Basbusa – Moroccan Semolina Cake

Although the cafe may not be the hippest hang-out in town , I have to hand it to my boss, Linda. Fifteen years in business and we do a slamming lunch rush almost every single day. Holidays are completely crazy (I’m already getting nervous about Shavuot), and we make almost every single thing from scratch. When you work with the same folks every day, cranking out orders and baked goods, it is inevitable that everyone will get to know each other pretty well, and fairly quickly.

The chef, Mali, whom I work alongside each day, is a fast-working, savvy veteran of the hotel-kitchen industry who has been running the cafe’s kitchen for 7 years. She is a trained pastry chef (our main commonality) as well as a savory chef, with surprising patience for her staff, and little for anyone else. She is also Moroccan, an identity which she carries like a flag, making more than a few comments about Ashkenazim and their tiresome palates, customs and social skills. Like a lone crusader of truths, she dispenses Moroccan folk-wisdom (and a great deal of Mali-isms) throughout her day, both amusing and confusing the staff (mainly me). Although I take her worldview with a grain of salt, her recipes are no joke. This family recipe for semolina cake is just one example of the kind of  wisdom I am glad to take from her, and am excited to share with others.

Mali’s Moroccan Basbusa Cake

This cake is also called one-one-one cake because most of the ingredients are in 1-cup quantities, which makes this recipe very easy to cut in half. Basically, this cake is a separated sponge, with a simple syrup poured over it right after it is removed from the oven. Because its ingredients are so straightforward, I think you could play around with flavors if you wanted to. Perhaps add some citrus zest to the batter, or almond/orange blossom water. 

For the cake:

6 eggs, separated

1 cup oil (Mali uses canola, I used half canola, half olive oil)

1 cup orange juice

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided (I used less, see below)

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 cup semolina

1 cup flour (I used half whole wheat)

pinch of salt (my addition)

for the syrup:

the syrup is essential!

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Make the cake:

In a large bowl, mix the 6 yolks with the oil, juice and one cup of sugar (I used about 1/2 a cup, instead). Add the flour, coconut, semolina and a pinch of salt and mix until just combined.

In a separate bowl, whip the whites until foamy, then add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/3 cup) SLOWLY, whipping as you add, until the whites have reached soft peaks.

Fold the whites into the batter (careful not to over-mix, or you will deflate your whites) and pour the batter into a wide, shallow, greased pan (I used a glass 9 x 13 inch pan, coated with Pam spray).

Bake at 170°C/350°F until golden brown and firm/springy to the touch ~ 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the sugar and water in a small pot for a few minutes.

When the cake comes out of the oven it may be very puffy, and almost higher than the pan. Very slowly and carefully pour the syrup over the entire cake, making sure it is getting distributed evenly.

Allow the cake to cool for a bit and the syrup to fully absorb before serving.

Weeknight Cake-making

It has taken a while, but I finally managed to get the electricity adapter I need to convert my US appliances for use in our apartment here in Jerusalem. I was beside myself with joy to turn on my mixer again for the first time, and was talking to my food processor, like a batty old lady, apologizing for keeping him in the cupboard for so long…

I had two immediate thoughts when I heard those little motors purr to life: devil’s food cake with strawberries & frosting, and walnut basil pesto.

It's the start of strawberry season here in Israel, and this year's crop is GORGEOUS

Elbowing my way to the basil

I used my favorite devil’s food cake recipe for the cake’s base, and a fantastic “marshmallow” frosting recipe that is dairy-free, smooth, silky deliciousness. For the pesto, I simply made my favorite dairy-free, free-form version which includes walnuts, lots of basil and some fruity, organic olive oil, delivered by our egg and honey man, Amnon.

Enjoy!

Super-spreadable Fluffy White Icing, adapted from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri

You need a little patience to make this swiss meringue recipe, but I promise it will pay off. The most important thing to remember is to whisk continuously, both while the meringue is over the bain-marie (simmering water) and once you pull it off the heat, until it has reached the desired texture. 

