Posts by Victoria Prever

Rhubarb and chantilly cream trifle

Victoria Prever — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:38:46 +0100

The pretty pink rhubarb cuts through the creamy sweetness of this trifle making a change to the traditional cheesecake.

Preparation: 20 mins
Cooking: 30 mins
Serves: 8

Ingredients
1kg rhubarb
100g caster sugar
600ml double cream
30-40g icing sugar
250g caramelised biscuits

Method:

Wash and cut the rhubarb into 2cm pieces.

Put it in a large pan with the sugar.

Cook for 30 minutes in a medium heat stirring regularly to obtain a compote

Beat the cream until it is thick and holds its shape but do not let it get too thick and buttery; it needs to stay light and airy.

Add the icing sugar and mix gently

Crush the biscuits either with a rolling pin or in a food processor.

To assemble trifle, put a third of the rhubarb compote in a large serving bowl. Cover with a third of the cream and then a third of the biscuit mixture. Repeat twice finishing with a layer of the biscuits.

Serve cold or at room temperature

www.homecookingbyfabienne.co.uk

Lattice topped spinach and ricotta tart

Victoria Prever — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:30:09 +0100

A tart topped with lattice pastry (see left) looks very professional but is simple to make.

Preparation: 20 mins
Chilling: 1 hour
Cooking: 35-40 mins
Serves 8

INGREDIENTS
Pastry
250g plain flour, sifted
1 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
50g butter, unsalted, cubed
90ml water

Egg wash
1 egg yolk
1 tsp sugar
pinch of salt

Filling
250g ricotta cheese, drained
250g spinach
2 large eggs, beaten
30g parmesan, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 pinch nutmeg
1 dsp olive oil

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C.

For the pastry: rub the butter and flour together until like fine sand. Add the salt.

Mix the egg yolk and water, make a well in the flour mixture and pour it into the flour.

Knead together in the bowl into a smooth ball. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

For the filling: heat the oil in a large pan. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Add garlic and sautée for 2 minutes.

Place the spinach in a sieve, squeezing out as much water as possible. Chop roughly.

Mix the ricotta gently until smooth. Add the eggs, parmesan, spinach and nutmeg. Season.

Divide the pastry: three quarters for the base and a quarter for the top.

On a lightly floured work top/parchment paper roll out the pastry, then line the base and sides of a 23cm flan tin. Use any leftover pastry for the top.

Spoon the filling over the pastry.

On a floured surface, roll out the remaining dough so it is slightly wider than your pie dish. Use a lattice pastry cutter to create the lattice effect. You will need to use quite a bit of force. Cut away the side of the dough then carefully open up the lattice sections.

For the egg wash: mix ingredients together. Egg wash the sides of the flan, then carefully place the lattice pastry evenly over the filling, pressing the edges down around the edge of the flan.

Egg wash the lattice pastry and bake for 35-40 minutes.

When cooked cool in the tin for 10 minutes then remove the tin and cool on a rack. Serve immediately or, if cooled, reheat for 10 minutes before serving.

www.cookwithlisa.com

Light and fluffy lemon cheesecake

Victoria Prever — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:21:41 +0100

This was my mother’s recipe and a firm family favourite because it is cheesey but light and not overly sweet.

Preparation: 45 mins
Cooking: 1 hour 20 mins
Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS
For the pastry:
315g flour
3 tbsp sugar
Pinch of salt
1½ tsp baking powder
125g butter
1 egg beaten
100ml sour cream

For the filling:
250g curd or ricotta cheese
250g cream cheese/mascarpone
4 eggs separated
50ml double cream
1 lemon, zest and juice
75g sugar
1 heaped tbsp flour
pinch of salt

Method

For the pastry: put the dry ingredients into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Add the egg and enough sour cream to make a firm dough.

Refrigerate for at least half an hour.

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Roll out and line a 23cm spring-form tin.

Prick the dough with a fork to prevent it rising.

Line the dough with foil and place some baking beans on top. l Place more foil around the top of the tin so the edges are covered and do not burn.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the pastry is cooked through and there are no greasy patches on the bottom.

Allow to cool before filling.

Turn oven down to 140°C.

While the pastry is cooking, prepare the filling:

Place all the cheese in a large mixing bowl.

Add the cream and mix to combine — but do not overmix.

Mix the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice with the cheese mixture.
Add the flour and pinch of salt to the mixture and blend in.

In a clean dry bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them gently into the cheese mixture.

Pour this mixture onto the pre-baked pastry.

Bake for about 1 hour and then turn off the oven leaving the cake inside for a further hour.

After an hour remove and cool to room temperature before serving.

Rosalind Rathouse is the owner of Cookery School
www.cookeryschool.co.uk

Yogurt lemon mousse with strawberry za’atar tuiles

Victoria Prever — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:47:42 +0100

Make the strawberries the day before to infuse.

Preparation: 20 mins
Cooking: 30 mins, plus chilling
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
235g cold plain yogurt
120g caster sugar
Seeds scraped from ¼ vanilla pod
1 tsp powdered kosher gelatine
100g cold milk
3 egg whites
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
For the strawberries:
200g caster sugar
200ml red wine
10 strawberries, quartered
For the tuiles biscuits:
50g plain flour
120g caster sugar
50ml red wine
55g butter
1 tbs ground za’atar spice

Method

Soak the gelatine in the milk for 20 minutes.

