Stuffed Salmon

Inspired by a recipe idea I saw in the Whole Foods holiday magazine for roasted salmon stuffed with fennel, olives, and oranges. The clever idea was to piece two salmon filets together and bind it with twine it to look like a whole fish. For our twist on it, we made one of our favorite fennel and apple bread stuffing and covered the salmon with lemon slices and dill. The same stuffing could be used for a chicken or turkey as well as the salmon which would be a great way to save time and link the dishes together for a holiday dinner.

To make this dish, select two skin-on salmon fillets  (about a pound and a half each) that are matching in thickness and shape.  You will also need one or two lemons sliced into rounds, one cup of apple cider, and 1/2 cup white wine for the roasting pan. Make stuffing (recipe below). Lay long piece of twine in roasting pan and place one salmon fillet skin down on top of the twine. Mound the stuffing on the fish up to about a half-inch from the edge all around.

Carefully place the remaining piece of salmon on top matching the shape. Press down gently. Wrap the twine around the fish several times knotting at the top as you would tie a roast. Tuck lemon slices and fennel fronds into the twine. (see picture above) . Pour wine and 1 cup of cider into the pan and place in a 375 degree oven.  Cook until internal temperate reaches 165 degrees. Rest at least five minutes, cut and remove twine and slice.

Stuffing
1 large loaf crusty bread sliced and toasted
1 medium onion (sliced)
1 apple (peeled, cored, and sliced)
1/2 cup fennel bulb (thinly sliced, save the fronds for decoration)
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
3 cups low salt vegetable broth
1 cup apple cider
1/2 tsp paprika
salt
pepper

Heat a medium skillet and melt butter (or olive oil) and saute the onion and fennel and set aside. Crumble the bread into chunks and place in a large bowl. Add the apples, sautéed onions, fennel, broth, and cider. Beat the egg and mix in well. Season with paprika, salt, and pepper.

Hamentashen or Popentashen

My family loves Purim with the telling of an exciting story and the wearing of wild costumes.  How could anyone dislike a holiday that features theater, drinking wine, and eating delicious cookies called Hamentashen. Purim celebrates the ancient Jews of Persia’s victory over their enemies. The tale held in the book of Esther includes King Ahasuerus, Esther the brave woman who becomes queen but never forsakes her people, Esther’s cousin Mordecai,and a wicked man named Hamen (for whom the cookies are named).  Why, you might ask, would we name these tasty holiday treats for the bad guy?  Well, I’ll tell you-I don’t know.  Various stories I grew up with included that the cookies were named for Hamen’s three-cornered hat, they were named for his pockets that were filled with bribes, they were named to remember his evil deeds. So nu, they couldn’t have named them Esther’s Goodies or something a little more enticing?  Anyway who cares!  Our costumes are put together and the cookies are baked.  Instead of normal hamentashen, we made tiny little cookies (filled with our homemade jams) that you could pop in your mouth in one bite so we are calling them popentashen.  It is after all a holiday that is celebrated with pride and joy and a healthy dose of silliness. Happy Purim!

Tiny Hamentashen (Popentashen)
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of cinnamon
several flavors of jam

In a stand mixer bowl or food processor, place the slightly softened butter cut into chunks and the powdered sugar
Mix until sugar is just blended in (it is OK if there are some lumps of butter)
Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix until the egg is incorporated into the butter
Add the flour and cinnamon to the bowl and mix until the large pieces of dough begin to come together (do not over mix!) the dough will be a bit ragged.
Scoop the dough onto a floured board and press the pieces together to form a smooth dough.
Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1/4″.  If the dough is too sticky use a bit of flour or if it is too soft to roll you can wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
Using a small round cookie cutter or a cordial glass measuring about 1 1/2″ inches across, cut circles of dough.
Place a drop of jam in the middle of each circle
Press two edges of the circle together and then pull the remaining piece up and press together to form a triangle shape and a nice little pocket to hold the jam.
Cook at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the edges brown slightly
Cool (jam gets very hot in the over) and pop in your mouth!

 

 

Wicked Son Eggs

Passover is a time of stories and symbols.  As the holiday draws to an end, I wanted to share one of the most fun things we served at our Seder this year.  Last year my hubby, Mark, led us in the   The Two Minute Haggadah for the second night of Passover.  Everyone thought it was a riot and we joked that there should be a dish to match that contained the essence of the Seder in a few bites.  A few days before Passover began, we remembered the conversation and tossed around various ideas of how to make a bite-size Seder.  We hit on deviled eggs as the perfect medium for our holiday madness and Mark insisted that we call them “Wicked Son Eggs”.  Off to the kitchen I went to figure out a recipe.

After a day of shopping and cooking, the lamb confit was ready and I assembled the rest of our Wicked Son Eggs as follows:
Peel and sliced 12 hard boiled eggs
Scoop yolks out and mix with mayonnaise, little shreds of lamb confit, fresh grated horseradish, and parsley
In another bowl mix finely diced apple with chopped walnuts and sweet wine
Stuff the eggs with yolk mixture
Top eggs with apples and walnuts
Serve on romaine lettuce leaves

Old School Matzo Ballin’

While I enjoy the creativity of dishes that are updated, deconstructed, or chemically induced into fascinating forms, I sometimes crave more classic flavors.  Dishes prepared as they have been for generations have a way of satisfying hunger of the belly and the heart. 

For Passover, I made matzo balls prepared with shmaltz (chicken fat) and  a simple chicken soup .  The plump orbs bursting with rich chicken essence floating in golden liquid produced from simmering a local stewing hen and farm vegetables would have made any Jewish grandmother proud.  I hope that next holiday time you will throw away that dusty box of soup mix and try the recipe below.

Matzo Balls
1 cup matzo meal
4 eggs (beaten)
4 tablespoons melted chicken fat (skimmed from chicken soup)*
5 tablespoons cold water
Dash of salt & white pepper

In a bowl, mix all ingredients, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 20 minutes
Meanwhile, heat a large pot of salted water until simmering.
Wet hands with cold water and scoop the matzo mixture by small handfuls about 1″ around into the simmering water.  Do not pack the mixture in tight balls.
Cover the pot and simmer gently for about 10 minutes and then turn the matzo balls, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes more.  Serve in hot chicken soup.
Makes about 18. 

*Note: you can also use frozen chicken fat, butter (if you are not concerned with keeping the dish Kosher), or Parve margarine

Sweet Passover Popovers

Every year  at Passover I made traditional favorites but I also try to create one or two new dishes for my family and friends.  This year in addition to holding our usual big seder dinner, we are planning to have a Passover brunch toward the end of the holiday.  I love popovers for brunch so I decided to try my hand at creating a tasty version with matzo cake flour.  They came out delicious and I now have several dozen tucked into the freezer to heat and serve with homemade strawberry jam at our brunch.  Also, on our menu will be omelettes, homemade gravlox, and cranberry matzo meal pancakes.

Below is the recipe for Sweet Passover Popovers which can be made in a standard muffin tin.  They will not puff quite as much as traditional popovers but will be light, eggy, and delicious.

Sweet Passover Popovers
1 cup matzo cake flour (not matzo meal!)
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of cinnamon

Heat the oven to 450 degrees
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl (preferably one with a pouring spout)
Mix together wet ingredients
Add the wet to the dry ingredients
Mix until just well combined (do not overmix)
Grease a 12 cup muffin tin
Pour batter evenly into 10 cups
Bake for 15 minutes
Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for about 10 minutes more
Poke each popover gently with a fork to allow steam to escape
Serve hot or room temp or cool and freeze