Recipes
Beetroot latkes: the perfect recipe for Thanksgivukkah
The idea of Thanksgivukkah - a once-in-a-lifetime simultaneous celebration of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah - has really caught on. Caterer Elly Curshen of Bristol's Pear Café comes up with her perfect starter.
Elly writes: "This year, the first day of Hanukkah and the American holiday of Thanksgiving fall on the same day.
Because the Gregorian and Jewish calendars are worked out in different ways, and have slightly different average year lengths, over time they drift out of sync with each other. Thanksgiving Day will not fall entirely within the eight days of Hanukkah again in any of our lifetimes (It has been calculated that, if the Jewish calendar is not revised, Thursday, November 28 will not fall during Hanukkah again for another 77,798 years!).
Both these holidays are basically incredibly food-centred so for a once in a lifetime event, what do you serve?
North American/Thanksgiving favourites such as pumpkin, cranberries, sweet potatoes and turkey can happily appear on Thanksgivukkah menus alongside the Hanukkah essentials.
According to my grandma Angela, for a traditional Hanukkah dinner latkes [think of them as Jewish hash browns!] and doughnuts are a must. Anything else is up to you'. Basically the Jewish festival of lights calls for fried stuff. Suits me.
Due to it being such a rare occasion, celebrating Thanksgivukkah is a chance to create new 'classics' - there's no right or wrong here. Doughnuts with a spiced pumpkin filling? Sweet potato latkes with apple sauce? Turkey with challah stuffing? YES to all of it!
Here are a couple of ideas if you fancy celebrating. Any excuse for fried things and booze, in my opinion.
Beetroot latkes with horseradish sour cream, smoked salmon, red onion and rocket
Makes 12 canapé-sized latkes, or 6 bigger starter-sized ones.
Peel and grate a largish raw beetroot and a largish raw potato using a food processor or by hand.
Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. When you think you're done, squeeze the rest out. You want the mixture as dry as possible.
Put into a large bowl and add salt, pepper, one beaten egg and enough cornflour so that you have a stiffish mixture. About half a cup as a guide.
Leave for 10 to 20 minutes and then using a spoon, dollop piles of the mixture into hot oil, 1cm deep. You can make them mini, canapé sized or larger - don't go bigger than the size of your palm though or they won't cook through.
Flatten them down in the pan and flip over when well browned. Cook on both sides then drain on kitchen roll. Serve hot, topped with horseradish flavoured sour cream, smoked salmon, very finely sliced red onion and a bit of rocket.
Variations:
* Use sweet potato instead of the beetroot/potato mix. This won't need to be squeezed as much as it is naturally a lot drier. Add some very finely diced red onion to tone down the sweetness and season very well with salt and black pepper.
* Try topping with apple sauce (chopped Bramley apple, a little water, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, a little sugar, slowly cooked down over a low heat) and sour cream.
And how about making doughnuts and dusting them with granulated sugar and the traditional pumpkin pie spice blend (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice) while still hot? My friend Sig (aka Signe Johansen of Scandilicious) has a great recipe. Just make up your own spiced sugar mix to taste.
What to drink with the latkes: Fried stuff calls for chilled fino sherry in Elly's and my book but I know that's not to everyone's taste. A sparkling wine like cava or prosecco or even champagne would be great as would a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or the Barkan Fusion White 2012, a zesty blend of Sauvignon, Colombard and Chardonnay from Israel (£9.49 Marks & Spencer) FB
A Champagne (or sparkling wine) tasting and Russian-style smoked salmon and 'caviar' feast
In the run-up Christmas there’s not much time for time-consuming dinner parties so this tasting and light supper is a fun and indulgent way to entertain good friends. Ask each of them to bring a chilled* bottle of bubbly - Champagne or otherwise - provide a couple of your own, cover up the bottles and taste them ‘blind’. Great fun for a start to see who can spot the ‘real’ Champagne (don’t worry if you can’t - many professionals are fooled by these kind of exercises) and a delicious way to get into festive mood.
I’d include a well known brand such as Moet et Chandon or Veuve Clicquot, a ‘grower’s’ Champagne (I like Serge Mathieu in the Aube), a supermarket own brand Champagne, a good quality Californian sparkling wine such as Roederer Quartet (Anderson Valley Brut in the US) and a quality Australian sparkler such as Green Point but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t pop an easier-to-spot Prosecco or a Cava into the line-up.
Follow your tasting with a Russian-style smoked salmon and ‘caviar’ feast followed by a light grape and lemon tiramisu tart. Totally simple but none the less impressive for that.
* sparkling wine should always be chilled prior to opening otherwise the pressure in the bottle can create an explosive release of the cork
A Russian-style smoked salmon and ‘caviar’ feast
I once had a meal like this in St Petersburg with real caviar and fake Champagne or champanskya as they call it in Russia. I suggest you reverse that and serve real fizz and a caviar substitute.For eight people you will need:
About 1 kg good quality finely sliced smoked salmon
3-4 x 50g jars of a caviar substitute such as Onuga (or, of course, caviar if you’re feeling wildly extravagant!)
1 x 284ml carton sour cream
1 mild, sweet white onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 large hard boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped
3 lemons, cut into wedges
Black pepper
A selection of breads and crispbreads such as Irish brown soda bread, light rye bread or rye crackers and/or some blinis
All you need do is lay out the smoked salmon and put all the accompaniments in bowls or on serving dishes for people to help themselves. It really couldn’t be easier.
Recommended wine match: Champagne or dry Champagne-style sparkling wine (see above)
Grape and lemon tiramisu tart
This is an unbelievably easy and impressive looking tart with a tiramisu-style topping that goes wonderfully well with a sparkling moscato. The quantities given will serve 4-6 so make two tarts for 8. 230g pack of ready rolled puff pastry or 225g home made puff pastry rolled thinly into a 28cm (11 in) circle
2 large eggs, separated
2 level tbsp caster sugar + 1 tsp for sprinkling on the pastry
1 x 250g tub of mascarpone
2 1/2 tbsp Limoncello liqueur
250g/ 9 oz white seedless or halved and seeded grapes, rinsed and dried
250g/9 oz red seedless or halved and seeded grapes, rinsed and dried
1 level tsp icing sugar
You will need a large square baking sheet (about 31 x 33cm), lightly greased
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Take the pastry out of the fridge and let it rest for 10 minutes before you use it. Unroll it carefully onto the baking sheet, removing the greaseproof paper and cut about a 1 1/2 cm strip off round the edge to leave you with a 28cm circle. Lightly whisk the egg whites and brush a thin layer onto the pastry. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of sugar then prick the base all over with the prongs of a fork and bake for 10-12 minutes until puffy and brown. Leave on one side to cool while you make the topping. Tip the mascarpone into a bowl and gradually work in the Limoncello. Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining caster sugar until pale, thick and creamy. Gently fold the mascarpone mix into the eggs until thoroughly blended. When the pastry base is cool transfer it to a large serving plate or tray and spread over the creamed mascarpone with a spatula, taking it almost up to the edges. Scatter the grapes randomly over the surface so you get a nice mix of colours. Sift the icing sugar over the top and serve straight away or chill the tart for a couple of hours then sprinkle with icing sugar.
Note: this recipe contains raw eggs
Recommended wine match: great with a gently sparkling, sweet Moscato d’Asti or Asti
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