Mix the yogurt, lemon juice and zest and vanilla.

Place the egg whites and sugar in a bowl and lower bowl into simmering water. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Remove bowl from water and whisk egg whites to a stiff peak meringue.

Gently melt the spongey gelatine until the crystals have melted. Mix a third of the yogurt into the gelatine and stir into the yogurt mixture.

Fold the meringue into the yogurt a third at a time. Disperse any lumps of egg white gently with a hand whisk.

Pour into wine glasses or ramekins, and freeze for two hours to set. Store in fridge. Take out 10 minutes before serving.

For the strawberries:

Bring the sugar and 200 ml water to the boil, add the wine and cook for 5 minutes on a low heat to reduce.

Add the strawberries and return to a boil. Take off the heat. Once cooled, infused the strawberries overnight in a covered container.

For the tuiles:

Preheat oven to 165°c.

Mix flour, sugar and wine to a thick paste.

Add the butter in two halves then mix in the za’atar.

Using a palette knife, spread a thin layer of the mixture over baking parchment or a silicon mat. Bake for 10 mins — it will bubble.

Remove from the oven, cool for a few minutes and remove from the tray breaking into pieces.

Store in an airtight container.

www.bakingdreamstogether.com

Gorgonzola, pear, walnut, oak roast tomato and rocket salad

Victoria Prever — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:40:21 +0100

If you haven’t tried oak roast tomatoes yet, I recommend them. They are often sold in farmers’ markets. They have a smoky flavour and add an interesting flair to a dish. Sun blushed or sun dried tomatoes also work well. I like to dress the salad with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, but you can also go the French way and use vinaigrette instead.

Preparation: 10 mins
Serves 4-6 as a starter or side dish

Ingredients
250g rocket/baby leaves salad
1 pear, such as Conference, washed
50g walnut halves
80g Gorgonzola/Dolcelatte cheese
2 tbsp oak roast/dried tomatoes
Extra-virgin olive oil
Drizzle of good quality balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

Wash the rocket and dry well. Scatter it over a large shallow platter.

Quarter and core the pear and finely slice it before arranging it on top of the rocket.

Dice the blue cheese into 2 cm cubes and scatter it on top of the pears.

Top with the walnuts and the tomatoes.

Season with a little salt, freshly ground black pepper, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and of good quality balsamic vinegar.

Serve alone or with bread, either as a starter or as a side dish.

For details of Silvia Nacamulli’s Umbrian cookery courses on 16 - 21 June and 13 -18 October 2013 visit www.cookingforthesoul.com

Carciofi all Guidia — fried artichokes

Victoria Prever — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:55:34 +0100

This is my desert island dish — translated as Jewish-style artichokes — the most renowned traditional Roman Jewish recipe. Use artichokes. which are tender and with as little hair inside as possible.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 fresh artichokes
1-1.5l Sunflower oil
2 lemons, quartered

Method:

Fill a bowl with cold water. Squeeze in the juice of one lemon to prevent the artichoke discolouring.

To trim the artichoke: using a small sharp knife cut off the stem leaving 4cm. Pull off the outer green leaves.

Trim the outer part of the stem (the centre is soft and lighter in colour than the outside). Rub with lemon.

Hold the artichoke with one hand and with the other cut off the top green end of every leaf by turning the artichoke. Cut upwards in a spiral towards the centre. You should have a “closed rose”, where you can see only the white or light green parts of the artichoke.

Rub with more lemon and add to the acidulated water. Repeat with the rest.

Set a deep fryer to 160°C or heat the oil in shallow saucepan.

Slightly open the top centre of each artichoke where the “petals” meet. Season with salt and pepper and place it, stem down, in the oil.

Fry for 8-10 minutes, rotating the artichokes onto the other side of the stem/bottom.

Once the bottom of the artichoke is golden and tender when tested with a fork, use two forks to open up the leaves and turn the artichokes upside down so that the stem is on top. Fry for a couple more minutes. You may lose some leaves but they are delicious eaten as “artichoke chips”.

Drain the artichokes on kitchen paper.

Peach and ricotta crepes

Victoria Prever — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:40:52 +0100

Ideally use ripe fruit for this dish. As peaches are not yet really in season you may prefer to use plums.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes: 10

Ingredients
Crêpe:
50g butter, melted and cooled
300ml milk
2 eggs
130g plain flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Oil for frying

Peaches:
3 tbsp sugar
30g butter
500g (about 8) ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
1 tbsp dessert wine

Cheese filling:
250g Ricotta cheese or mascarpone or natural cream cheese
1-2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

For the crêpes: blend all the ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate for an hour.

Heat a non-stick frying pan with a little oil.

Pour in half a ladle of batter and fry until you see bubbles starting to form.

Flip over and cook for another few seconds, just to make sure the centre is fully cooked.

Repeat until you use up the rest of the batter mixture.

