Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

by Gil Marks

  There is no mention of Judith in the Talmud or Midrash. Indeed, there are very few references to Hanukkah in the Talmud, all subsumed in a small section in the tractate Sabbath, as both are occasions entailing candle lighting. Purim, on the other hand, has an entire tractate.

  The first record of the name Judith in association with Hanukkah was in the Kol Bo—either an abridgment of or precursor to the early fourteenth-century work Orchot Chaim (Paths of Life) by Aaron ben Jacob Ha-Koheni from Narbonne—which explained, "Women are obligated to light the Hanukkah candles because they too were in the miracle: The enemy came to destroy everyone—men, women, and children. Some explain it was through a woman that the great miracle occurred and her name was Judith, as it is explained in the Agaddah: There was a daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and she was very beautiful, and the king of the Greeks said that she should lie with him. She fed him a food of cheese so that he would become very thirsty and drink a lot, and become drunk and fall deep asleep. This happened, and she took his sword and cut off his head and brought it to Jerusalem, and when the army saw that their leader was dead, they fled."

  The Shulchan Arukh makes no mention of the custom of dairy foods, but Rabbi Moses Isserles (c. 1520—1572) in his glosses notes, "There are those who say to eat cheese on Hanukkah because the miracle was done through milk, which Judith fed the enemy."

  Fried foods became a Hanukkah tradition in recognition of the miracle of oil. Sephardim and Mizrachim typically prepare various fried pastries or doughnuts (bimuelos and lokmas). In many Sephardic communities, members of wealthier families bring trays of sweets to less fortunate ones. In Morocco and Egypt these trays include zangula, deep-fried batter poured into hot oil in a thin spiral, similar to Amish funnel cakes, and coated with a combination of either cinnamon and sugar or honey. Algerians fry various doughs called sefengor kindel, some filled with plums. North African Jews prepare debla, a dough rolled to resemble a rose, which is deep-fried and dipped in sugar syrup or honey. Turkish families serve a dessert similar to a doughnut called burmuelos. The Bene Israel in India prepare a milk-based fried pastry called gulab jamun. Italians make frittelle, deep-fried diamond-shaped pieces of dough that are dipped in honey. Yemenites serve a carrot sauté called lachis djezar.

  Ashkenazim fry latkes ("pancakes," levivot in modern Hebrew), blintzes, and doughnuts. A less well- known eastern European dish is ritachlich, a salad of radishes fried in schmaltz. In the twentieth century, the Polish jelly doughnut ponchik made its way to Israel, taking on the Hebrew name sufganiyot, and subsequently emerged as the most popular Israeli Hanukkah food, sold throughout the eight-day festival at almost every bakery and market.

  In the early fourteenth century, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, a Provençal native who spent many years in Rome, wrote about frying pancakes in oil for Hanukkah. The original latkes were cheese pancakes, fulfilling the two predominant Hanukkah culinary customs in one dish. Later, dairy noodle kugels, cheese dumplings, cheesecakes, and rugelach also became common Ashkenazic foods for the festival. Russian Jews serve barley soup with sour cream, while Hungarians might offer some delkelekh (cheese buns).

  In the Maghreb, in commemoration of Judith and Hannah (who lost her seven sons to the Syrians), a special celebration was established on the seventh day of Hanukkah corresponding to the new moon of the month of Tevet, called Chag ha'Banot (Festival of the Daughters). On this occasion, women gather together to sing and dance, eat dairy foods and sweetened couscous, and drink buttermilk.

  Meat also became traditional Hanukkah fare in some areas. Often a fried or baked pastry will have a meat filling resembling foods said to be served at the Maccabean victory banquet. In Uzbekistan and Syria, meat was covered with a matza-like dough. Some eastern Europeans added meat fillings to their punichkes (doughnuts). Algerians eat khosekham, a dish with meat and wine. Some Greek Jews prepare a meat-filled baked pastry called pastilicos de carne as well as fried apple rings, apple fritters, and applesauce.

  Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089—1164), in his hymn "Zemer Naeh," sung by some families on the Sabbath of Hanukkah, lists items for the Hanukkah feast, including wine, fine flour, doves, ducks, and fatted geese. Roast goose was traditional Hanukkah fare among Ashkenazim, a role sometimes filled by brisket in eastern Europe. Historically, all unnecessary domesticated animals, generally males and older females past their reproductive period, were slaughtered before the onset of the winter and the consequent need to expend vital resources to feed them. Since this season corresponded to Hanukkah, there was much more meat available at holiday time. Geese were the predominant fowl of western Ashkenazim, with many families keeping at least a small flock to provide eggs and occasional meat, which was generally eaten only at special occasions or at Hanukkah.

  On the final day of Hanukkah, many Turkish Jews hold a merenda (snack/party), a festive potluck meal in which family and friends all contribute dishes, providing the opportunity for guests to show off a specialty or use up leftovers. This custom is the subject of a short Ladino folk song covered by Theodore Bikel, "Hazermos una Merenda" (Let's Make a Party), which begins, "Let's make a merenda. What time? You decide."

  (See also Bimuelo, Goose, Kefte, Latke, Lokma, Olive Oil, Schmaltz, and Sufganiyah)

  Harira

  Harira is a thick, hearty legume soup.

  Origin: Morocco

  There are as many versions of harira, from the Farsi and Arabic word meaning "silk," as there are cooks. It can be vegetarian or include plenty of meat. Most versions contain lentils and chickpeas. Moroccan Arabs serve it during the month of Ramadan to end the daily fast and Moroccan Jews serve it to break the Yom Kippur fast, as well as throughout the winter. Harira frequently constitutes a meal in itself. It is traditionally accompanied with dried figs, dates, flatbreads, and harissa (chili paste).

  Moroccan Chickpea and Lentil Soup (Harira)

  8 to 10 servings

  [MEAT]

  3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

  2 medium yellow onions, chopped

  1 cup chopped celery

  1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced

  1 to 1¼ pounds boneless lamb or beef shoulder or neck, cut into 1-inch cubes

  1 tablespoon sweet paprika or 2 teaspoons ground cumin

  2 teaspoons ground black pepper

  1 teaspoon ground turmeric or ¼ teaspoon crumbled saffron strands

  1 (3-inch) stick cinnamon or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  1 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)

  ¼ to ½ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

  ¼ teaspoon cayenne (optional)

  1 tablespoon tomato paste

  5 cups (2 pounds) peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes

  7 cups water

  2 cups (14 ounces) dried chickpeas, soaked in water to cover for 8 hours and drained

  ¾ to 1 cup brown lentils

  1/3 cup all-purpose flour

  1 cup water

  About 1 teaspoon table salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  Ground black pepper to taste

  ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

  ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

  Juice of 2 lemons

  1. In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and garlic and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the meat, paprika, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, and, if using, coriander, ginger, and/or cayenne and stir for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir for 2 minutes.

  2. Drain the tomatoes and add the pieces, reserving the liquid, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the reserved tomato liquid, 7 cups water, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1½ hours.

  3. Add the lentils, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat, chickpeas, and lentils are tender, about 35 minutes. The soup may be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 4 days, then reheated.

  4. About 15 minutes before serving, dissolve the flour in 1 cup water. In a slow, steady stream, stir into the
soup. Add the salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the soup is slightly thickened and the raw flour taste disappears, about 15 minutes. Add the cilantro, parsley, and lemon juice.

  Harisa

  Harisa is a wheat berry or bulgur porridge, generally cooked overnight and served for Sabbath lunch.

  Origin: Middle East

  Other names: Arabic: haresa; Farsi: haleeme gusht, keshkek; Morocco: horisa, orissa.

  Since the advent of civilization, the diet of most residents of the Middle East and Mediterranean overwhelmingly consisted of grains, primarily in the form of porridges, breads, and beer. Barley was the predominant grain originally used, but by the Roman period various species of wheat supplanted it in breads and porridges. Plain gruel, rather boring day in and day out, could be enhanced with the addition of herbs, spices, sweeteners, or meat, as in two widespread Arabic dishes included in an anonymous thirteenth- century Moorish cookbook from Andalusia—asida (dairy porridge) and harisa (meat porridge). Both of these porridges were popular throughout much of the medieval Arab world. In thirteenth-century Spain, Jewish vendors commonly sold harisa from street corners on Fridays.

