let the matzohs soak up the liquid for about 15 minutes. Then smooth out the matzoh mixture, evening the top as best you can. Spread the caramelized applesâwith all of their delicious sauceâevenly over the matzoh mixture. Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight.
REMOVE
the pan from the refrigerator and bring the dish to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until thoroughly cooked and top is light golden brown. To finish off the matzoh brie, turn the broiler on and briefly brown the apple topping, rotating the pan as necessary so all sides are a rich, even brown all over.
THIS
is excellent served as is, but if you'd like, accompany the matzoh brie with fresh sour cream or yogurt cream.
Basics
Grated Black Radish and Endive Salad in Shallot Vinaigrette
Caramelized Onion and Carrot Tsimmes with Candied Ginger
Cheater's Chicken in the Pot and Almost-Homemade Soup
Fresh Borscht with Dilled Onion-Butter Matzoh Balls
Chopped Chicken Liver from the Rue des Rosiers
Chopped Chicken Liver with Caramelized Onions
Gefilte Fish Quickly Steamed Between Cabbage Leaves
Oven-Fried Smoked Salmon Croquettes
Matzoh
The regular matzoh that Jews are commanded to eat on Passover instead of bread is a thin, crisp cracker made simply of wheat flour (there are special ritually prepared oat and spelt varieties for those who are wheat intolerant) and waterâno yeast or other leavening and no salt. To prevent fermentation, the entire preparation, from mixing flour and water to baking the matzoh, should take no more than eighteen minutes. According to Eve Jochnowitz, a culinary historian who has done extensive research on the subject, matzoh is currently sold in many supermarkets in Polandâdespite the fact that few Jews have remained there since the Holocaust. The Jewish cracker is marketed there as a pure and wholesome health and diet food for everyone.
Plain matzoh is pure and elemental, wheaty-tasting without the spongy, yeasty quality of bread or the flavorings or additives of crackers, and is an ideal substitute for these starches in recipes. I use matzoh not only in Passover recipes, but also year-round, for matzoh brie, in some stuffings and kugels, and to make home-ground matzoh crumbs for crunchy coatings.
Why grind your own matzoh when perfectly acceptable matzoh meal is available in most supermarkets? Packaged matzoh meal is very finely ground, perfect for fluffy matzoh balls, meat loaf, latkes, and most kugels. But if you want a coarse, crumbly topping, particularly one combined with butter or oil and toasted until golden and crunchy, you need to grind your own. And for crumb coatings, I find the texture and flavor are superior when the crumbs are not ground uniformly. Also, there are times when fresh matzoh meal is not available, when you know that matzoh meal has been sitting on the grocer's shelfâor yoursâfor far too long.
Then there are the flavored matzoh, especially egg matzoh: terrific, but unavailable ground unless you do it yourself.
To make matzoh crumbs and homemade matzoh meal:
Whirl small pieces of matzoh in a blender or food processor using the pulse motion until the desired texture is achieved. Or place in a resealable plastic bag and use a rolling pin or your hands to crush the matzoh. A medium grind with a slightly uneven texture is best for crumb coatings. Blend to the texture of sand for matzoh meal with a powdery consistency (and, if necessary, rub the fine crumbs through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any remaining coarse pieces).
To toast matzoh crumbs or matzoh meal:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a baking pan, melt some butter, warm a little olive oil, or use a combination of both. Add matzoh crumbs or meal, season to taste with salt and pepper, toss to combine, and spread out in an even layer. Toast in the oven until fragrant and golden, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every once in a while to redistribute the oil and prevent burning. Stir in other seasonings, if you'd like: spices and herbs (such as paprika, cumin, rosemary, or thyme), minced garlic, and grated cheese (2 to 3 tablespoons of Parmesan, hard Cheddar, or other well-flavored variety for every cup of matzoh crumbs or meal).
Flavored matzoh (including egg, whole-wheat, and egg and onion, etc.):
Check the ingredients on the package. Some contain zesty seasonings like onion or garlic and are excellent served as crackers or used in cooking as flavorful crumbs or savory stuffing. Whole-wheat matzoh is wonderful in Toasted Sesame-Cumin Matzohs (recipe follows). Egg matzoh, made simply of flour, egg yolks, and apple cider, is superb as a cracker (divine with cream cheese) or in matzoh brie. And it makes delicious crumbsâthe slight sweetness from the cider provides an almost caramelized edge to the crumbs when they are toasted or fried.
But other flavored matzohs contain positively bizarre or inappropriate ingredients, like malt, rye, white and brown sugar, as well as additives and preservatives. So read the labels carefully.
