January 17, 2010

The glossary is back / Ha vuelto el glosario

Posted by Janet Amateau under Articulos en Castellano, Glossary / Glosario | Tags: , , , , |
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My small-but-growing Sephardic food glossary is back online; there’s a link in the righthand column (or you can click here).  You can still find any related articles I’ve written here on the blog (and slowly but surely I’ll put cross-referenced links on all the various entries). 

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Mi pequeño-pero-creciendo glosario de comida sefardí esta’ online de nuevo; hay un hyperlink a la derecha (o puedes cliquear aqui).  Todavía se encuentra aquí en el blog articulos relacionados que he escrito.  Y empiezo 0 - finalmente! - a traducir todo en castellano.

 

December 10, 2009

Hanukah, Hanukka, Chanuka, Chanukah – Januca! Por lo menos en castellano hay solamente una (recipe)

Posted by Janet Amateau under Articulos en Castellano, History / Historia, Holidays / Fiestas Judias, Recipes / Recetas | Tags: , , , , , |
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Okay, so my favorite Hanukah story is, uh, my own.  It’s there in the archives for all to read, but to make life easier here’s a link for the English version, which includes a recipe for keftes de prasa (leek pancakes).

And if you like a little variety in your keftes, there’s a second recipe right here.

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Bueno, pues, mi cuenta favorita de la historia de Januca es, pues, la mia.  Hay una version en castellano (con una receta) en el archivo que se encuentra aqui’.

Y si te gustan patatas en tus keftes (una frase que me hace reir), hay una otra receta aqui’ (pero en ingles).

Happy Hanukah to all!      A todos, felices fiestas!

 

October 9, 2009

Ashkenazi Mina, Anyone?

Posted by Janet Amateau under general / en general, History / Historia, Holidays / Fiestas Judias, Q & A / Preguntas, Recipes / Recetas | Tags: , , , |
[5] Comments 

Dear Janet,

My grandparents Nissim, and Virginia, originally came from Istanbul, and the area in Bulgaria just over the Turkish border. I grew up eating borekas, spinach pies, haviar (tarama), biscochos, et al. But there is one dish my grandmother made that although I’ve researched everywhere haven’t found anything remotely similar. Unfortunately no one’s left alive who can even remember what it was called. The ingredients were ground liver, raw eggs, chopped walnuts, rye bread, and possibly chopped onions/celery. The raw ingredients were combined making a paste, which was then spread into a greased baking pan about 1/2 an inch thick, the top glazed with beaten egg, and baked. When cut and served it was quite firm, and dark brown on top. Have you ever heard of anything similar?

Thanks so much for all your hard work, it’s been an enjoyable read.

Alan

Wow.  When we talk about Jewish cooking being adaptive, I suspect this may be a prime – and very personal – example.  Off the top of my head, this sounds like a Sephardic rendition of a classic Ashkenazi dish from Eastern Europe:  chopped chicken liver.  Neither rye bread nor chopped chicken liver are part of Sephardic gastronomy.  (more…)

 

July 31, 2009

Spinach Cuajado / Cuajado de Espinaca (recipe)

Posted by Janet Amateau under general / en general, Recipes / Recetas | Tags: , , , , |
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We’re deep into summer now, and one of the nicest things to eat on a lazy summer day is room temperature cuajado and a fresh salad - no need for a big spread every time you make cuajado, as it’s quite filling on its own. 

Spinach was easily the variety we ate more often when Grandma and Aunt Reina were alive (as opposed to my favorite, zucchini cuajado), yet it was a dish whose aroma while baking was too intense for me.  Once out of the oven, though, the flavors mellowed and I couldn’t get enough.  Because spinach itself has a more intense flavor than zucchini,  this cuajado needs a stronger cheese, too: pecorino romano instead of parmiggiano, which works perfectly with zucchini but would be too delicate here.  So here’s my recipe for the spinach, also adapted from my Aunt Reina’s.  The sesame seeds aren’t traditional, but they are within the bounds of tradition and a nice touch you might want to try out.