For the peaches: melt the sugar and butter in a pan, add the peaches and leave for about 2-3 minutes until they absorb the glaze, become glossy and slightly soft.

Drizzle with wine.

For the cheese filling: Mix together the filling ingredients.

To assemble the crêpes: Spread a thin layer of filling on half the crêpe, place a spoonful of peaches on top and then fold the crêpe in half and then in half again.

No longer cheesed off

Victoria Prever — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:29:36 +0100

With Shavuot approaching thoughts turn to all things dairy. And it is an area close to the hearts of many Israelis.

The depth of love was evidenced by last year’s demonstrations over the high price of a staple food — cottage cheese. The Government eventually intervened to reduce prices but there remained a resentment of dairy industry giants like Tnuva and supermarket chains who were accused of inflating their profit.

The result has been a boost for Israel’s thriving artisan cheese making businesses which already number close to 40. And this Shavuot Israelis will travel to farms across the country to buy unusual cheeses for the festivities.

But until about 30 years ago Israel’s cheese makers could have been described — at best — as unsophisticated.
Their dairy industry had one of the highest dairy cow yields in the world, producing cottage cheese and soured milk products of a high standard.

But the only indigenous cheese of note was Safed, a soft silky cheese when young, but when aged, hard and salty — ideal for grating. Other local cheeses were predominantly bland, yellow, sliced and processed. Trade policies restricted the importation of foreign cheeses so there was little to inspire.
But in the 1980s, some kibbutz kitchens experiencing financial difficulties started to experiment with cheese production. Israel’s gastronomic scene was starting to burgeon and small boutique cheese-makers began to emerge predominantly using goats’ milk.

One of the first producers was artist Shai Seltzer — known to some as the Godfather of cheese. The former botanist, moved to a farm in a local beauty spot called Sataf in the Jerusalem Hills to enjoy the quiet life and founded his farm in 1974. A local monk gave him his first lesson in cheese-making and he has been raising goats and producing yoghurt and cheeses similar to cheeses like Tomme de Savoie and Gorgonzola ever since.

Seltzer compares his cheese-making process to painting a watercolour — starting with a wet canvas and slowly but surely, adding colours to create a masterpiece: “With artisan cheese, one begins with the milk and then the specialist enzymes, yeasts and bacteria are added, and slowly but surely, the unique cheese is created.”

“Milk is the ultimate food and the foundation on which life is developed,” says Seltzer. “We then carefully nurture this base to create our cheeses.”

Seltzer is totally hands on, tasting the cheese at every stage of preparation, adjusting and refining as he goes.

Seltzer explains the location of his farm has a huge affect on his goats’ milk.

“The cheese we create is an expression of the land on which it is created,” he says. “Month to month, year to year, according to the weather, what the goats are eating and the land on which they are grazing, the cheese changes. Our cheeses are an expression of the Judean mountains.”

After solidifying, the cheeses are salted and aged. A process known as affinage. The affinage process gives the cheeses their flavour. Some are coated with coal powder, others with grape leaves or wine barrel residue. This varies according to the desired characteristics Seltzer wants to produce.

The affinage process takes place in a natural limestone cave next to the mountainside on which Seltzer’s 170 or more goats graze. These goats have adapted to their lush, mountainous surroundings producing high quality, fatty milk.

Seltzer travels the world learning about cheeses, wines and new preparation techniques. “Cheese making is a way of life, we live within the cheese making process,” he says. “I travel from Europe to Africa to Asia, tasting, smelling and learning as I go.”

His farm has become a firm fixture on the circuit for foodies and professional chefs alike. The Seltzer family serve their range of cheeses to visitors alongside kosher wines advising on the best pairings.
Seltzer himself has also inspired others such as Daniel and Anat Kornmehl — thought by some to be the finest makers of goats’ cheese in Israel. Daniel Kornmehl spent time with Seltzer learning how to make cheese before he and Anat set up by themselves in 1997. The agriculture science graduates now produce a range of French-inspired versions of Brie, Cambembert and Tomme cheeses on their farm in the Negev.

Another favourite is Eretz Zavat Chalav u-Dvash in Petach Tikva. Founder Aharon Markovich was raised on a religious Zionist farm and has chosen to raise sheep rather than goats as their milk doesn’t have the same heavy aroma. He produces 40 different types of kosher cheese.

No longer the land of bland yellow cheese, Israelis celebrating Shavuot this year will be spoilt for choice.

Denied a Jewish education. Why?

Victoria Prever — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 21:09:04 +0100

Last week, my four-year-old son lost his place at Clore Shalom school. And so, at the end of this term, he will be forced to leave an institution with a religious ethos that mirrors our own Jewish beliefs.

We were awarded his place fairly. A parent who had failed to tick the right boxes challenged the system and forced a rule change. It is unfair but we have no legal recourse. For our son, the door to a Jewish education has been slammed shut.

Why? Because we practise a pluralist way of Jewish life and will not masquerade as Orthodox in order to secure our son a place elsewhere. We are not prepared to play the "faith game" as described by Ellie Levenson in her JC comment piece a fortnight ago.

