jewish and israeli food

potato challah

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Around this time two years ago I began begging Eggboy for a pet pig for my birthday. I’ve always loved pigs (it goes hand in hand with my marzipan obsession since when I was little I collected marzipan pigs) and after living on a farm for a few years, it seemed like the time was right to get one. 

Ok, but we’re going to name him Potato, said Eggboy.

That’s a cute name!! But why?

So that when we eat him we can just say we’re eating Potato and confuse all of our friends.

😒😒😒😒😒😒

That kind of ended that.

And that’s all I have to say about potatoes at the moment other than that there are real actual potatoes in this challah dough, not pigs. And there are potatoes of an unknown variety growing in our garden! And idk why it took me this long to put mashed potatoes in challah. I loved potato sandwich bread and potato bagels from Einstein growing up because, well you know me, I've always been one for soft doughy bread over a crusty baguette. So this year for Rosh Hashanah when I was having my routine challah brainstorm, my mind went to the humble potato.

If you thought that a perfectly baked loaf of doughy eggy challah could not get any better, well just add a cup of mashed potatoes to your dough and watch it get even softer. And richer! It’s a subtle difference, you can’t really taste potato *flavor*, but eating it is a similar sensation to hugging a friend who you haven’t seen in a while and feeling a stronger, more robust embrace, the kind of arms that make you step back, do a once over, and ask, you been workin out?  

Potato challah is regular challah that has been going to the gym all summer. 

So, you know, the recipe here is not very different from the challah that you were going to make next week. Just do all of us two favors: add mashed potato to the dough, and when proofing the yeast, use the water that you used to boil the potato instead of regular plain jane water. Works like a charm! Sounds like we’re all going to have fabulous New Years. 

Ok so to shape it, you can either just make one huge long snake and coil it up into a round swirly shape, as I’ve done in past years. Or you can make four strands and make a circular braid. It looks a lot more complicated than it really is. I have all of the faith in the world that you can do it. Here is a slower version of the braiding video that I posted on IG the other day. Plz forgive the background banter between chantell, brett, and me. Or just don't turn the sound on haha. My non-existent video editing skills are exactly non-existent: 

potato challah

makes 2 loaves

ingredients

8 oz peeled potatoes, cut into 1” cubes
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp + 2 tb sugar
4 c (504g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs
1/3 c (66g) flavorless oil, like canola or vegetable
2 tb (42g) honey

egg wash + topping:

1 beaten egg
poppy seeds, sesame seeds, other seeds, optional
 

clues

Place the chopped potato in a large pot and cover it with water. Bring to a simmer and cook until a fork pokes easily into the potato, begin checking for doneness at about 10 minutes. Drain the potato, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Let the potato cool, mash it, and set it aside. Once the cooking water has cooled to be warm (about 105º-110ºf), add the yeast and the 1 teaspoon of sugar. Give it a little swirl and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until foamy on top. Meanwhile, in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, salt, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and honey. When the yeast mixture is foamy, add it to the dry mixture, followed by the egg mixture and mashed potatoes. Stir to form a shaggy dough and then either knead it on a clean surface or in the stand mixer, adding flour if it gets too sticky to handle. Knead until the dough is smooth and just slightly sticky, 7-10 minutes. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours. 

Preheat the oven to 375ºf and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, divide it into two equal parts, and shape according to the notes and video above. Transfer the loaves to the baking sheets. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes. Brush the loaves with a light coating of egg wash and sprinkle with seeds, if using. Bake until the loaves are golden brown and have an internal temp of about 190ºf. Begin checking for doneness at 25 minutes. 

Let cool until it is jusssst cool enough that it won’t burn your mouth, then smother it with butter and hope that there will be some left for dinner that night. Hehe. 

oh here are some more challah recipes!! 

