Around the Passover Table (35 page)

Fresh Applesauce

yield:
About 2 cups

At my Hanukkah cooking demonstrations, I've always been amazed at how humble homemade applesauce elicits the same oohs and aahs as holiday superstars like braised briskets and sizzling latkes. Made with a few varieties of good, local fruit, the simple sauce's deep apple flavor and ease of preparation are a culinary revelation to those who have never made it before. In the heat of the applesauce moment, they vow never again to buy the jarred kind.

Taste the different apples available in your markets to find your local favorites; I have noticed that some varieties are not quite the same when sampled in other parts of the country or in Europe. Using unpeeled apples is not only quicker but also adds flavor, nutrients, and a soft rosy cast to the sauce. But you'll need to peel the apples if they have been sprayed or waxed, or if you're not passing them through a food mill to mash them and trap the peels, but instead, pureeing in a food processor or mashing by hand.

About 1
¹
⁄
₂
cups pure, unsweetened apple juice

1 cinnamon stick

Salt

About 2 pounds apples, unpeeled, cored, and cut into chunks (6 cups); if you want to puree the sauce in a food processor or by hand, instead of using a food mill, peel the apples (choose a mixture of at least two kinds of flavorful sweet and tangy apples to lend dimension to the sauce; avoid the bland and often mealy Red Delicious; look for fresh, local apples whenever possible)

White, brown, or maple sugar, maple syrup, or light honey (optional)

YOU'LL
be reducing the juice quite a bit, so choose a 6-quart Dutch oven or wide, heavy straight-sided saucepan large enough to accommodate all of the apples generously. Pour in the juice and add the cinnamon and a generous pinch of salt. Boil uncovered, over high heat, until the liquid is reduced by about half. I've found the easiest way to determine whether the sauce (or other liquids) has reduced enough is the “story stick” method: insert a clean, heat-safe ruler or wooden chopstick into the pot before you start reducing, noting where the liquid measures on the ruler. When the liquid measures half as high, it has reduced enough.

ADD
the apples, stir well to coat them with juice, and simmer, covered, until they are very tender, about 25 minutes, depending on the variety of apples. Stir them from time to time, and, if necessary, add a bit more juice to prevent them from sticking.

THE
sauce should be thick and pulpy with little liquid visible. If necessary, boil it down a few minutes, uncovered. Pick out and discard the cinnamon. Put the sauce through a food mill or force it through a colander or strainer to remove the skins. Or, if you used peeled apples, process in a food processor or mash by hand until smooth or leave somewhat chunky, according to preference.

TRANSFER
the sauce to a bowl. Taste and if you feel it needs sweetening, add a little sugar, maple syrup, or honey while the sauce is still very warm.

APPLESAUCE
is superb at room temperature or warm from the pot with latkes, briskets, pot roasts, pancakes, or blintzes. Or serve it chilled, especially with yogurt, cottage cheese, or desserts.

COOK'S NOTE:
Use this recipe as a template, varying the unsweetened juice (try cranberry- or cherry-apple), supplementing the cinnamon with a split vanilla bean, star anise, or other spices, or adding other fruits, such as quince or cranberries. A single, peeled Bosc pear added to the apples will lend a velvety finish to the sauce. Other suggestions follow.

Intense Apricot Applesauce

yield:
About 2
¹
⁄
₂
cups

When my father came home from his Saturday night gin game on Sunday morning, he would often bring lox, bagels, and bialys from The Delicacy Shop, the Jewish appetizing store in our Long Island community. When the triple “schnides” (from “schneiders”—gin rummy shutouts) were in his favor, we'd awaken to a breakfast of salmon in its many other guises—baked, pickled, and smoked Nova Scotia–style—as well as sable, whitefish, herring in sour cream sauce, scallion cream cheese, and beefsteak tomatoes.

But there would always be the Middle Eastern confection we knew as shoe leather—a sheet of dried apricot, rolled thin as onion skin, as mouth-puckering as lemonade.

Is it me or the shoe leather? Today's leather, or its many unflattering imitations, is too sweet, too thick, or too bland. I'd never make it, though—it is the kind of craving, like pistachio nuts, that demands instant gratification. When I hunger for the taste, I tuck into the tartest dried apricots I can find (in Middle Eastern or Jewish appetizing stores, these are usually the ones from California, not Turkey). If I have enough left over, I make this sauce, which is wonderful with latkes or pot roast—or just a spoon.