Contrary to her beliefs, Jewish schools consistently perform better academically. We would also prefer our son to start his day with the Shema rather than Morning has broken. And attending a Jewish school doesn't mean living in a ghetto. They even have non-Jewish teachers. We also have friends of many religions and cultures.

But we refuse to send our children to an Orthodox school only to have them question why we are not practising what they are taught. Friends with children at Orthodox schools scream: "But no one does that here - they're all like us!" Something is very wrong.

In the year preceding their school application, many families shlep their offspring to synagogue weekly. Having clocked up sufficient visits to fulfil the requirements of forms accompanying the applications, many do not return to shul until the next Yom Tov or until a sibling requires their school place.

And, once at their chosen school, many have lives entirely at odds with the teachings given to their children there. Kippot and tzitzit are explained as "school uniform" and shoved in bags immediately outside the school gates. Kashrut is not followed at home, and families who do observe the laws of kashrut are forced to police which schoolfriends their children can visit, as they cannot be sure they will not be fed treif.

Obviously, many families of children at those schools are shomer Shabbat, but many are pluralist or even secular Jews - choosing them for their high standards of education.

The letters in response to Ms Levenson's piece reveal support for Jewish schools. The skirmishes that takes place between prospective parents every year offer further proof.

The Board of Deputies says its aim is for there to be "Jewish schools for all people who want them". But there are insufficient pluralist schools, particularly in areas that need them. Hertfordshire's Jewish population has increased by nearly 27 per cent over the past 10 years but that has not been reflected in the number of Jewish primary school places there. The Board is failing a large proportion of our kids. It doesn't seem to care about, or is oblivious to, the fact we are not all Orthodox.

Pluralist schools are oversubscribed. This year, Clore Shalom received 60 applications for five free spaces. Alma Primary - Finchley's new school - received 70 applications for its first reception year and Eden Primary in Muswell Hill received 198 applications for 30 places.

The Board claims there are sufficient places for all but that is true only if you are prepared to pretend to be something you're not and, in some cases, travel long distances.

We are not ashamed of wanting a Jewish education for our kids. What the Clore Shalom School complainant has highlighted is that the system - in which the nursery year is a de facto pre-reception class – is an almighty mess, and no one is taking responsibility.

Meanwhile, six innocent children have been evicted from the school in which they had settled. Whether you are for or against a faith education, that cannot be right.

Chocolate and chilli tart with lime

Victoria Prever — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:46:28 +0100

Preparation time: 1 hour, plus infusion time
Cooking time: pastry 25 minutes; filling 20 minutes
Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS
Pastry case:
250g plain flour
100g icing sugar
35g ground almonds
125g unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 egg; and for glazing, 1 yolk
Filling:
400g 70 per cent dark chocolate, roughly chopped
350ml double cream
3/4 tsp chilli flakes
150ml milk
2 eggs, beaten
To serve:
Crème fraîche and lime zest

Method

Bring the double cream, milk and chilli flakes to the boil.

Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 1 hour.

Prepare the pastry by rubbing the flour, icing sugar, ground almonds and butter in a bowl.

Add the whole egg and blend together. Do not overmix. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Grease and line a 20cm tart ring.

Roll out the cooled pastry to approximately 3mm thick. Line the tin pushing the pastry into the corners.

Line with baking parchment before filling with baking beads to blind bake.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until the pastry is lightly golden.

Remove the baking beads and parchment and return the pastry into the oven for 10-15 minutes until the base is golden brown.

Remove the pastry from the oven. Seal the case for the chocolate mixture by using a pastry brush to glaze it with the egg yolk.

To make the chocolate mixture, place the chocolate into a medium sized mixing bowl.

Strain the chilli infused cream and bring back to the boil. Once boiled, pour the hot cream over the chocolate and continue to stir until chocolate has fully melted.

Gradually add the beaten eggs and mix well.

Reduce the oven to 150°C.

Pour the chocolate mix into the prepared pastry case and transfer back into the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the mix is just set.

Set aside to cool but do not refrigerate.

To serve, slice the tart with a hot knife and plate with a generous dollop of crème fraîche sprinkled with the zest of lime.

Glazed smoked brisket slab with a spiced red cabbage relish

Victoria Prever — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:36:48 +0100

Ask your butcher for a whole piece of brisket already cooked and smoked

Preparation time: 25 minutes, plus soaking time
Cooking time: 90 minutes
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
2 kg whole piece ready-cooked smoked brisket
For the glaze:
85ml honey
65g brown sugar
75g tomato sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
RED CABBAGE RELISH
1 red cabbage, finely shredded
1 large carrot, peeled and finely shredded
1 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large paprika peppers, deseeded and finely shredded

DRESSING
250ml red wine vinegar
250ml olive oil
65ml fresh lime juice
35g finely chopped coriander
50g brown sugar
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
pinch of ground allspice
1 tbsp cumin seeds or ½ tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1–1½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

METHOD

Preheat oven to 160 °C.

Wash the brisket under cold running water to remove excess salt. It can be left in a bowl of water for an hour, changing the water after 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towel.

Cut two large pieces of foil and position them in a roasting pan, one lengthways and the other on top of it widthwise.

Place the brisket on the foil.

Mix the glaze ingredients well and pour over.