4 large egg whites

large pinch of salt

2/3 cup sugar (I use organic/natural sugar)

1/2 cup light corn syrup (do NOT grease your cup to help the corm syrup slide out! Your egg whites will not firm up if mixed with even a tiny drop of oil)

Half-fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Combine the whites, salt, sugar, and corn syrup in the bowl of an electric mixer (or any bowl, if you are using a hand-mixer — just make sure the bowl sits over the water, not in the water). Whisk ingredients by hand, just to combine.

Regulate the heat under the pan so that it boils gently and place the bowl on the pan. Whisk gently, just to keep the mixture moving, until it is hot (~130°F/55°C) and the sugar is dissolved. Place the bowl on the mixer and whip with the whisk attachment until the icing has cooled and becomes white and fluffy. It will look silky and will hold medium-firm peaks.

Polish poppy seed bread

Hello there and happy 2012. Although it was quite an adventure, I am more than glad to welcome a new year, which also happens to coincide with the one year mark since we left Boston (for reasons that seem crystal clear on some days, and a mite fuzzy on others).

Our new years weekend was full of delicious food and walks in the park, and I continue to be amazed at all the “relaxing” we manage to cram in to a one day weekend here in Israel.

Auralee and her friend, Moriya in the Wohl Rose Garden

mashing chickpeas for hummus

Before I share the the recipe for the delicious poppy seed bread that we enjoyed on Shabbat and all week long, there are a couple of quick housekeeping issues I’d like to mention:

1. Sybil Kaplan, the author of The Wonders of the Wonder Pot, has contacted me via the blog, and offered copies of the cookbook for those who have requested. Her e-mail is: syb1023@aol.com

2. Ironically, after a year of bemoaning the absence of Earth Balance Vegan Spread (my favorite butter substitute, available only in the States), I have been contacted by someone who is part of the campaign against the use of palm oil (one of the main ingredients in Earth Balance), who is trying to raise awareness of all the nasty effects of palm oil cultivation in rain forests around the world. Take some time to research this issue if you are an Earth Balance-lover, and here is a link they asked me to pass along : http://www.change.org/petitions/save-the-orangutans-now#

And now onto the Makoweic!

This recipe, which is similar to babka or strudel, was adapted from about.com

Polish Poppy Seed Bread (makoweic), makes one very large roll, or two small ones

1 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

1 cup warm milk (no more than 110°F, or you will kill your yeast)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs (med-smallish)

2 oz. (4 Tbs.) melted butter

For the filling:

1 cup ground poppy seeds (the place in the shuk where I bought mine ground them for me, but you can use a coffee/spice grinder)

1/2 cup sugar (I used less, maybe 1/3 cup)

3 oz. softened butter

1/2 cup hot milk

1 tsp lemon zest

Make the dough:

In a small heatproof bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm milk.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and eggs. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups warm milk, butter and yeast mixture. With the paddle attachment, or by hand, beat until smooth. Dough will be sticky at this point.

Scrape dough into a clean, greased bowl. Sprinkle the top with a little flour and cover. Let stand in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, make the filling: combine all filling ingredients and mix very well.

Punch down dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Shape dough into a rectangle (or two smaller rectangles, if making 2 loaves).

Spread the filling over the rectangle(s), leaving some room on all sides. Roll up like a jelly roll and seal the ends.

Place on a greased sheet pan and allow to rise again for 45 minutes or so.

Brush with additional butter and bake at 350°F until golden brown ~45-60 minutes.

Things that start with chocolate chip

I just made my first traditional banana bread since we arrived in Israel last December. I am not sure what the significance of that is precisely, but I know it’s big. Banana bread was a staple at our house when we were living in Boston, something I made at least once a month and sometimes every other week. There have been a lot of standby-recipes that I haven’t been making here in Israel, some have been out of rotation because of their hard-to-find ingredients, while others have just felt…. out of place. Chocolate chip banana bread made its comeback tonight with the help of goat yogurt and canola oil (substitutions for the vegan margarine I used in the States), and it is completely delicious.

The week before last, another old staple that I’ve been avoiding also made an astoundingly brief appearance in our kitchen (Jeff and I both proclaimed them “dangerously good”) — chocolate chip cookies. Olive oil was the shortening that replaced Earth Balance Margarine, based off a great recipe my friend Liz sent over from Organically Cooked.

