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March 9, 2001/Adar 14, 5761, Vol. 53, No.23
Delicacies honor surprises in Queen Esther story
LINDA MOREL
A page-turner with the pace of a John le Carre espionage novel, the Book of Esther is a tale of power and intrigue, of plots, counterplots and thwarted schemes. It is a story within a story that just keeps unfolding. |
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1/2 cup sugar 2 cups blanched almonds, finely ground in a food processor 1 Tbsp. rose water 1/2 pound filo dough (follow package directions for defrosting) |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together sugar, almonds and rose water. Frozen filo comes in 12-by-17-inch pieces. Cut each piece in half horizontally, making two 12-by-8 1/2-inch pieces. Spread 1 tsp. of almond mixture 1 1/2 inches in from the smaller (8 1/2-inch) edge. Roll dough around almond mixture once.
Place a wooden stick (rung from coat hanger) next to rolled dough. Continue rolling dough around stick. When at the end, remove stick with care. Pinch edges to close, pleating cookie slightly.
Place malfuf on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately or when cool, store in an airtight container.
Recipe from Carole Basri
Ma'amoul (Dairy)
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Dough 1 1/2 cups flour 10 Tbsp. butter or margarine, cold 2 Tbsp. sugar 5 Tbsp. orange juice |
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Filling 1/2 cup walnuts 2 Tbsp. sugar 3/4 tsp. cinnamon Garnish: 2 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar |
Place metal cutting blade inside food processor. Sift flour and place in food processor. Add shortening, sugar and juice. Process for 2-3 minutes, until crumbly dough forms. Move to a medium-sized bowl. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile using metal cutting blade in food processor, add filling ingredients. Process until walnuts are coarsely ground, about one minute.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two cookie sheets with non-stick vegetable spray. Roll dough into balls 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Press pinkie finger into ball forming a well. Fill well with 1/8 tsp. walnut mixture. Carefully close dough around filling, shaping it into a ball and pinching closed with fingers. Gently press tines of a fork into ball, creating a design and flattening cookie slightly. Place on cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes or until light brown. When cool, place confectioners' sugar in a strainer and sprinkle over cookies.
Almond Filled Figs (Dairy)
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1 cup honey 7 ounce pkg. sweetened flaked coconut 1 1/2 pounds dried figs, about 24 large plump figs 24 whole blanched almonds |
Pour 1/4 cup of honey into a small, shallow bowl, place half the coconut in a small bowl, adding more as needed. With a knife, carefully remove stubs of stems from figs. Gently slide point of knife in the opening, then push almond into opening. Pinch incision closed with fingers. Roll fig in honey, removing excess. Sprinkle on all sides with coconut. Place on plate for one hour to set.