nosh Archives - Splash of Sherri

******************THROWBACK THURSDAY***************

To when I made a hamantashen ice cream sandwich!

Hamantashen + Ice Cream = The most delicious Hamantashen Ice Cream Sandwich… IT’S A MATCH! Everyone calm down, I’m not a real matchmaker; I’m more of a food matchmaker. I guess I could start with a corny joke like a hamantashen and a scoop of ice cream walk into a bar, yada – yada – yada… ba dum bump! But I can feel my family start to twinge, so I’ll put my comedic career on hold for a little while.

Yes, you heard me right and oh yes I put ice cream in the middle of my hamantashen! I hear you all out there judging me, with your “Oh no you didn’t.” But, oh YES I did. I know hamantashen can be a rich cookie with it’s pie filling, and chocolate but when you stop and think about it for a minute, it really sounds good doesn’t it? We put ice cream on pie. Isn’t hamantashen just a triangular little pie? Plus, didn’t 2016 bring us the babka ice cream sandwich from Russ and Daughters? And, what about the black and white cookie ice cream sandwich I recently saw on Instagram? If you ask me, hamantashen was just waiting for its turn to be asked to the dance. Hamantashen and ice cream, let’s tango!

How did I decide to make an ice cream sandwich using hamantashen? This happy union came about after trying a new hamantashen recipe this year. On Tuesday, the hamantashen softened up a bit because of the cherry pie filling. When I ate one, something just screamed out “HEY, HOW ABOUT A LITTLE ICE CREAM WITH THAT?” See what I did there with the caps? Obviously the trick is to have the right dough and filling for it. If you read yesterday’s post, you know I have tried quite a few different recipes in my time so you can trust me on this. For example, I make a cream cheese dough which tastes similar to rugalach, ice cream would not be a good match for that.

This recipe is adapted from the 2^nd Avenue Deli Cookbook. It’s a hamantashen that definitely stands alone. When it is first baked, it is crisp on the outside and tender on the inside and is absolutely delicious. On the second day, it softened a bit and in my opinion making it even better! The addition of ice cream puts it over the edge and turns it into an elegant dessert that’s so much fun for Purim. Plus, I don’t know about you but I absolutely love anything with almonds in it, and this has a double dose. I hope you will try this with your favorite ice cream and let me know what you think! Happy Purim everyone! Enjoy!
The recipe makes 4 dozen cookies using a 3” round cookie cutter, or 24 ice cream sandwiches

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup finely ground almond flour* (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
3 extra large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 stick softened unsalted butter (or margarine)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
sanding sugar
egg wash**
Cherry pie filling (or other pie filling of your choice)

Good quality ice cream
Sliced almonds (I used honey toasted almonds from Trader Joes)
Chocolate or caramel sauce (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)

Directions
In a large blow, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add the almond flour and mix well then set aside.

In another large bowl, cream sugar and butter with mixer until blended. Add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract and mix well. Add the almond and flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix just until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides. If the dough is sticky, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your fingers. I did not do this step; I found the dough fine and then wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight. The original recipe says you can bake it without refrigerating first.

When you are ready to bake, position the racks to the upper and lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Roll the dough to a thickness of about 3/16”. My trick is to use paint sticks you get at the hardware store. I cover them with plastic wrap and use them as guides. I like that better than the rings you can put on your rolling pin. Using a 3” round cookie cutter, cut circles of dough and place them on the cookie sheets.

When all of the dough has been cut place about 1 ½ teaspoon of filling in the center of the circle. Brush the perimeter with the egg wash or a little water. Now you can either use the pinch method as I do and pinch 3 corners together, or use the folding method where you flap one side, then the next two till you form a triangle.

Brush the tops of the cookies with the egg wash. I sprinkled mine with some sanding sugar for that extra sparkle and crunch. Bake the hamantashen for 18 to 20 minutes (checking after 15) or until the cookies are golden brown. To ensure even browning, rotate the pans top to bottom and front to back. When done, remove from the oven and let them rest for 2 to 3 minutes on the cookie sheet then remove to a wire rack.

Now to make the match… Place one hamantashen bottom side down, add a scoop of ice cream of your choice, top with another hamantashen top side up so you can see the beautiful topping and eat it carefully. Of course you can place it bottom side up as well – make it your own. It’s so yummy it won’t last long! If you want to plate it, dress up the plate with some chocolate sauce, maybe some whipped cream, and almonds. However you choose to eat it, it’s a match made in heaven!

* I used Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour which I found in my local grocery. King Arthur makes a great one as well which you can purchase online. You can also make almond flour in a food processor, here is a how to link.

**For the egg wash I use the whole egg and put in a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, and a splash of water.