Draw the edges of the foil up to the centre and “balloon” the foil around meat to make a pocket of air between meat and foil.

Bake for 1½ hours, by when you should have a tender brisket coated in a lovely sticky glaze.

For the relish: blanch the cabbage in a large pan of salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool.

Transfer to a bowl and toss with the carrot, onion and paprika peppers.

Whisk dressing ingredients in a bowl or shake up in a jar.

Once the sugar has dissolved, let it stand for 20–30 minutes, remove the bay leaf and pour over the red cabbage relish.

Refrigerate until serving if not using immediately.

Serve with the hot sliced brisket and fresh rye bread.

Overheard: ‘Is placenta kosher?’

Victoria Prever — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:59:18 +0100

We are heading towards the pinnacle of the Gefiltefest year with the fest taking place on the 19th of next month.

It is not too late to vote in the JC-Gefiltefest 2013 Food Awards. Who makes Britain’s best challah? Will Kaifeng scoop the Best Kosher Restaurant award for the third year running? Cast your votes at www.thejc.com/promotions/gefiltefest-jewish-chronicle-2013-food-awards

Gefiltefest’s contributors are busy preparing their demonstrations and talks.
Chef patissier David Mendes of Baking Dreams Together has conjured up the chocoholics dream — a perfect white chocolate challah (right). Whoever correctly guesses the weight will win the chocolate challah. Chocoholics can post their bids at www.gefiltefest.org.
If you don’t win you can always try fashioning your own when Kosher Kingdom, which sells the moulds, gets new supplies.

On May 12, Cardiff-based cook Ruth Joseph, co-author of Warm Bagels and Apple Strudel, will be speaking at London’s Jewish Museum about the One Hundred Year History of a Jewish Cake Tin — the tale of a Gugelhopf tin (below) carried by Ruth’s late mother Judith Carlebach as part of her luggage escaping from Germany with the Kindertransport. As well as stories, Joseph will be sharing cake — selling almond kipfel to raise money for Jewish Care.

In other news, Amsterdam’s Jewish Museum has just held its first kugel contest. Fifteen participants from all over the country came with their pots and pans. The winner, Dave Delwel, made a kugel based on the recipe of his 91-year-old aunt, Jo. Key ingredients were roodkoker pears (that
turn red when they’re cooking), ginger and almonds.

My wife overheard an odd kashrut question at her pregnancy yoga class: “Is placenta kosher?” The swift riposte was, “It isn't on the KLBD list, so probably not.”

Israel: ‘A real foodie destination’

Victoria Prever — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:44:51 +0100

Rachel Johnson got her first taste of Israel 30 years ago when she and big brother Boris spent their summer — she on a post-school gap year and he on a holiday while at Oxford University — working on a kibbutz.

“My father was married to Jenny Sieff whose father, Teddy Sieff, was the then head of Marks and Spencer,” she recalls.

The sum extent of her Jewish food memories are of what she laughingly terms “Marks and Spencer Seder nights. We used to chant things about bitter herbs,” she smiles, admitting her only memories of the nights were that they were long and that they ate matzah.

That was the extent of the young Rachel and Boris Johnson’s experience of Jewish food, until the pale-skinned, fair-haired pair were dispatched on their working holiday.

“The Sieffs had links to Kibbutz Kfar Hanassi and they arranged for us to go out there,” she explains. Both were assigned arduous manual jobs — “Boris’s memories aren’t quite as fond as mine,” she smiles.

He was assigned work in the kibbutz’s kitchen, which catered for 600 hungry mouths daily. “It was brutal as the kitchens were searingly hot in mid-July and Boris has only ever returned to Israel on official business,” she laughs.

Her food memories are limited to “endless hummus, yoghurt, tomatoes and eggs”.

She also recalls the large amount of falafel they ate on their tour of the country after finishing their stint at the kibbutz and an unfortunate bout of food poisoning that laid her low after a meal in a Tel Aviv beachside restaurant.

The stomach upset failed to cloud her memories of having really enjoyed her times there.

Having not returned for several decades, she felt a yearning to revisit Israel to investigate what has been increasingly touted as a fantastic food scene. “I watched Ottolenghi’s programme on Jerusalem so knew I would find good food out there,” she explains.

As a guest of the Israeli tourist authorities she was treated to some of the best the country has to offer and had the chance to see just how much things had changed.

“It’s not consistently amazing and you do have to know where to find it, but the best Israeli food is up there with the best French and Italian food,” she enthuses. “The great thing is that the Israelis pick and choose from the best from many cultures.”

First on her tour was the Rosh Pina spa Mizpe Hayamim which she describes as restful but in need of a makeover. The food though needed no improvement — “Everything was organic — yoghurt, bread, cheese and fruit and vegetables from its own gardens and farm.”

The next stop on her whirlwind gourmet trip was to Uri Buri’s eponymously named restaurant.

“He looked like Father Christmas and was the most interesting man,” she says. Buri’s restaurant has become a destination for Israeli gourmands seeking the best fish in Israel, who will drive there for lunch and dinner from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. “I ate the best thing ever — ‘Ben-Gurion rice’.”

