Jewish Fusion

While serving a congregation in South Africa, I became acquainted with a fish called snoek, which actually has no equivalent in North America. However, I have found that smoked Lake Superior whitefish is an excellent substitute .This is an excellent brunch dish.

Ingredients:

• Crust:
  About 1 ¼ pound of ready-made pie dough.
  You can make your own dough if you are motivated but the ready-made variety works just fine.

• Filling:
  2 pounds smoked whitefish, with the skin and bones removed
  ¼ cupcake flour
  3 ½ cups whole milk
  ¼ cup butter/margarine
  1 medium onion, very finely chopped
  2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  4 eggs, separated
  1 cup grated mature Cheddar cheese
  2 Tablespoons chutney
  1 Tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Directions:

• Line two pie plaes with the pastry and neaten the edges.
  Refrigerate until needed.
  Flake the smoked fish finely.
  Mix the flour thoroughly with 1 cup of the milk.
  Bring the rest of the milk and the butter/margarine to the boil.
  Remove from the stove and quickly beat in the flour mixture.
  Put back on the stove and bring to the boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning,
  As soon as the sauce boils, remove it from the stove and let it cook to lukewarm.

Meanwhile, fry the onion in the oil until golden brown.
Beat the egg yolks well and stir them into the lukewarm sauce.
Add the fish and egg and mix well. Stir in the cheese, chutney and parsley.

• Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the fish mixture.
  Spoon the filling into the uncooked pastry shells.
  Bake the tarts about 60 to 70 minutes in a preheated oven at 325 °F.

Serve either warm or at room temperature.
Makes 2 medium tarts.

This sosaties kebab recipe is a multi-day project, in that the ingredients require marinating for 2 or 3 days, which gives it such a wonderful flavor. Still, this is an easy recipe and a sure pleaser. It just takes a little planning.

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds lamb cut into 1″ pieces
  1 garlic clove, peeled
  Salt, pepper
  4 Tablespoons oil
  1 cup onions, chopped
  1 teaspoon curry powder
  1 clove garlic, minced
  2 Tablespoon sugar
  1 Tablespoon tamarind paste
  2 cups white vinegar
  2 Tablespoons apricot jam
  2 Tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tablespoons red wine
  ½ pound dried apricots
  ½ cup dry sherry

Directions:

• Place the lamb pieces in a large bowl that has been rubbed with the clove of garlic.
  Season with salt and pepper, and toss.
  In a saucepan, heat the oil.
  Cool, then add to the meat and toss well. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
  One day before preparing the sosaties, combine the dried apricots and sherry in a small bowl, cover, and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
  Drain meat from sauce and reserve. Thread lamb and apricots on skewers.
  Grill over charcoal until browned on all sides.
  Add the onions and sauté for 5-6 minutes, then add the curry powder and garlic.
  Sauté for another minute. Add the sugar, tamarind paste, vinegar, and jam and stir well.
  Stir the cornstarch mixture and add it to the onions, and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens, (about 3 minutes).

Serve with heated marinating sauce.

Several delicious knish recipes for potato, chicken, beef and turkey sausage knishes.
Ingredients:

• ½ cup flour
  2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  3 tablespoons water
  Pinch of salt

Directions:

• Put half the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in oil with a fork.
  Add water and salt and mix until the mixture forms a dough.
  Toss on a floured board; work in remaining flour, and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
  Cover and chill for 1 hour or longer.
  Roll the dough out on a board as thin as possible.
  Pull and stretch it into a long rectangle.
  Cut into 3-inch circles. Put a tablespoon of filling, below, on each circle.

Draw the edges of the circle together over filling and pinch together to seal uncooked knish.
Brush with vegetable oil.

• Bake on a greased baking sheet at 350º F for about 45 minutes, until dough is well browned.

• Potato Knish Filling
  Mash 5 freshly boiled potatoes and mix with 1/3-cup ground crisp cracklings made with chicken skin. (gribines)

• Chicken Knish Filling
  Crumble 2 matzos and soak until soft in 1/4-cup chicken gravy or chicken soup. Combine with 1 cup finely chopped chicken. Season well with salt, pepper and cayenne and add enough chicken fat to make a soft mixture.

• Mexican Knish Filling
  In a 2-quart saucepan, boil 1 quart of water.
  Add 1 pound of stewing beef, cover and cook for 2 hours on a low heat.
  In the last hour, add 1 package of burrito seasoning mix.
  Drain the meat in a colander.
  Shred the meat with a fork
  Squeeze out as much water as possible from the meat.
  Finely dice one medium tomato.
  Finely chop 2 Tablespoons of pickled jalapeno slices (mild or spicy…your choice)
  In a food processor, finely chop one small onion
  Mix together the shredded beef, tomatoes, chopped jalapenos and onion.
  Add salt and pepper to taste.

• Italian Knish Filling
  Finely chop 2 Tablespoons of Italian flat-leaf parsley
  Finely mince 3 garlic cloves.
  Remove the casings from 1 pound of Italian turkey sausage.
  Crumble and brown the meat in a little olive oil.
  Stir in 3 Tablespoons of your favorite Italian pasta sauce.
  Add the parsley and the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
  Add 1 ½ Tablespoons of seasoned bread crumbs and stir.
  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Also of interest: Falafel Recipe, Potato Latkes, Chopped Liver, Kugel, Pierogies Recipe

This is a torte recipe that I have been preparing for many years. I am sure that it was originally a contest winner, but I can’t remember where. It is definitely a keeper. You will want to make it over and over again.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  1 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
  1 cup granulated sugar
  2 large eggs
  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  ½ cup finely chopped almonds
  2 Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples (6 ounces each), peeled, cored and cut in thin wedges (2 ½ cups)
  ½ cup (6 ounces) apple jelly
  ½ cup sliced almonds

For garnish: Confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

• Place the oven rack at the lowest position; heat oven to 350° degrees F.
  Grease a 9-inch spring form pan.
  Mix flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  In a large bowl beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  Beat in eggs one at a time, then lemon juice and vanilla.
  Stir in flour mixture and chopped almonds until well blended.
  Measure out 2/3 cup batter and set aside.
  Spread remainder in bottom of prepared pan.
  Starting ¼ inch from the edge of pan, arrange about 1 ½ cups of the apples in a circle, slightly overlapping.
  Form another circle on top with remaining apples, starting ½ inch from center of pan. Meanwhile melt ¼ cup jelly and brush over apples.
  Drop teaspoonfuls of the reserved batter around outside edge and spread with back of spoon to make a ½ inch border (or pipe through pastry bag fitted with plain round tube with an opening of about ½ inch).
  Fill center of torte with remaining batter.
  Arrange some sliced almonds in center; sprinkle remainder over border.
  Bake 1 hour or until golden.
  Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Remove pan sides.
  Melt remaining ¼ cup jelly and brush the apples again.
  Cool completely on rack. Sprinkle border and center with confectioners’ sugar.

Makes 12 servings.