Availability and storage:
Plain and several flavored kinds are available year-round in most supermarkets. (Although during Passover many Jews enjoy flavored matzoh, like the egg and whole-wheat varieties, which have been produced under stringent rabbinic supervision; strictly Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews eat only plain matzoh on Passover, reserving the flavored kinds for the rest of the year.)
Egg matzoh can usually be found for only a couple of months close to Passover. It sells out quickly and manufacturers often don't make more until the next season. I buy several extra boxes when I find them and store them for later use.
Matzoh meal can usually be purchased year-round. In January or February, freshly produced matzoh meal for Passover makes its appearance in supermarkets. But if you find a box in December stamped for Passover use, it's probably almost a year old and you might consider grinding your own from fresh matzoh.
Although matzoh and matzoh meal are generally not made with added oil (some flavored varieties might be), there is, of course, oil in the flour itself, which can turn rancid and musty after prolonged exposure to air. And moisture can make matzoh soggy. As with preservative-free crackers and bread crumbs, both matzoh and matzoh meal must be well wrapped to keep them from going stale. Unless you will be using up an opened box of matzoh within three or four days (fewer in very humid areas), it's a good idea to store the matzoh in an airtight plastic container or resealable plastic bag instead of the cardboard box it comes in. Don't leave a box of matzoh meal in the pantry, its perforation seal pushed open and left yawning. Keep it tightly closed in an airtight glass jar or plastic container, or purchase matzoh meal in the recently available special cylinders with a resealable plastic top. Store in the refrigerator, especially if it is not used on a regular basis. And if you trot out that same box of meal for two or three short appearances a year, consider keeping it in the freezer.
Let your nose be your guide in determining freshness: like crackers, matzoh and matzoh meal should smell fresh and wheaty. Discard any that smell musty or stale. If matzohs have become soggy, you can recrisp them in the oven at 350°F for a few minutes. And read the Passover section about toasting matzoh for superb, fresh-from-the-oven flavor.
Toasted Sesame-Cumin Matzohs
yield:
4 to 6 servings
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
Coarse salt
1
â
4
cup best-quality extra virgin olive oil
About 6 whole-wheat or plain matzohs
PREHEAT
the oven to 400°F. Prepare the sesame seeds: in a small (about 7-inch) ungreased heavy skillet, toast them over moderately high heat, stirring or shaking the pan constantly, just until they release their nutty fragrance and turn light gold. Don't allow them to brown or they'll be bitter. Immediately remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the seeds to a mortar. In the same skillet, toast the cumin seeds in the same way, just until they are very fragrant. Add them to the mortar. Let cool slightly, then add a few pinches of salt, and crush coarsely with the pestle. Or pulse a few times in an electric spice grinder, or put the seasonings in a heavy plastic bag and pound well with a mallet.
TRANSFER
the spice mixture to a small bowl and stir in the olive oil. Brush the tops of the matzohs very generously with the mixture, then sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake until hot and crisp. The matzohs should be very fragrant, puffed slightly, and just beginning to curl at the deep brown edges. Best served hot.
COOK'S NOTE:
Stirring the sesame and cumin mix into the oil helps to prevent the seeds from scattering every which way, though you will probably use a bit more oil with this method. But it will make the matzoh taste wonderfully richâno bread of affliction here. For easier servingâand shatterproof eatingâyou may prefer to break the matzoh into large, cracker-like pieces before seasoning and heating them.
Sesame seeds naturally contain a lot of oil so they turn rancid rather quickly; store them well wrapped in the freezer.
Olive Oil Schmaltz
yield:
About
2
â
3
cup
2 cups finely chopped onions
3
â
4
teaspoon salt
1
â
4
cup olive oil
IN
a strainer, toss the onions with the salt. Cover them with a paper towel and weight down with a bowl or plate topped with a heavy object like a large can of tomatoes. Let the onions drain for at least 30 minutes, tossing them occasionally. Place the onions in fresh paper toweling or a clean kitchen towel, and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
WARM
the oil in a 8- or 9-inch heavy skillet. Add the onions and cook, uncovered, over the very lowest heat. As their moisture evaporates, the onions will shrink considerably and the ever-deepening gold oil will appear to increase. Stir occasionally, spreading the onions out in the skillet and making sure that they do not stick or color past gold. After cooking for 60 to 75 minutes, they should be very soft and have exuded most of their liquid. Let the mixture cool slightly, then scrape all the onions and oil into a blender (a food processor won't work well here).
BLEND
to emulsify the ingredients, stopping to scrape down the contents when necessary. Continue blending until you have a smooth, rich puree.
STORE
tightly covered in the refrigerator. It will thicken and become more schmaltz-like when chilled. It will keep for at least 3 to 5 days.