Yes, I’m a copycat – but only when it comes to food! My Israeli couscous with root vegetables and my new favorite spice Baharat is case in point. It’s so delicious I can’t make it enough. So who am I copying you ask? There is a great vegetarian restaurant here in Columbus called Little Eater. To say I love the food there is an understatement. The flavor profiles they use are so creative and always delicious combinations you wouldn’t ordinarily expect. Among my favorites are the butternut squash and goat cheese sandwich with onion jam, the sweet potato soup, chocolate chip cookies, and this root vegetable couscous. I literally have cravings for it and decided I needed to make it at home.

Israeli couscous is pasta which is toasted instead of dried and it has a nice chew like orzo. It is sometimes called pearl couscous because it looks like little pearls which make it such a pretty addition to any meal or buffet table. It’s also a nice change from rice or potatoes. I add it on top of salads, serve it as a side, place a bed of it under fish, chicken, lamb or stew, or just eat in a bowl as a little nosh. The ratio of vegetables to couscous in this dish makes it very appealing. If you are trying to cut down carbs it’s a way more than 50/50 in favor of vegetables which you can see in the photo. Plus, it’s very quick and easy even with all vegetable dicing. Start to finish you will be done in less than an hour. Sounds good right?

I have to get off topic for a minute to share this tip with you… a few months ago I took a vegetable butchery class at Little Eater with the owner Cara Mangalini. She shared a wealth of knowledge on how to select, prepare, store, and cook vegetables. One of my favorite takeaways was the concept of using nut oils. She used walnut oil in one of the salads we sampled and you could taste something different which may not have been obvious, but it added something so special to the dish. I have just started to incorporate walnut and almond oil in some of my cooking as a finishing oil, or in dressing and strongly recommend you try it.

Another thing she suggested was to try new vegetables and prepare them in a way that is unexpected. Her couscous has rutabagas and currents which is an amazing combination. As much as I like them, unfortunately, I don’t think rutabagas like me very much. Given that I love parsnips (and they me!), I thought I would use them in my recipe. Plus, I think parsnips are an underappreciated vegetable so it’s time to give it a try if you haven’t already. As for the spice, that was easy. Since my trip to Israel last summer, one of my new favorite spices is Baharat* and I thought it would be a nice combination with the root vegetables because it has a nice warming flavor with notes of cinnamon. Baharat, which literally means spices, is an Israeli spice which if you think of as similar to pie spice with a kick and a little exotic, you’ll at least have a frame of reference.

When creating or recreating a recipe it’s always trial and error. I write down all of the ingredients, guess the ratio and give it a try. It took a few tries, but I just kept adding more and more vegetables until I came up with a version I absolutely love and think you will too. Of course, if you love rutabagas, swap them out with the parsnip.

Oh, and Cara, if you are reading this, Thank you for bringing your vegetable forward restaurant to Columbus! I’ll be in soon for another butternut squash sandwich and of course, a chocolate chip cookie. But I’ll be making my version of your couscous at home. Any Columbus peeps reading this, make a trip there, you’ll be glad you did! But in the meantime, go buy some Israeli couscous! Enjoy!

Makes 8 to 10 side dish servings

Ingredients
1 ¼ pound carrots peeled and diced small ½”
1 ¼ pound parsnips peeled and diced small ½”
¾ cup whole roasted almonds chopped**
½ cup cranberries chopped
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley
1 tablespoon fig balsamic vinegar (or other fruity balsamic)
1 teaspoon Baharat
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
For the couscous:
1 cup dry Israeli couscous (also called pearl couscous)
1 and 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt

Heat your oven to 425 degrees. Dice all of your vegetables into a small dice and place into a 5qt bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place on 2 sheet pans. When roasting, never crowd the pan as the vegetables will steam instead of roasting. Place in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes checking on them after 10 minutes and toss them around. You want them to lightly roast but still have a little bite to them.

While the vegetables are roasting prepare the couscous: In a small pot, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil with ½ teaspoon salt. While waiting for the water to boil, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-low heat in a 3 quart saucepan. Add the dry couscous and stir around to coat in the olive oil. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes to lightly toast the couscous. Add the boiling water to the couscous very slowly and cover the pot. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the water is absorbed, and the pearls are tender.

While everything is roasting and boiling: Chop the almonds and set aside. Chop the cranberries and set aside. Mince the parsley and set aside.

When the vegetables are ready it’s time to assemble everything. Into a large bowl, add the couscous and vegetables (use a spatula and try to get some of the roasting oil as well), parsley, cranberries, almonds, Baharat, balsamic and toss. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking.

*If you click on the word Baharat anywhere in this post it will take you to a website which has some history, cooking tips, and different spice combinations of Baharat. I brought some back from Israel with me, but have also found it at a couple of local groceries, World Market and Whole Foods. Each one tastes a little different, but of the 4 I have tried, all were very good – just different.

**Toasting almonds (or any nut) is very easy. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Put the almonds on a sheet pan and place in the center of your oven for about 5 to 10 minutes. Once you start to smell them, they are done. Make sure to keep an eye on them. You can also buy them already roasted.

Splash of Sherri

Tag: nosh

israeli couscous with Root Vegetables and my new Favorite Spice Baharat