-yeh!!!

photos by chantell and brett quernemoen!!

and this is what i wore! tunic by marimekko + apron by enrich & endure

spinach and white cheddar baked matzo brei

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passover days 1-2.5:

-ate lots of almond butter matzo sandwiches
-became not so weirded out by cauliflower rice after mum insisted on a cauliflower rice tabbouleh. with enough acid, salt, and herbs, it turns out it does not taste like mushy farts as undercooked cauliflower is so wont to do.
-stoop kicked my ass on a four mile run, i decided i should start running again but got nervous at how wildly bored i get on runs. tried to calculate how much i'd have to kickstart to fund unorthodox's increase from a weekly podcast to a daily podcast because i wouldn't get bored on runs if i could just listen to unorthodox the whole time.
-ordered our garden seeds finally! i added chioggia beets to the order not because i like eating them but because they look pretty (and because they look so pretty i'm going to learn to like eating them)
-discovered the new millennial pink dishes at ikea. also bought about 12 packs of these cute napkins. eggboy and i are planning a scandinavian tea party themed bridal shower for eggsister and these are truly perfect for it. 
-fell back in love with this roasted vegetable stock. i don't know what my beef is with parsnips but every time i see them listed on an ingredients list or menu i kind of gloss right over them as if they were a less than worthy vegetable but they're a great addition to this stock and i'm going to try to treat them with more respect
-went to tuesday night's chicago symphony performance and sat really close. close enough to wonder how truls' face stayed so matte during the dvorak cello concerto (note to self: listen to that second movement again to appreciate more of its prettiness). for the second half they played prokofiev 5, which i love for the crunch and woodblock, and while the speed wasn't as aggressive as when jaap does it, it certainly did not disappoint.
-listened to a lot of nelly furtado and san fermin! love their new albums.

currently:
-about to leave for fargo for tonight's fargo seder. i have 150 malabi macaroons in tow. 
-wondering how many days will pass before i give in and make matzo crack.

i am not yet tired of matzo brei but in the event that you are and are stressing out over what to make for brunch this weekend, i have two ideas for you. one is matzo chilaquiles, which i'll be making since i spent the better part of late march testing my other idea: this baked matzo brei. which, to be honest, probably prefers to identify as a frittata or crustless quiche since those more closely represent the texture, and i find it's usually the texture that people tire of when they're sick of matzo brei. this is basically a quiche with a matzo crust but instead of the crust on the outside, it's broken up and dispersed throughout the filling so it gets nice and soft and mingles with the cheese. my favorite part about it is the purple onions that go on the bottom of the pan when you cook it because then when you serve it, it gets flipped over and is like a savory upside down cake.

you can serve this hot or make it the night before and serve it at room temp. a handful of fresh herbs at the end make it party ready (and instagrammable??)! happy weekend everyone! 

spinach and white cheddar baked matzo brei

serves 4-6

ingredients

6 large eggs

1/2 c heavy cream

4 sheets matzo, broken into 2-3” pieces

Olive oil

2 c packed fresh spinach

Kosher salt

Black pepper

1 small or 1/2 large purple onion, thinly sliced

1/2 c herbs (any mix of cilantro, parsley, mint, and/or chives), finely chopped, plus more for serving

3 ounces white cheddar, shredded, plus more for serving

2 tsp za’atar

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

Plain Yogurt, for serving

Harissa, for serving

Fresh lemon, for serving

Sumac, for serving

clues

preheat the oven to 350ºf.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and the cream. fold in the matzo and set aside.

Heat an 8” oven-safe nonstick skillet (like a cast iron pan) over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Cook the spinach until wilted, season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool slightly. Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, let it get hot (you can increase the heat to medium high as long as you keep an eye on it so the olive oil doesn’t burn), and then add the sliced onion and a pinch salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown. 

While the onions are cooking, add the herbs, cheddar, za’atar, paprika, 3/4 teaspoon salt, a few turns of pepper, and the wilted spinach to the egg mixture. When the onions are browned, spread them out evenly in the skillet and then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out evenly. Cook for 3 minutes and then stick it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until just set. Let it cool for a couple of minutes in the pan and then carefully run a rubber spatula around the edge to loosen them from the pan. Cover the pan with a plate and then turn it over to flip it onto the plate. 

Top with more cheese, a few dollops of yogurt, a bit of harissa, a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of sumac, and a handful of fresh herbs. Enjoy! 