  Asida was a thick semolina porridge. Some versions were enriched with butter and sweetened with honey, sorghum, or date honey. In the Maghreb, it was also flavored with a hot chili sauce. Initially, sweet asida was primarily a festive dish, but in some locations it became a regular breakfast cereal.

  The Arabic word harisa or haris, from the Semitic haras (to break), refers to the method of pounding the cooked grains into a smooth porridge. It is not related in content or history to the Maghrebi chili paste of the same name. When the term harisa initially appeared in Mesopotamia nearly two millennia ago, it referred to a dish of any cooked cracked cereal, particularly barley but wheat eventually emerged as the preferred grain.

  When a group of Yemenite Jews visited the Umayyad Caliph Mu'awiya (founder of the first Arabic Islamic dynasty in 661 CE) in his capital of Damascus, the first question the ruler asked was whether they knew how to prepare the Jewish harisa, which he had sampled during a visit to Arabia. The visitors obliged by whipping up a batch of this Jewish specialty for the grateful ruler.

  Middle Eastern Jews devised their own distinctive form of harisa in conjunction with the Sabbath by slow-simmering cracked durum wheat berries or bulgur with lamb or, less frequently, beef, goose, or chicken—generally in a proportion of two-thirds wheat to one-third meat—along with some optional chopped onion, overnight in a sealed earthenware pot. Muslim harisa, on the other hand, was cooked relatively quickly and, therefore, the ingredients did not meld and infuse the dish. Just before serving, the bones were removed, the mixture was pounded into a creamy consistency by a non-Jewish maid or neighbor, and the final dish was sprinkled with ground cinnamon. There is also a vegetarian version served with samneh (clarified butter) and honey. Mizrachim compared harisa or al-harissa to the manna, which was pounded in a mortar and baked or stewed, and the dish therefore became symbolic for the Sabbath.Jewish-style harisa soon spread to many parts of the Islamic world. The Andalusian cookbook explains that there are a variety of harisa made from fatty veal, sheep, goose breasts or legs, or chicken, noting, "All these have a flavor and taste that is not like the others and have an attribute that the others do not have." The book also contains recipes for both a rice and bread crumb harisa. The recipe for wheat harisa directs, "Take good wheat and soak it in water. Then pound it in a wooden or stone mortar until it is free from husks. Then shake it and put the clean wheat in a pot with red meat and cover it with plenty of fresh water. Put it on a strong fire until it falls apart. Then beat it with the mallet very forcefully until it becomes blended and one part blends together with the other. Then pour on enough melted fresh fat to cover it and beat them together until they are mixed. When it seems that the fat begins to separate and remain on top, turn it onto a platter and recover it with salted fat. Dust it with ground cinnamon and use it as you please."

  In medieval Arabic markets, vendors (haraisiyyun) commonly sold bowls of steaming harisa boiled up in large cauldrons; home cooks reserved it for special occasions. When the dish reached England in the fourteenth century, it was renamed frumenty, from a Middle French word meaning "grain," and for the ensuing several centuries the porridge remained an important English food.

  Although the Jewish harisa has become less prominent in recent years, supplanted by the Sabbath hamin/adafina, many Middle Eastern Jews, especially Yemenites and Iraqis, still prepare various Saturday breakfast whole-wheat dishes called harisa; some are mashed, while others are vegetarian versions that leave the grains whole. In some instances, sugar is added at the table. Spinach or other seasonal greens might be mixed in. Potatoes are a relatively recent innovation. Indians garnish harisa with minced fresh ginger, green chilies, and cilantro. Many Moroccans from Spanish descent and those from Tangiers make a zesty Sabbath porridge from crushed durum wheat berries and red chilies. Non-Jewish cooks customarily still do the mashing, only now they usually use a food processor to achieve a creamy consistency. Kurds traditionally serve harisa on the Sabbath when the Torah portion of Beshalach, which contains the crossing of the Reed Sea during the exodus from Egypt, is read, due to the Hebrew phrase "b'Shabbat Shira lechem chitah (on the Sabbath of Song wheat bread)," the initials of which spell beshalach.

