Cooking for the Jewish Holidays

By JOAN NATHAN

Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook
By Joan Nathan
532 pages. Schocken Books. $29.95.

ZWETSCHGENKUCHEN
(Southern German and Alsatian Italian Plum Tart)
From Lisl Nathan Regensteiner

Serves 6-8 (Dor P)

The following southern German and Alsatian zwetschgenkuchen is served traditionally at the high holidays in early fall, when the small blue Italian plums are in season. In southern Germany and Alsace the tart was made from zwetsche (in French, quetsche), a local variety of these plums.My aunt Lisl always used a mürbeteig crust (a short-crust butter cookie dough) for this tart, and sliced each Italian plum into four crescent shapes. She lined the tart with bread crumbs and then apricot preserves, which protected the dough during baking, creating a crispy crust. She went light on the cinnamon, a spice she felt was overused in this country. (I agree with her.) She made an apfelkuchen in much the same manner. My aunt’s results, simple to prepare, were simply delicious. My mother learned to make this from my aunt. One of my fondest Rosh Hashanah memories is helping my mother arrange the plum slices one by one in this tart. I love this recipe and make it with peaches and blueberries at other times of year.

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
 ¼ cup sugar
 ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter or pareve margarine, chilled
1 large egg yolk
2 pounds Italian plums
2 teaspoons dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon brandy
 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Confectioners’ sugar

1. To make the crust using a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar together.Cut the butter or margarine into small pieces, add to the bowl, and process until crumbly. Add the egg yolk and process until the dough forms a ball, adding more flour if necessary. To make the dough by hand, use your fingers or a pastry blender to work the butter or margarine into the flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon of sugar until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add the egg yolk and work the dough into a ball.

2. Remove the dough from the bowl, dust with flour, and pat into a flattened circle. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

3. When you are ready to make the crust, dust your hands and the dough with flour. Place the dough in the center of a 9-inch pie plate and with your fingers gently pat it out to cover the bottom and go up the sides. Trim the crust and prick the bottom in several places with the tines of a fork.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

5. Pit and cut the plums into fourths. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on the crust, then spoon the apricot preserves on top and drizzle with the brandy. Place the plum quarters on the crust in concentric circles, starting from the outside and working inward, so that each overlaps the next, into the center. Sprinkle with cinnamon and the remaining sugar. (At this point, if you wish, you can wrap and freeze the tart, to bake it later. Just remove it from the freezer 1 hour before baking.)

6. Place the tart in the oven and bake about 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the plums are juicy. Remove from the oven. Just before serving, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

HAMANTASHEN COOKIE DOUGH

Makes 36 (D or P)

Just as there is great controversy over light versus heavy matzah balls, there seems to be discussion about which are better—yeast- or cookie-dough hamantashen. This is the tastiest cookie-dough base I have ever tried.Use one-quarter of either of the fillings on pages 309–10.

1/3 pound (10 2/3tablespoons)
butter or pareve margarine, softened
½ cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2½–3 cups sifted unbleached allpurpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt

1. Cream the butter or margarine with the sugar. Add the egg and continue creaming until smooth.

2. Add the vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix until a ball of dough is formed. (A food processor is excellent for this.)

3. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill for 2–3 hours, or overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

5. Taking ¼ of the dough, roll out on a lightly floured board to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut into 2-inch circles.With your finger put water around the rim of each circle. Fill with 1 teaspoon of poppy-seed or nut filling and fold intothree-cornered cookies. (Press 2 sides together, and then fold the third side over and press the ends together.)

6. Bake on a well-greased cookie sheet 10–16 minutes, until the tops are golden.

Poppy seed filling:

Makes 2 ¼ cups, enough for about 36 Hamantashen (p)

This filling is best made 1–2 days before use.

2/3 cup water
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup raisins
2½–3 teaspoons grated orange zest
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups poppy seeds*
3 tablespoons cake crumbs (from pound cake or other leftover cake)

*Available at health-food stores, where they are sold in bulk and are much cheaper than the commercial varieties sold elsewhere.

1. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan.Whisk in the cinnamon.

2. Add the sugar, raisins, orange zest, lemon zest, and honey, and return to a boil.

3. Lower the heat, add the poppy seeds and the cake crumbs, and stir well with a wooden spoon. Simmer on low heat for 5–6 minutes.

4. Pour into a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. It will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Excerpted from JOAN NATHAN’S JEWISH HOLIDAY COOKBOOK by Joan Nathan. Copyright 2004. Published by Schocken Books. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.