The Second Avenue Deli Cookbook (47 page)

SERVES
8

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly combine crust ingredients (use your hands), and press into a greased 10-inch deep-dish pie pan. Bake 4 minutes, and set aside. Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees.

2. Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl, and beat to a smooth consistency with an electric mixer. Fill pie shell, and bake for 35 minutes or until the entire pie has a firm (not liquidy) custardlike consistency. Remove, and let cool slightly, but leave oven on.

3. Combine topping ingredients, and spoon evenly over pie. Bake for another 5 minutes. Cool on counter, and refrigerate. Serve chilled.

MAKES ABOUT
25
TO
30

On Purim—which celebrates the victory of the Persian Jews over their enemy and King Ahasuerus's chief adviser, Haman—Jews eat a triangular-shaped pastry called hamantaschen. The reason: Haman, who had ordered that all Persian Jews were to be massacred, wore a tricorne, which, on Passover, we devour while gloating in triumph. At least that's one explanation. Others say the pastries resemble Haman's ears … or the purse he was going to fill with Jewish gold. Sephardic Jews do eat deep-fried crescent-shaped pastries called “Haman's ears” on Purim. Gingerbread man–like images of Haman are also devoured on this slightly cannibalistic holiday. For further details of the story, consult the Book of Esther.

We've provided a choice of two different hamantaschen doughs, both of them scrumptious. The first is pretty much a traditional dough, with extra citrus zip. The second is almond-flavored. Have your filling prepared before you begin to make the dough.

1. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2. In another large bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer until fluffy, and set aside.

3. In a third bowl, combine sugar, vegetable oil, orange and lemon juices and zests, and vanilla. Add this juicy mixture to the eggs and blend well. Then add flour–baking powder–salt mixture, and continue mixing until your dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a well-floured board, and knead until it no longer sticks to your fingers.

4. Divide dough into 4 sections. On a well-floured board, using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to a ⅛-inch thickness. Have filling, egg glaze, sugar, cookie cutter, flatware teaspoon, pastry brush, and greased cookie sheet close at hand.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use a cookie cutter (or jar lid) to create circles about 4 inches in diameter. Place about 1 teaspoon (a flatware teaspoon, not a culinary measuring spoon) of the filling in the center of the circle, fold in sides, and press dough to seal, creating two sides of a triangle. Use a little of the egg glaze mixture as “glue” if you need it. Then fold the bottom of the circle up to form the third side of your “tricorne,” leaving a little of the filling visible in the center. Brush top side of each pastry well with egg glaze mixture, sprinkle with sugar, and place on the greased cookie tray. Since cutting circles leaves a lot of marginal dough, you'll have to gather scraps in a ball and roll them out again. Bake for 20 minutes or until your hamantaschen are a light golden brown (check after 15 minutes to see how they're doing). Let hamantaschen cool before you remove them from the baking pan with a spatula.

ALMOND-FLAVORED DOUGH NO. 2

The almond dough may require a little less baking time than the citrus. Check your oven after 13 minutes.

1. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add almonds, and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer until fluffy, and set aside.

3. In another large bowl, cream sugar and butter with your electric mixer until completely blended. Add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract, and mix thoroughly. Add almond-flour mixture, and, using your hands, blend until the dough begins to form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a well-floured board, and knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your fingers.

4 and 5. Steps 4 and 5 are the same as in previous recipe.

THE FILLINGS

Prune and poppy seed are the classic fillings, but you can use others. We've included apricot and apple fillings as well. If you want to invent your own, you'll need about 1½ cups. These recipes give you a tad more fruit filling than you'll need. For one thing, it's better to have a little extra than too little. For another, they're delicious, and you'll want to nibble a bit while you work.

FOR THE PRUNE FILLING

Poppy seeds
were the original hamantaschen filling; the use of prunes, which has today become the most popular, dates to eighteenth-century Europe.

1. Purée all ingredients except nuts in a blender or food processor. Transfer mixture to a bowl, and thoroughly blend in finely chopped nuts.

FOR THE POPPY SEED FILLING

The poppy seed filling commemorates Queen Esther's three-day fast, during which, subsisting on seeds, she prayed to God to repeal Haman's evil decree. Another explanation is that the Yiddish word for poppy seeds is
mohn,
which sounds like Haman; like his hat, he gets devoured.