And muffins have resumed their rightful place as the breakfast food of choice in our house, with Auralee helping more than ever to sift, beat, stir, and lick the bowl. We are currently on a mission to “healthify” the cafe’s recipe for chocolate chip and apple cinnamon, respectively, with terrific results thus far — more on those in a future post.

Enjoy this simple and easy to adapt recipe. Play with it, and make it yours!

Everything-New-is-Old-Again Chocolate Chip Banana Bread 

Makes one 9 x 5 inch banana bread 

2 large eggs

1/2 cup goat yogurt (feel free to use cows’ milk yogurt or buttermilk)

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup sugar (I use cane sugar)

3 medium, ripe banans, well mashed

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/3 cup mini dark chocolate chips.

Mix the wet ingredients including the mashed bananas, plus the sugar, in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients, being careful not to over-mix, and fold in the chocolate chips. Bake in a greased 9 x 5 pan at 325°F for one hour until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If humanly possible, cool on a rack before slicing.

Learning the Latke

When I was growing up we weren’t big latke-makers in our family. My childhood memories of potato pancake-eating are blurry — a soggy, cold latke on a plastic plate after my school’s Hannuka concert, a mini-latke here or there at a synagogue event. To be honest, I did not begin making my own latkes until 5 or 6 years ago and quickly discovered that there were actually many more options than the usual potato-onion-and-salt- meet-hot-oil, varitety. After several years I felt confident that I had made up for my lack of latke-practice in my youth and was confidently and cluelessly serving up mediocre latkes to family and friends, without much thought. Until now.

This Hannuka, working at the cafe, I’ve gotten the chance to participate in a great deal more latke-making than in all my past years combined and have seen what goes into getting a consistent product that our customers are pretty crazy about.  I’m not saying that makes me an expert, but I have learned some useful tips that I thought I’d share:

1. You will never manage to squeeze all the moisture out of your potatoes, so just do the best you can and move on. In past years, I’ve squeezed, wrung, and used a half roll of paper towels trying to dry my grated potatoes — and the darn latkes still didn’t always stick together in the end. Give your grated potatoes a squeeze before you add them to mixing bowl, and then again, right before they go into the frying pan. If you follow the rest of these rules, that oughta do it.

2. Ignore the no-flour rule. Some of my go-to cookbooks are just dead wrong when they say that adding flour to your latkes will make them dense or heavy. A little flour (half a cup per 6 or so potatoes) adds body and helps soak up some of that excess moisture. Obviously you can make latkes without flour as well, but it certainly won’t harm them, and may make it a little easier to get a uniform product.

3. Salt is not optional. Potatoes are bland. Try biting into one and you’ll see. Latkes in their original form have just three or four ingredients. Without salt, you’ve got yourself an oily, golden paperweight.

4. FINELY grate your potatoes, onions and whatever other vegetables you put into your latkes. The large holes on your grater are going to give you pieces of potato that are too big to distribute evenly throughout the latke mixture. Using a food processor or the small holes of a box grater will give you the size you need.

5. If you are not using eggs, use another binding agent. Cornstarch works great.

6. OIL, oil, oil, oil. The foods we eat on Hannuka are fried because we are celebrating the oil in the temple burning for 8 days and nights. Latkes will not fry up properly in a pan coated with pan-spray or a shallow layer of canola. You need inches of oil here and it needs to be hot. Latkes should take a couple of minutes to become golden brown, on each side. Test one to see if your oil is the right temp, and don’t forget to squeeze ‘em right before sliding them into the pan.

7. Drain on paper bags. As with all fried foods, you will maintain the latkes’ crispiness if you let paper bags, as opposed to paper towels, soak up the oil after frying.

Happy Hannuka and happy frying!

The frying season

At work, we’ve been up to our ears in fried potato pancakes (levivot) and doughnuts filled with jam, chocolate,and dulce de leche (sufganiyot). Orders of 40 or 50 levivot have not been uncommon and I can’t blame the folks, you gotta taste these to believe ‘em.

Linda, the owner of the cafe, holding a plate of Mali's A-MAZING levivot.

At home, I’ve been trying some new recipes from around the web, some of which are not traditional Hanukka foods but may become so in our family, like Sarah’s kurdish carrot fritters.

I added some cumin, fennel and coriander to her recipe, and though they did not look quite as beautiful as Sarah’s, we gobbled them up.