-yeh!

malabi macaroons

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happy almost passover!! i spent the weekend in new york trying to get as sick of chametz as possible by way of dizengoff pita, breads bakery bourekas, xi’an dumplings, and sprinkle cake!! spoiler: i didn’t get sick of chametz and i don’t think i’ll ever get sick of it.

it was a 1 1/2 day trip that was supposed to be more like three. oops! but if you’re going to have an unintended 30-hour layover due to batshit weather delays, i couldn’t possibly think of a better way to spend it than with my minneapolis homies, over pizza and pastries. so in the end i had the loveliest unexpected few days.

i was in new york for the cherry bombe jubilee, which was just as sweet and delightful as it sounds. is the word jubilee not the best? it was packed with hugs, with old friends, with new friends, and with friends i’d internet fangirled over for such a long time but had never actually met. i demoed a sprinkle splatter cake with my new friend jen, and then also sat on a panel about blogging with daphne, joy, jocelyn, lyndsay, and deb! it was nerve-racking to be in front of such a huge room of people and i almost dropped a glass bottle of kombucha up on stage but we had a great time and decided we should probably start a band. 

one of the questions that daphne asked was about our go-to hostess gifts. i had macaroons on my mind because i’d just come down off of a week of making them every single day, so i said macaroons. they travel well, they come together extraordinarily quickly, they’re fit for gluten free and k for p friends, and they don’t have to be eaten immediately if by chance you're way too stuffed for dessert. like all of the macaroons that i make these days, they are inspired by the recipe in danny macaroons’ book. danny’s were the macaroons that made me love macaroons and get over those canned manischewitz plops that i grew up with. they are crispy on the outside, chewy and moist on the inside, and a standard for passover desserts that is so high, you won’t even want to stop making them once passover ends.

these guys are flavored like malabi, the middle eastern rosewater milk pudding. i like mine with toasted pistachios and a bit of cinnamon and cardamom, and here i’ve added a little bit of sour fruitiness from some raspberry purée (bonus: it turns the glaze millennial pink-ish). they are rich, floral, warm, and bright, all at the same time and they are exactly what you need to fuel a fierce afikoman hunt! 

alright, i'm at mum's house in chicago now and we have a billion people coming over tonight, so i gotta go start the brisket! 

malabi macaroons

makes 16 - 18

ingredients

1 c sweetened condensed milk (reserve the rest of the can to add to your morning coffee!)

1/8 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp rosewater

2 tsp vanilla

14 ounce bag sweetened shredded coconut

2 large egg whites

1/4 tsp kosher salt

 

for the glaze

2 ounces fresh raspberries (or sub 2 tb raspberry jam)

About 1 c powdered sugar

1/8 tsp rosewater

a pinch of kosher salt

 

chopped toasted pistachios, for topping

clues

preheat oven to 350ºf. line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

in a large bowl, combine the condensed milk, cardamom, cinnamon, rosewater, and vanilla. mix in the coconut and set aside.

in a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. 

fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture and then spoon 2" balls of it onto the baking sheets, 1" apart.

bake until golden brown, begin checking for doneness at 18 minutes. remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes on the pans. transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

for the glaze:

Place raspberries in a fine mesh sieve and give them a rinse. Place the sieve over a bowl and use a stiff rubber spatula or wooden spoon to smash them and press the juices and purée through the sieve into the bowl until you’re just left with the seeds in the sieve. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the sieve to get the stuff that’s sticking to that down into the bowl. You should be left with about 2 tablespoons of seedless puree. If it’s a tiny bit more or a tiny bit less, that’s fine. Add 1 c powdered sugar, rosewater, and salt and mix to make a thick glaze. If it's too thick, add a few drops of water to thin it out, and if it's too thin, add a few more spoonfuls of powdered sugar. it should be the consistency of a thick glue. 

spoon the glaze over the tops of the macaroons and top with a sprinkle of pistachios. enjoy!

they can be kept at room temperature for about 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week.