Buri also has an ice cream parlour where he insisted Johnson tasted every flavour. “I liked every one and didn’t even want to try half of them,” she laughs going on to explain: “He just has a knack for combining a few simple ingredients like lychee soup with wasabi ice cream.”

Buri, who cooks in the tiniest kitchen, has also opened a chic hotel which Johnson describes as “very Condé Nast traveller and very swank”.

Johnson also visited Machineyuda in Jerusalem which had been immortalised in Yotam Ottolenghi’s homage to Jerusalem. “Amazing restaurant. It’s very simple and a fun place to be where they play really loud music.”

Johnson’s love letter to what she ate in Israel continued with the market in Tel Aviv’s port — “as good as New York’s Dean and Delucca and so yuppie” — and a Druze restaurant that served amazing garlic bread, stuffed pizzas and hummus scattered with fried lamb.

She laughingly admits to having returned heavier but won’t think twice about returning for seconds. “I was surprised at the quality of the food Israel offers — it’s a real foodie destination.”

Crunchy fennel and red onion gratin

Victoria Prever — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:00:20 +0100

This is a great side dish to a fish meal or as part of mixed antipasti. I like to use red onions as they are sweet and give a touch of colour but white onions can be used instead. The dish is easy to make and very tasty.

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 4-6 as side dish or
antipasti

Ingredients
3 large red onions
3 fennel bulbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garlic granules/powder
Small bunch of flat parsley, finely chopped
Breadcrumbs
Extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

Preheat the fan oven to 190°C and line 2 large oven trays with parchment paper.

Peel the onions and wash the fennel, cutting off the stalks from the top. Halve the fennel down the middle through its root and boil in salted water for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the onions into thick slices (2.5 cm/1in) keeping the circled texture and add to the tray.

Once the fennel is soft, drain it and halve it again lengthwise so you end up with 4 long slices for each fennel. If the fennel bulbs are large then cut it in more slices so it is not too chunky.

Spread the onions and fennel slices as a single layer. You can do one tray of each or mix the two together.

Sprinkle each slice with salt, pepper and garlic granules/powder. Top with breadcrumbs, parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.

Bake for about 45 min until all the vegetables are golden.

Cohens Bakery's No-bake Cheesecake

Victoria Prever — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:13:36 +0100

Preparation time: 40 minutes plus chilling time
Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS
150g digestive or petit beurre biscuits
100g melted butter
225g cream cheese, at room temperature.
70g caster sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice (preferably from fresh lemons)
180ml whipped cream
Fruit for decoration: strawberries, blueberries, or any other preferred fruit.

Method
For the base:

Grind biscuits into crumbs using a food processor or place in a plastic bag and crush them.

Mix melted butter with the crumbs until they are coated.

Grease a 24cm round spring form cake tin.

Press the crumbs into the tin — it is easier to spread the crumbs starting from the sides.

Put biscuit base in the freezer while preparing the filling.

For the filling:

Use a mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth.

Add the sugar and lemon juice and continue to mix.

Beat the cream until it is in soft peaks and holds its shape.

Fold the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.

Remove the base from the freezer and spread the cream mixture onto it.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Preferably overnight.

Once cake is ready, gently remove it from tray and decorate with preferred fruit.

Kosher bread’s new twist

Victoria Prever — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:27:07 +0100

The bread revolution seems to have left the UK’s kosher bakery market behind.

In the past 10 years, artisan bakeries have sprung up all over the country offering all sorts of breads from sourdough to spelt. Israel is regularly touted as one of the trailblazers in the new fashion for handmade artisan loaves — their bakers flocking here.

However, UK kosher bakeries idle in the 20th century with an unchanging menu of bagels, cheesecake, rye and rugelach. A wholemeal challah or mini bagel is about as radical as it gets.

Avraham Cohen spent considerable time studying various bakeries when he moved here from Israel seven years ago. He worked as a Kedassia and London Beth Din shomer for a number of different retailers including Carmelli, Sharon’s and Paradise.

“Every kosher bakery has pretty much the same line that hasn’t changed for 30 years,” he explains. Now he and wife Simona are on a mission to change that.

The Cohens have recently opened Cohens Bakery on a new 5,500 square foot kitchen site in Brent and have plans to introduce a whole range of exciting new breads to the kosher market.

“I have always loved food — my whole life revolves around it,” says Eilat-born Mr Cohen.

As a boy, he spent much time helping in his father Jacob’s bakery in Rehovot. He also ate well at home: “My mother’s heritage was Polish-Austrian and my father’s is Tunisian, so we tasted a wide variety of foods at home,” he recalls.

He began his formal catering training during his national service when he spent time as an army chef. “I used to cook meals for the 1,200 soldiers on the base where I was stationed,” he smiles.

After he completed his Israeli army military service he worked in restaurant management — “I worked as a manager in the kitchens of the two restaurants at the Herods Hotels in Eilat. It was gourmet, upmarket food.”
Italian-born wife Simona — who heads up the administrative side of the bakery — also has a strong foodie heritage. “My family have restaurants and coffee shops all over Rome,” she explains.

Mrs Cohen is passionate about baking: “I experiment with dishes at home. I really like the homemade foods I used to eat in Italy, and I want to bring them here.”