I also loved Liz’s post on traditional Moroccan doughnuts (recipe included).

And these banana fritters from Dishing Up Nirvana, are on the weekend agenda without a doubt. They look unbelievably good.

Wishing you all a Happy Hanukka! Enjoy this sweet, joyful, and delicious holiday.

Up, down, pancakes

Today I was talking to a friend about the emotional ride that comes with moving countries. Even if you have done it before, and you know that there will be unknowns, ups, downs, excitement, loneliness, disappointment, elation, frustration, happy days and sad days, not knowing what will trigger all those emotions makes it feel as if someone else is driving this car. Nearly a year into the move and with a relatively stable day-to-day, it still turns out that everything can seem great one week while the next week finds us dragging our feet (me), watching too many silly television shows (also me), and missing absurdly small things like Earth Balance Buttery Vegan Spread or the way a certain hibiscus looked on a living room window sill, framed by homemade green curtains and the sharp autumn sunlight (okay, all of these are me). It’s been that kind of week.

Having two very wonderful constants does help create a sense of home, wherever we are. And so do pancakes with syrup or jam, midweek, made in my favorite cast-iron pan, and served to my little bean who is late to school as a result of our indulgent breakfasting.

Whole Grain Pancakes from the Gourmet Cookbook, adapted slightly.

I realize that separating and whipping egg whites first thing in the morning (especially by hand, as is the case for me) is not everyone’s idea of a fun way to start the day. I promise that folding the fluffy whites into the batter does make a wonderful difference in the pancakes’ texture, as does the medium- to coarsely-ground corn meal. These pancakes are both light and hearty and, if you are judicious with the syrup, I don’t see any reason why they can’t be considered a healthy breakfast. 

1 1/4 whole wheat flour

1/3 cornmeal

3/4 Tbs cane sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups soy/rice milk, mixed with 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, set aside to curdle for a few minutes

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside.

Whisk the egg yolks, curdled soy milk, and oil together in a large mixing cup or small bowl. Mix into dry ingredients.

Beat the egg whites in a separate, clean bowl until the just hold stiff peaks (even soft peaks is fine, you don’t want it to be too difficult to incorporate them into the batter). Gently fold the whites into the batter, trying to not allow them to deflate too much as you do so.

Heat a cast iron or other non-stick skillet and lightly grease. Fry pancakes over medium heat for a few minutes on each side (flip when you see bubbles just forming on the edges and a firming-up overall). Enjoy!

Soups for thought

Although, for such a small cafe, we have a fairly extensive menu at Belinda, there are two items on our menu that are the back bone of the cafe’s business: soups and quiches. Every day we have at least two or three freshly made vegan soups. People always ask (for reasons of health and kashrut) if they contain cream or milk and are surprised when we tell them that none of our soups are made with dairy. Although I can’t give away any recipes, I will share a couple of soup-making secrets that contribute to their deliciousness.

Roi, serving a bowl of minestrone

1. Fresh ingredients: We get fresh produce delivered to the cafe every morning, and what looks best often determines what Mali (head chef) decides to turn into soup. No limp or frozen veggies, and absolutely no powders, bouillons, or artificial flavor enhancers. 

2. A good base: All of our soups are made with nearly-caramelized onions. We gently and slowly saute a large batch of onions in a lot of oil  each evening and use them in our soups the next day. They give the soups a wonderful depth of flavor.

3. All or partial puree: Nearly all the soups we serve (with the exception of the vegetable, minestrone and one or two others) are either partially or fully pureed. Pureeing part of the soup creates a rich body and the illusion of a cream-base.

4. Extras: Don’t be shy with the salt, pepper and other seasonings, and use coconut, (unsweetened) soy or almond milk if you really need an added cream-element.

Here are some excellent soup recipes from around the web (okay, they’re bloggers I know and love…), and a couple of my favorites from this blog as well. Stay warm & have a happy winter!

Miriam’s soup trio post, from her blog, Israeli Kitchen. Three easy, vegetarian/vegan soup recipes; jerusalem artichoke, tomato mint, and lentil soup, from one of our blogger evenings on the town.

Liz’s orange-lentil soup, an easy and delicious variation on a vegetarian classic. It was tough to pick just one off her awesome blog, so while you’re there, have a look around.