A serving note before you begin:    (more…)

 

March 17, 2009

Survival of the Fittest / La Ley de Supervivencia (Q & A)

Posted by Janet Amateau under Articulos en Castellano, general / en general, History / Historia, Q & A / Preguntas, Reading List / Para Leer | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Queridos lectores, he recibido el siguiente mensaje en castellano y por eso yo queria presentar mi respuesta – este articulo –  en castellano antes que en ingles, pero ningun de mis traductores estan disponibles y escribo muy, muy despacio (y mal) en castellano.  Por eso, os presento todo en ingles y apenas posible la traduccion (y con accentos!) — JA

Hola Janet,  es un placer haber encontrado tu Blog, estoy estudiando cocina en París, y realmente me gustaría aprender y conocer mas sobre la cocina Sefardí y como, no solo ha sobrevivido durante siglos, sino que hoy día es una realidad.
Una cosa muy graciosa es que, en mi casa estamos bien familiarizado con el cuajao, pero en este caso es de pescado, mi Abuela Petra todavía lo cocina.
mil gracias y felicitaciones por tu trabajo
Nerwin

Hi, Janet. 

It’s a pleasure to have found your blog.  I’m studying cooking in Paris, and I really would like to learn and know more about Sephardic cooking and how it has not only survived for centuries, but today is a reality.   A funny thing is that in my house we’re very familiar with cuajado, but in this case it’s made with fish; my Grandmother Petra still makes it. 

A thousand thanks and congratulations on your work.

 

Nerwin

 Dear Nerwin, 

Many thanks for your kind words and for asking such a good question.  I thought the best way to answer you would be with a brief lesson in Sephardic history (which makes for a long blog entry). 

 

Really there is no mystery at all as to how Sephardic cuisine has survived over the centuries – especially if you’re Sephardic.  To begin to understand, you need to know (more…)

 

February 25, 2009

Mustachudos (glossary)

Posted by Janet Amateau under general / en general, Glossary / Glosario, Holidays / Fiestas Judias | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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masapan_-ojaldres_-mustachudos1MUSTACHUDOS  (“mōō-stä-CHŌŌ-thōs”)  Here is a prime example of the way in which many Sephardic foods are infused with symbolism.

As a general rule, Sephardic custom doesn’t call much for cooking with wine. There are exceptions, of course, and these can be unusual enough as to impact the name of the recipe in question.  During Passover, any wine consumed must be ‘new’; this means using either grape juice or young wine that is kosher for Passover.  The mustachudo gets its name from this specific ingredient:  musto in Ladino; mosto in Spanish and Italian, must in English. The name has absolutely nothing to do with ‘little moustaches’, despite the similar-sounding root word. (more…)

 

February 20, 2009

Poached Figs / Composto de Higos (recipe)

Posted by Janet Amateau under general / en general, Recipes / Recetas | Tags: , , , , , , , |
[6] Comments 

To everything there is a season, and a reason.  Sephardic custom - all Spanish custom - is to finish everyday meals with a very simple but specific category of desserts:  things soft, light, sweet and simple.  It’s the time for puddings, custards, flans and simple fruit dishes, cold in summer, warm in winter.  Cakes and more elaborate desserts - and lots of them! – are for festive occasions.   This was certainly the norm in our house, and I suppose it served us well by establishing sound eating habits with room for the occasional exercise in outrageous excess (When we were growing up, large and lavish birthday or holiday meals were immediately followed by a second meal, equally large and lavish, called dessert).  (more…)

 

February 14, 2009

Is it Sephardic enough?

Posted by Janet Amateau under general / en general | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Is it really Sephardic? Is it Sephardic enough?

Ethnic food is born and evolves out of common cultural experience and worldview.  There’s no law against creating your own modern Sephardic recipes and no need to think you can’t do a riff on someone else’s version of a traditional one, either.  We can be become so obsessed with preserving our culture that we tend to deny ourselves permission to experiment, or to accept someone else’s interpretation of something as valid, even if they’re from within the same culture. This holds true for any people (but probably with a higher level of anxiety when they’re propagandized as being extinct!).  But it’s openness and experimentation that keep all cultures alive and interesting, and that can also get things back on track if they’ve lost their connection to a basic principle.  If you do lose touch with the fundamentals of your own culinary heritage, if you start using too many shortcuts and too many substitutions, you deviate so far from your roots that you’re left not so much with a pale imitation of the real article as with something virtually unrecognizable. (more…)

 

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