Which is what has inspired them to develop a new range of Italian desserts like tiramisu and Italian breads like ciabatta and focaccia.

Mrs Cohen’s family are helping the couple to build a range of recipes. “They have been here helping us adapt their recipes for the UK. French and Italian bread is the best in the world because of the water. Our water is different and breads rise and prove differently in our cooler, damper climate,” Mr Cohen explains.

He has also just returned from a course with master Italian baker Gabriele Bonci and has also changed some of the bakery’s suppliers so they have the best quality ingredients at their disposal.

Ironically, the first experience that many will have of their bread will be the traditional challah they are baking for Waitrose.

The couple have taken over the licence to bake the Buckingham’s Boulangerie challah, which has been stocked by Waitrose for the past 10 years and is one of very few kosher challah lines to be sold by a supermarket chain.

Mr Cohen was working as shomer there when the opportunity arose — “Robert Simon — the owner — and I are friends and had a very good business relationship. He was looking for someone to take over the kosher bread line, so I started in mid-June last year.”

And you will soon be able to find kosher challot in more than 180 Waitrose branches across the country giving many more access to a freshly baked kosher loaf for Shabbat.

The Cohens also hope to bring kosher bread lovers across the UK a greater range to choose from, as plans are afoot to expand their kosher product range at Waitrose to include baby challah loaves, bagels, pitta and a multi-seeded loaf as well as a marbled chocolate cake.

And those who are already fans of the Buckingham’s Shabbat staple need not worry. “Our customers won’t allow us to change the recipe — I’ve had no complaints,” laughs Mr Cohen.

The Cohens Bakery range, which includes 40 types of biscuit and 20 breads, is currently sold wholesale to kosher caterers, schools and residential homes but they have also not ruled out opening a retail shop in the future.

“It’s a new beginning for us — we’re bringing a new taste,” says Mr Cohen proudly.

Delicious knishes

Victoria Prever — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:07:44 +0100

If you’re planning ahead, make the potato filling the day before and refrigerate.
Makes 24

Ingredients
For the dough:
500g strong white bread flour
1 tbsp dried yeast
1 tbsp honey
225ml warm milk (or water)
4 tbsp light olive oil or melted butter
2 large free-range eggs
1 tsp salt
sesame or poppy seeds, to sprinkle

For the potato filling:
4 large potatoes, scrubbed
but unpeeled
225g spinach, well washed
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 free-range egg, beaten
25g fresh chives or parsley, finely chopped
1⁄2 tsp paprika or a grating of nutmeg

Method

In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon flour with the yeast, honey and warm milk and whisk until smooth. Leave to ferment for about 15 minutes until bubbles appear on the surface.

In a separate jug, combine the oil or melted butter with the eggs.

Sift the remaining flour into a large bowl and add the salt.

Pour in the egg mixture, add the yeast mixture and mix to a soft, pliable dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel or clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a pan of water until tender. Drain, peel off the skins and mash. Set aside.
Wilt the spinach in a large pan over a medium heat. Drain and finely chop.

Preheat the oven to 190°C and line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment.

For the filling, gently fry the onions in the oil until soft but not coloured. Add the potato and spinach and half the egg. Stir in the chives or parsley and season with salt, pepper and paprika or nutmeg. Tip out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead lightly.

Depending on how much time you have available use either method 1 (quick) or method 2 (traditional):

Method 1: roll out the dough to form a large rectangle, 23 x 32cm.

Spread the filling over the top and roll up, Swiss-roll style. Cut into 2.5cm lengths and arrange the circles on your baking sheets with room to rise.

Method 2: roll out the dough thinly and cut into 24 7.5cm circles. Place a teaspoon of filling on each circle, wet the edges and fold over to seal.

Leave on the baking sheets in a warm place to prove for about 30 minutes until puffed up.

Brush with the remaining beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. l Bake for 20–30 minutes until golden.

Wines to get you in the party spirit

Victoria Prever — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:01:29 +0100

Every year, my wife has a birthday party. Not my favourite evening of the year. For me, to paraphrase Jean-Paul Sartre very loosely: “Hell is a crowded room with lots of people.”

My job is to organise and pour the wines, and buying always poses the same question: What is good enough to (A) make the guests feel well treated and (B) be pleasant to drink if there’s any left over, but also (C) reasonably priced and (D) sold by someone who will also deliver rented wine glasses?

Questions A through C (and many others) are addressed in Helen McGinn’s The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club (Macmillan, £12.99). The book, arising from Ms McGinn’s blog, gives a lot of the wine basics (production techniques, grape varieties etc.) in plain, chatty style without making you feel you’re taking a wine course.

What I like best about it, however, is that it addresses questions ordinary wine books do not address. Such as: what wines should you serve at a book club? And: what should you serve to the parents whose children have come over for your child’s birthday party? Call it a wine book if you will. It’s also a book about contemporary parenthood. I heartily recommend it.

Ms McGinn proposes easy-going wines from the New World for parties. Easy-going – definitely. New World? Not necessarily. Our supplies usually come from Oddbins or Majestic, which both hire out glasses, and they’re usually European. This year it was Majestic, which had an offer on two exactly suitable low-priced wines.

