Mizrahi/Sephardic Hanukkah Menu ?

[junglekitte]

Hi everyone! I've promised to cook a fabulous Hanukkah menu Mizrahi style (Middle East/North Africa) for a party of about 10 people and am looking for creative ideas from others! Anyone here do that before or have any interesting suggestions for the holiday? The family is Ashkenazi but they want to twist the holiday this year and have some different food for a change!

Any ideas welcome!

[wolfe]

Here are some suggestions. If nothing else you need to make bimuelos in whatever spelling you want.
http://www.bnaibrith.ca/article.php?id=60
http://homecooking.about.com/od/dessertrecipes/r/bldes11.htm
http://www.bonappetit.com/dishes/hanu...

[scubadoo97]

fried kibbeh

[Nancy Berry]

http://www.kitchenlink.com/mf/21/6281

http://www.cookeatshare.com/recipes/browse/cuisine/african/occasion/hanukkah

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/21/6284

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=4856

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=76604

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=125809

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/hanukkah

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/21/6284

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/menu/views/sephardic_hanukkah_eight

http://www.cookinglight.com/entertaining/holidays-occasions/hanukkah-for-moderns-00400000034776/

http://www.jewz.com/cuisine/food1.php?text=library/Hanukkah_Oliveoil.txt

http://chanukah.spike-jamie.com/disk1...

Enjoy!!

[Julesong]

I have a Sepharic cookbook - "Sephardic Flavors" by Joyce Goldstein - but I have to admit to have not used it to cook anything, yet.

The Hanukkah menu suggested in it is:

Keftes de Prasa (Leek Fritters)
Skaltsounia (Fried Turnovers)
Pipirizas con Queso (Cheese Stuffed Peppers)
Pescado Frito (Fried Fish with Garlic Mayonnaise or Egg and Lemon Sauce)
Crochette de Patate Alla Siciliana (Sicilian Potato Croquettes)
Fritelle de Hanukkah (Hanukkah Fritters)

Let me know if you'd like to see any of those recipes.

[realhound]

I'd like to see the Pipirizas con Queso and/or the Keftes de Prasa if you wouldn't mind. Thanks!

[Julesong]

Okee, I'll get on typing those up for you... :)

[Julesong]

*** Pipirizas con Queso (Cheese Stuffed Peppers) ***

Based on recipe from "Sephardic Flavors" by Joyce Goldstein.

8 large green bell peppers or 16 smaller green peppers or 8 poblano chiles
4 eggs, divided
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 cups farmer cheese or 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese, or 1 1/2 cups fromage blanc
3/4 cup grated Kashkaval cheese or 3/4 cup Gruyere cheese
2 to 3 Tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
all purpose flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
vegetable oil for frying
tomato based sauce, optional

Preheat the broiler on your oven and broil the peppers on a cookie sheet, turning occasionally, until they are charred almost black on all sides and are softened. (You can also blacken them over the open flame on a gas stove.) Place the charred peppers into a Ziplock bag or tightly covered container and let them steam themselves in the residual heat from the cooking for 15 minutes. Carefully scrape off the charred peel with a knife, but do not rinse them in water or you'll lose much of the nicely roasted flavor.

Carefully cut a slit along the side of each pepper and remove the seeds.

Lightly beat 2 of the eggs in a bowl. Add the cheeses and parsley and stir well.

Stuff the peppers with the egg and cheese mixture. Spread the flour on a shallow dish or plate and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add the vegetable oil to a large, deep sauté pan or pot to about 1/2-inch deep and heat to high.

In a shallow bowl, lightly beat the remaining 2 eggs.

Dredge the stuffed peppers in the flour mixture, dip in the beaten eggs, and carefully place in the hot oil in batches and fry, turning once to brown on all sides, for about 5 minutes.

Transfer the peppers with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate to drain extra oil, then to serving platter and serve immediately with your favorite tomato-based sauce (if using).

[Julesong]

*** Keftes de Prasa (Leek Fritters) ***

Based on recipe from "Sephardic Flavors" by Joyce Goldstein. Suggested by Goldstein as a Hanukkah dish. This mixture of leeks, bread, and eggs can also be baked as a gratin.

3 lbs leeks
4 matzohs or slices of rustic bread with crusts removed
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp salt, plus additional to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
matzoh meal, as needed
vegetable oil for frying
lemon wedges

Carefully clean leeks; cut off the stemmy bottoms and the dark green leaves, so you end up with white and light green parts only.

Remove loose layers from the leeks, cut them in half lengthwise, and then across into 1/2-inch pieces.

Fill your sink with cold water, add the leek pieces, and stir them around loosely in the water to make sure any/all dirt is removed. Drain well in a colander. (You should end up with about 6 cups of chopped leeks.)

Place the leeks in a saucepan, add water to cover and a little salt. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce temperature to low and simmer until the leeks are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Drain cooked leeks well in a colander, squeezing out any excess liquid. (You will now have about 2 cups of cooked leeks.)

Soak the matzohs or crustless bread slices in water. Squeeze dry.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, salt, pepper, and nuts (if using), and stir well. Add the cooked leeks and soaked matzoh and combine well. If the mixture is too moist, add additional matzoh meal a bit at a time until it holds together.

Add the vegetable oil to a large, deep sauté pan or pot to about 1 inch deep and heat to high.

Place more matzoh meal on a plate. Form leek mixture into patties about 2 inches in diameter and about 1/2 inch thick. (You can also form all the patties at once, if you like, before frying.) Dip both sides of the patties in the matzoh meal.

Fry the patties in the hot oil in batches, turning once, until golden on both sides. Transfer the fritters with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate to drain extra oil, then to serving platter and serve immediately with the lemon wedges.

Note: the fritters can be fried up ahead of time and kept warm in a 250 degree F oven for about 30 minutes before serving, if you like. They can also be served with a tomato-based sauce.

[Julesong]

PS: both of these sound really tasty! :) I'm especially fond of leeks, so I might be trying that one, soon.

[cheesecake17]

Meat or dairy? I can give you tons of ideas for either. My grandma usually makes a meat meal, but friends of mine make dairy so that they can serve ice cream for dessert.

[junglekitte]

Either or really! Just your best recipes and I can plan my menu around that! :D

[cheesecake17]

dairy- spinach salad, green salad, baked noodle dish (lasagna, baked ziti, veggie ziti), roasted winter vegetables, latkes, eggplant in phyllo dough casserole. dessert- ice cream sundae bar and decorate your own cookies

meat- green salad, israeli salad, avocado salad, brisket, mushroom rice, string beans, mechshe (stuffed vegetable usually squash or tomato in tamarind sauce), roasted potatoes. dessert- homemade biscotti and parve ice cream + decorate your own cookies

[serenarobin]

Try the borekas, pastellas, and carrot salad recipes posted by boreka boy http://is-that-my-bureka.blogspot.com/
His recipes are awesome.

[classylady]

I agree that boreka boy website is fantastic. Did not find anything for Hanukkah.