-yeh!

hazelnut + almond flour chocolate chip cookie cake (gluten free & kosher for passover)

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we are in full blown passover mode up in here. this past week i’ve tested three briskets, batch after batch of baked matzo brei, and millions of millennial pink coconut macaroons that i am so gosh darn excited to share with you. and of course one dozen iterations of this cookie cake (we’ll get to that!). alas there is no carp in our bath tub, as i’m pretty sure sven cat would get to him before we would, but that’s a dumb excuse, we should have at least tried, right? next year, with a carp!

i’m having three seders + easter next week! seder one will be in chicago with mum and stoop and marshy’s famous gefilte fish, seder two will be in fargo with a city wide afikoman after (i don’t actually know about the afikoman thing but i feel like if any town were to do this first around here, fargo would be the one, right?), and matzo pizza night seder with eggboy, rugrats passover, and the hogwarts haggadah. the jdate haggadah has been good to us but we’re moving onto the hogwarts one because you can only laugh at pharoah’s dating profile so many times.

after all that i’m going to help eggmom with easter! let’s do harissa carrots. and minty potato salad. and some beet pickled eggs! and what would be fun to hide in an easter egg hunt for the family egg to search for and find? a pet baby goat? a mozart kugel? 

it’s going to be a great spring holiday season. 

i want to sing from the rooftops about this cookie cake!!!! it is the descendant of three things: a really gooey tasty vegan gluten free cookie bar from the town co-op that was essentially almond flour and agave, the baked marzipan center of my sprinkletaschen, and the massive cookie cakes that all of my campers got during parents weekend back when i was a camp counselor in 2011. After two days, the counselors were instructed to take away any uneaten cookie cakes and the story was that they had to be thrown away so they didn’t attract bugs but the truth was we ate them all over the course of the following week when we sat on late night duty reading gossip magazines. Aside from the spray can cheese, those cookie cakes were the most delightful things that summer, so chewy and satisfying. 

My recipe testing journey with this cookie cake began when I baked some of the leftover sprinkletaschen filling on its own and realized that it had a great chewy texture. I wanted this cake to be a chocolate chip cookie though, and not a big hunk of baked marzipan (although that wouldn’t be so bad), so I added some brown sugar, chocolate chips, a huge splash of vanilla, and subbed half of the almond flour for hazelnut flour, which gave the whole thing this awesome darker toastier flavor. I’m using Bob’s Red Mill’s Hazelnut Flour and Almond Flour here which both taste amazing and are fluffy and eliminate the step of grinding your own nut flours, so I got the whole dough mixing process down to about three minutes. There's no need to cream any butter, you just need one big bowl, one smaller bowl, and a spoon. It’s really stupidly easy, and really stupidly good. Not just Kosher for Passover good, but good good. 

Two kosher for passover notes: 

-the baking soda can be omitted if you avoid it on Passover. The texture will be slightly denser and more gooey, but it will still be great! 

-the frosting in the photo is a basic butter + powdered sugar buttercream but for a dairy free dessert, you have many options: use this great dairy free frosting, serve it hot with a scoop of dairy free ice cream, drizzle on melted chocolate or a simple powdered sugar glaze, or serve it with just a light dusting of powdered sugar. 

hazelnut + almond flour chocolate chip cookie cake

makes one 8-inch cookie cake

ingredients

1 c bob’s red mill almond flour
1 c bob’s red mill hazelnut flour (or 1 more c almond flour)
1/2 c lightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking soda (can omit if you don’t have it on passover, it’ll be denser but still super tasty!)
1 large egg
1 tb vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 c chocolate chips

to decorate:
buttercream
or for a dairy-free alternative: dairy free ice cream, coconut whip, or glaze made with powdered sugar and dairy-free milk

clues

preheat the oven to 350ºf. grease an 8" cake pan and line it with parchment. set aside.

in a large bowl, combine the flours, sugars, salt, and baking soda. in a small separate bowl, combine the egg, vanilla, and almond extracts.

add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, add the chocolate chips, and stir to combine. it may seem dry at first but keep on stirring. pat the dough out evenly in your prepared cake pan.

bake until golden brown on top, begin checking for doneness at 22 minutes.

remove the cake from the oven and let it cool fully in the pan- or serve it warm! wait for it to cool fully if you're decorating it with frosting though.

the cookie cake can be baked a day in advance. once cooled, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. 

-yeh!

Thanks to bob's red mill for sponsoring this post!