About
¹
⁄
₂
cup tart dried apricots (approximately 15; 2
¹
⁄
₂
to 3 ounces), cut into quarters

1
¹
⁄
₃
to 1
¹
⁄
₂
cups pure, unsweetened apple juice

1 vanilla bean, split

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon minced, peeled fresh ginger

Salt

About 2 pounds apples, unpeeled, cored, and cut into chunks (6 cups); if you want to puree the sauce in a food processor, instead of a food mill, peel the apples (choose the freshest local apples available: a mixture of sweet, spicy varieties, such as Gala and Braeburn—rather than tart Granny Smith or Rhode Island Greening—will work best in this tangy sauce)

SIMMER
the apricots, 1
¹
⁄
₃
cups apple juice, the vanilla bean, ginger, and a pinch of salt in a 6-quart Dutch oven or very wide, heavy saucepan, covered, until the apricots are very tender, about 25 minutes (it may take longer if the fruit is particularly dry). Add the apples, and continue cooking, covered, until very soft, another 25 minutes or so. Stir occasionally, and add additional juice, if required to prevent sticking. When ready, the mixture should be thick and pulpy, with no liquid visible. If necessary, boil it a few minutes, uncovered, to evaporate remaining liquid.

REMOVE
the vanilla bean (if desired, rinse and dry it, so it can be reused or added to granulated sugar to flavor it). Put the fruit through a food mill. Or if you used peeled apples, puree it in a food processor to a smooth or slightly chunky consistency, as you prefer.

COVER
and refrigerate until chilled. It is also lovely—and more assertive—served warm or at room temperature.

Ginger-Pear Sauce

yield:
About 3 cups

The secret ingredient in this intense fresh pear sauce is a few pureed prunes, which round out the sweet and tangy notes, adding body and a buttery finish.

It's fabulous on sweet latkes, matzoh brie and blintzes, pancakes and French toast. Or try it swirled into plain yogurt. Sweeter tooths than mine might enjoy it served alongside brisket and pot roast, or topping savory latkes.

About 1
¹
⁄
₂
cups pure, unsweetened pineapple juice

1 vanilla bean, split

1 tablespoon minced candied ginger

Salt

About 3 pounds ripe, juicy pears such as Bartlett or Comice, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks (6 cups)

3 pitted prunes, quartered

Light floral honey or sugar (optional)

WE
start again with a reduced fruit juice, so use a very wide, large, heavy nonreactive saucepan, such as a 5- or 6-quart Dutch oven. Put the pineapple juice, vanilla bean, ginger, and a pinch of salt in the saucepan and boil, uncovered, over high heat, until reduced to about
¹
⁄
₂
cup, about 15 minutes.

STIR
in the pears and prunes, cover the pan, and simmer over low heat for 25 to 35 minutes, until the pears are very tender. Time will vary depending on the variety of pears you use. Stir from time to time, and add a little more pineapple juice, if needed, to prevent sticking.

WHEN
ready, the mixture should be thick and pulpy, with very little liquid visible. Most pears are juicier than apples, so to avoid a watery sauce, evaporate almost all of the remaining liquid by boiling for a few minutes over high heat, uncovered.

REMOVE
the vanilla bean (if desired, rinse and dry it, so it can be reused or added to granulated sugar to flavor it). Put the fruit through a food mill or puree in a food processor until smooth. It should not need any sweetening, but add a bit of honey or sugar if your pears are not as sweet and ripe as they might be.

THIS
sauce is delicious served still warm, or cover and refrigerate until chilled. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.

COOK'S NOTE:
This combination also makes a first-rate blintz filling. Reduce the juice, vanilla, ginger, and salt to about
¹
⁄
₃
cup of syrupy liquid. Sauté the pears in butter over medium-high heat. Chop the prunes fine and add to the pears along with the reduced juice. Cook until the pears are tender. Boil down any remaining liquid. Chill before filling the blintzes.

Want more delicious recipes from Jayne Cohen?

Check out
Jewish Holiday Cooking
!

Jewish Holiday Cooking:
In
Jewish Holiday Cooking
,
Jayne Cohen shares a wide-ranging collection of traditional Jewish recipes, as well as inventive new creations and contemporary variations on the classic dishes. This definitive guide to Jewish holiday cooking is perfect for home cooks who need a how-to guide for celebrating the Jewish holidays, or who are looking for creative new ways to make the Jewish traditions in their lives more meaningful.
Jewish Holiday Cooking
includes recipes and menus for each of the eight major holidays—Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hanukkah, Purim, Passover, and Shavuot—along with captivating reminiscences and tales from Jewish lore as well as nostalgic black and white photography from Cohen's own family history.

About the Author:
 Jayne Cohen is the author of one previous book on Jewish cooking and celebrations—
The Gefilte Variations
—and is the co-author of
The Ultimate Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration Book.
  She writes frequently about food for publications such as
Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food and Wine,
the
New York Times,
the
Los Angeles Times,
the
Boston Globe,
and
Newsday.
Cohen lives in Greenwich Village with her husband, and their daughter Alexandra returns home to cook at every holiday. Visit her Web site at
JewishHolidayCooking.com
.