One: Mont St Jean 2011, Corbières, a medium-weight specimen with very accommodating tannins. Two: Cuvée de Richard Blanc 2012, Comté Tolosan; very quaffable citrus flavours, 11.5 per cent alcohol. Snap up both at £4.99.

My final bottle is the one I pulled out of the freezer (I don’t drink at parties) when everyone had left. Russian Standard is the best-value vodka in the UK. Clean, sweet flavour. Widely
available at £15 to £18. I sipped a
Martini slowly while washing those glasses. Of course, it tastes far better in company. Just not too much company.

Baked leek and emmental crumble

Victoria Prever — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:36:12 +0100

This savoury version of crumble is easy to make and warming for the unseasonably cold temperatures we have been enduring.

INGREDIENTS
For the crumble:
250g flour
125g flaked almonds
250g butter, cubed
For the leek and cheese sauce:
4 large leeks, sliced into 1cm rounds
4 large eggs, beaten
300ml crème fraiche
200g grated emmental
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg, optional

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Mix the flour and almonds in a bowl and season.

Adding a few cubes of butter at a time rub the butter into the flour and flaked almonds, until the mixture roughly resembles breadcrumbs.

Set aside.

Wash the leeks and steam or boil them for 5 minutes until tender. Drain well.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs with the crème fraiche and emmental.

Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg — if you like.

Add the drained leeks and mix well.

Put the cheesey leek mixture in a 25-30cm oven dish and top up with the crumble mix.

Cook in the oven at 200°C for 30 minutes.

Everything you could wish to know about the knish

Victoria Prever — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:04:36 +0100

Now that chametz is back on the menu my thoughts return to one of my favourite treats — the knish.

Every nation has its knish or equivalent — the Brits or Cornish love a pasty, the Spanish, empanadas while the Chinese go wild for a wonton. Sephardi Jews plump for a bureka but for Ashkenazi folk, it’s the knish.

While the knish — which also means “a small person” in Ukrainian — is definitely not common here, those who have spent time in the US will be more than familiar with this dumpling/pasty hybrid.

The snack started its life in the 14th century around the time the Jews were making their way from France — from where they had been expelled — to the Ukraine. At that stage it was a cabbage and meat dumpling wrapped in floury dough.

When potatoes became a common food as a result of a law by Catherine 1st who decreed that Jews plant potatoes alongside their grains, potatoes became both pastry and filling combined with fried onions, liver, buckwheat kasha, leeks, mushrooms and the ubiquitous cabbage.

In common with many dishes, the exact recipe differed across Eastern Europe. In Poland piroshki (as they were known) were offered as boiled, baked or fried dainties with similar fillings while the knishes’ cousin, kreplach, originated through the needs of superstitious European Jews.

At Rosh Hashanah they filled baked dough amulets with their New Year wishes suspended around their necks to wear during Yom Kippur, and eventually these amulets found their way into our soup.

When the Jews arrived in America in the late 19th century, Romanian immigrant Yonah Shimmel began selling golden, flaky knishes from a small pushcart, before opening a bakery in 1910.

The Knishery, as he called it, remains today on Houston Street in the Lower East side of New York. Shimmel’s renowned knish’s size has inflated to a large cricket ball-sized squashed bun, in contrast to its previous dainty Romanian equivalent

And why am I so obsessed with the knish? Is it that melting flaky dough or the childhood wonderment of the secret inside: the hidden filling, which still thrills me? I was born from careful parents who considered every leftover as an ingredient for another meal — like the Jewish joke we never saw the original food. And in the beginning, when my mother made dishes from her past, we had knishes — made either of a flaky type of pastry almost a strudel dough, or if she was feeling energetic, puffy pillows of melting yeasty pastry but always delicate in our home.

And as for the fillings — my mother would always start with fried onions, sometimes fried in schmaltz, then added mashed potatoes and often the meat from the soup mixed with minced wurst. Or she would make a veggie option using soft cream cheese with chopped bright green spinach blended with fried onions and a spring onion finely chopped — the perfect any-time snack.

It is well worth taking the time to make these tempting Jewish heirlooms. Do give yourself a day to do it. Make the dough and filling in the morning, leaving the filling to cool. Then fill and bake it in the afternoon or even better, the next day when the flavour will have improved.

Purists demand a specific shape made by forming the dough into a rectangle, loosely filling it with the mixture and rolling it into a Swiss-roll shape. Then, like a sausage maker, the dough is given a twist every couple of centimetres or so. By cutting the twists, the little knishes are then set onto those cuts and the upper most twist is then poked in to form a pleated top.

Or for an easier method, cut small circles of dough and half fill them with your chosen filling before folding over one side and pressing down the edges to form a half moon. It does not matter as the flavour will sing whatever the shape.

True nostalgic Jewish food has never been elegant. It will never be nouvelle cuisine-style morsels tweezer-decorated with flowers and micro-herbs. It is generous food created by matriarchs — balabostas needing to fill hungry bellies with restricted resources.

My knishes pay homage to their genius in making the mundane taste fabulous.