  (See also Hamin and Sabbath/Shabbat)

  Middle Eastern Sabbath Porridge (Harisa)

  6 to 8 servings

  [MEAT or PAREVE]

  3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  3 large yellow onions, chopped

  1 to 2 cloves garlic

  1 tablespoon paprika or 1½ to 3 teaspoons cayenne

  1 tablespoon granulated or brown sugar

  About 1¼ teaspoons table salt or 2½ teaspoons kosher salt

  About ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

  1½ to 2 pounds boneless lamb or beef chuck, cut into cubes (optional)

  1 pound lamb or beef marrow bones (optional)

  2¼ cups (1 pound) wheat berries, soaked in water to cover overnight and drained, or coarse bulgur

  About 2 quarts water

  1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in the garlic, paprika, sugar, salt, and pepper and stir for 1 minute. If using, stir in the meat and/or bones. Add the wheat berries and water to cover.

  2. Cover and cook over medium-low heat or in a 350°F oven for 1 hour.

  3. If necessary, add more water to cover. Tightly cover the pot. Place on a blech (a thin sheet of metal placed over the range top and knobs) over very low heat or in 225°F oven and cook overnight. Serve warm.

  Harissa

  Harissa is a spice paste based on chilies.

  Origin: Tunisia

  The Spanish occupied part of Tunisia from 1535 until the Turks conquered the region in 1574, introducing various New World produce, including chilies. During that time, harissa (from the Arabic "to break"), a scorching chili paste, originated in Tunisia, then subsequently spread throughout the Maghreb. A mixture of chilies is the predominant base. Caraway is commonly added in Tunisia, while cumin is preferred in Morocco. It is traditionally drizzled over a host of Tunisian and Moroccan dishes, including couscous, soups, vegetables, and salads. In Israel, harissa, called charif (fiery), became a common topping for falafel. Harissa should be used sparingly by the fainthearted.

  (See also Chili)

  Northwest African Chili Paste (Harissa)

  about 1 1/3 cups

  [PAREVE]

  5 ounces (about 18) assorted dried hot red chilies, such as 12 New Mexico/Anaheim chilies, 3 ancho or pasilla chilies, and 1 arbol, cayenne, cascabel, guajillo, or pequin chili; for more heat, increase the amount of the latter chilies

  4 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped

  About 1 teaspoon kosher salt or ½ teaspoon table salt

  2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

  Additional olive oil for covering the paste />
  1. Remove and discard the seeds and stems from the chilies. Cover the chilies with hot water and let soak until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain.

  2. In a blender or a food processor fitted with a metal blade, or using a mortar and pestle, puree the chilies, garlic, and salt. Add enough oil to make a smooth, thick paste. Transfer to a jar and cover with a thin layer of additional oil. Harissa keeps in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

  Hawaij

  Hawaij is a spice blend.

  Origin: Yemen

  The signature note to the cooking of Yemenite Jews is hawaij (Arabic meaning "what is needed" in the plural), a spice blend similar to the Indian garam masala across the Arabian Sea. As with other classic spice blends, there is no single recipe, but each family creates a unique combination. The predominant flavors are cumin and black pepper, while turmeric imparts a bright yellow color. Many versions also contain cardamom and coriander. Yemenites popularized hawaij in Israel, where it is widely available in stores and still made at home. In America, it is sometimes labeled "Israeli rub" or "Israeli seasoning spice mix." Hawaij is used as a dry rub for grilled chicken, fish, lamb, beef, and eggplant. It is added to tomato sauces, stews, and soups, such as fatoot (beef soup) or marak regel (foot soup), and harisa (Sabbath porridge).

  Yemenite Spice Mixture (Hawaij)

  about ¾ cup

  [PAREVE]

  ¼ cup cumin seeds

  2 tablespoons coriander seeds

  4 teaspoons green cardamom pods

  ¼ cup whole black peppercorns

  3 tablespoons ground turmeric

  Heat a dry, large, cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add the cumin, coriander, and cardamom and toast, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant and begin to color, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Add the pepper. In a mortar or spice grinder, grind into a powder. Add the turmeric. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 1 month.