This sweet potato and cilantro soup from Molly, is wishful thinking for me, since we cannot get chipotles in adobo sauce here. Looks delicious.

Pumpkin soup with Thai curry, a recipe I adapted slightly from 101cookbooks.

This borscht recipe was an unexpected hit last year, and caused me to shed my childhood aversion to the Russian staple.

Behave

I know it’s been done before, and probably better, funnier, and more succinctly than I am about to do it, but after 18 years (yikes!) working on and off in the food and retail industry, I think I am entitled to a little humor-filled venting, cleverly disguised as a “Customer’s Guide to good behavior.” Honestly, sometimes I just have to laugh or I’d cry in this business…. People who are hungry, need their coffee, or are looking for the perfect jeans/sweater/floral arrangement/gift for their mother-in-law are notoriously prone to bad behavior. Because I have been working the front of the cafe on Tuesdays (until now — we just hired a new full-time waitress, bless her) I have recently been reminded of all the frustrations I faced during my years as a front-of-house-gal and salesgirl. Remember kids, there is a special place in the next life for folks who treat those who serve them badly. Don’t be that person.

Ari’s rules for customer behavior, brought to you by Tuesday and the letter F

1. Communicate clearly. A waitress/saleswoman is not there to help you work through your feelings about Greek salad or the color blue. If you need a few moments to decide, politely tell her that she can return in a couple minutes, instead of making her stand there awkwardly while you work through this important process.

2. If you are in a rush… don’t make it someone else’s problem. If your favorite morning drink takes more than 3 or 4 words to describe, you may want to make it yourself, at home, or save it for a leisurely coffee date with your friend/loved one. Ditto for breakfast orders.

3. Be considerate. Although clearing your plates or picking up clothes off a dressing room floor (or, even better, off the hooks) are standard parts of working in the biz, cleaning up dirty bandaids, soiled  diapers, chewed gum, or any other carriers of bodily fluids should not be your waitress/salesgirl’s job.

4. Respect the house rules. There are reasons why there are minimums for credit cards and why a place may not accept checks. Be prepared and carry a little cash when you’re out and about. Remember cash?

5. Use nice words. Please and thank you go such a long way. If you feel like you are giving respect and consistently not getting it from a place you frequent, consider simply not giving them your business. Unless of course they make the most kick-ass sandwiches in the free world, in which case just deal with it — you can’t have everything.

6. Watch this.

The week in food

It was a strange week, being so far away from the ultimate fall holiday — fall being my favorite season in New England, and Thanksgiving being the culmination of that crisp, delicious time of year. Life in Israel is about as normal as it gets at the moment, with the craziness of the high holidays well behind us and Hannuka still weeks away. Things at the cafe are steady, stable, normal and routine — which feels great (although we are about to have a long-time waiter leave us for the cleaner air of Tiberias. If you know anyone who loves food, speaks Hebrew and English fluently, and wants to work full-time with a great staff for decent pay, let me know!) I have been finding ways to fit cooking in at home, although sometimes it does feel a little redundant to close up the kitchen at work and then come home, pull out my cutting board and start chopping….

Some of the week’s eats:

Carrot Coconut Milk Curry Soup, from Gourmet. This is one of my favorite carrot soup recipes and we made it at the cafe this week. The recipe is actually for a chilled soup, but I think it is better hot. As you will see, they call for lime juice, which is hard to find in Israel — we substituted lemon juice, with great results.

My favorite oven-baked brown rice with the addition of apples, pumpkin, onions and mushrooms. Just saute some chopped onion with the pumpkin (cut into chunks), add chopped apples and halved mushrooms and saute until everything is slightly softened. Put the mixture on top of the raw rice (I used long grain this time), add the water as the recipe indicates, cover with foil and bake for the allotted time. Top with chopped walnuts and shaved pecorino.

Baked apples, from Simply Recipes. (I did mine without sugar.)

Cornmeal Hotcakes

And some things we’ll be eating very soon:

Coconut Pumpkin Bread – with a few of my own adaptations for what we have available here.

Vegetarian Shepard’s Pie, from What She’s Having

Lebanese Lemon and Vanilla Cake from Bon Appetit with thanks to Amy for the link!