The Artisan Jewish Deli at Home
Page 11
To spread on your morning bagel (preferably one of ours, see here and here), there are an infinite number of schmears that are all a snap to make. We offer several cream cheese–based varieties, ranging from a typical smoked salmon spread see here to our summer-perfect berry version on see here.
Make sure to try your hand at a classic Jewish deli breakfast food: the lightly sweet, fresh cheese–filled, crepe-like pancake known as a blintz. Reflecting the modern deli ideal of adapting traditional dishes to seasonal eating, follow our lead to re-create topping variations that evoke your favorite time of the year, such as spiced pumpkin for fall (see here) or strawberry balsamic for spring (see here).
Boker tov (Hebrew for “good morning”)!
Chocolate Babka French Toast
Serves 6
Babka French toast started as a special that Wise Sons made on a whim, and it turned into one of their most popular menu choices. While it makes for a very sweet breakfast, it is also a great dessert that brings out the kid in everyone. The babka is made with plenty of chocolate that melts and creates a gooey, rich center in this dish. The sour cream provides a cold, tangy contrast. Use any fruit that looks good—yellow peaches in the summer are our personal favorite.
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
6 (1-inch-thick) slices Chocolate Babka
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup sour cream
2 cups sliced fresh seasonal fruit, such as peaches, strawberries, or blood oranges
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, and salt. Transfer to a high-sides baking dish for soaking the babka. Submerge each slice in the batter for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping the slices after 1½ to 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter, letting it melt just until it begins to foam. Lift the soaked babka from the batter, allowing the excess to drip back into the baking dish. Place the babka on the griddle and cook until browned on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Use a wide spatula to flip the slices and cook on the other side until browned, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer the French toast to warmed plates. Top each slice with a dollop of sour cream and a large spoonful of fruit. Serve immediately.
Challah French Toast
Serves 4
With its generous measure of honey and eggy richness, our challah dough makes great braided bread (see here) that, in turn, serves as a fantastic foundation for this morning classic. If there is no time to bake the bread yourself, a store- or bakery-bought challah (or brioche loaf) can be used. The challah should be at least a couple of days old because dry, stale challah does a much better job of soaking up the egg mixture, yielding a custardy-soft breakfast confection. We prefer grade B maple syrup because of its deep maple flavor; however, feel free to use any of the lighter grades of pure maple syrup based on availability and your preference.
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
¼ cup all-purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
8 (1-inch-thick) slices challah, preferably stale or nearly stale
Vegetable oil cooking spray or 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Unsalted butter, at room temperature, for serving
Pure maple syrup or orange-honey sauce, for serving (see Note)
Preheat the oven to 200°F.
Combine the eggs, half-and-half, honey, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, orange zest, flour, and salt in a blender and blend on high speed for 30 seconds. Pour the custard into a glass baking dish just large enough to snugly fit no more than 4 of the slices of challah laid flat. Place the first 4 slices of challah in the dish and soak on one side for 5 seconds, just enough to wet it, and then flip the slices over and soak for 5 to 10 minutes. Flip the slices over again and allow the slices to soak for another 5 to 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining 4 slices in the baking dish, as you cook the first 4 slices.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Lightly coat the skillet with cooking spray or use a silicone brush to lightly coat the pan with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Lift a slice of soaked challah and allow the excess custard to drain back into the dish. Place the challah in the skillet. Repeat with the remaining 3 slices. Cook until dark golden brown on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. (Rotate the slices 180 degrees halfway through the cooking time to ensure that they are evenly browned.) Use a wide spatula to flip the slices and cook on the other side until dark golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes longer. Transfer the French toast to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while the second batch is cooking. Serve immediately along with butter and maple syrup.
Note: As an alternative to maple syrup, you can make an orange-honey sauce as a topping. To serve 4, combine 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice with ¼ cup honey and ¼ teaspoon ground ginger.
What Are . . .
Blintzes?
In the never-the-twain-shall-meet world of traditional kosher cooking, dairy foods must not be paired with meat; it’s the culinary version of the Capulets and Montagues or the Hatfields and McCoys. For lovers of lactose, the practical problem presented by this edict was that most of the early New York Jewish delicatessens kept kosher and served meat. Pastrami, corned beef, chicken soup, and chopped liver got all the press. Meanwhile, the best of the dairy dishes languished in relative obscurity. So it was with blintzes, even now an underappreciated luminary among old-time deli lights.
At the greatest of the all-dairy (milchig in Yiddish) kosher restaurants in New York, the much loved and now-lamented Ratner’s (1905–2002), sarcastic, surly servers dealt blintzes by the score. The most popular were cheese blintzes, which remain the most common variety, when you can find blintzes at all. Unfortunately for deli diners, making blintzes is a labor-intensive endeavor best reserved for the home cook who doesn’t have to worry about 50 other menu items. We included the recipe in this book in part for that reason.
As with so many Jewish foods, the blintz traces a labyrinthine path to the deli table. Its antecedents date back to the Turks fourteenth-century conquest of the Balkans. Then it was on to Romania, the Ukraine, and finally to Poland and Lithuania. Initially, the Slavic blintz—thicker than a crepe, thinner than a modern pancake—was usually made with buckwheat flour. As such, it shares a heritage (and linguistic root, blin, the Slavic word for any type of pancake) with blini, the buckwheat cakes that have famously shared the stage with the finest Russian caviar.
The more plebian blintz jumped the Atlantic with the late-nineteenth-century Ashkenazic immigrants. In America, it underwent its modern makeover, taking advantage of America’s plentiful supply of inexpensive white wheat flour. Cheese continued to be the most common blintz filling, though what cheese to use has always been a source of vexation. Many references are made to “farmer” (or “farmers”) or “pot” cheese or even ricotta, the selections encompassing a range of dry curd, sometimes tangy or salty; and fresh cheeses, often lightly sweetened and occasionally mixed with other dairy products, such as sour cream, cream cheese, or even mascarpone or crème fraîche, to lend a smoother texture and more nuanced flavor.
Cheese fillings aren’t the only possibility, however. Non-kosher delis sometimes made blintzes with chopped beef or chopped liver. And there was nothing wrong with a little starch filling either, such as potato or kasha. Fruit fillings of all sorts are traditional, too. My mom even made a blintz casserole when I was growing up in the 1970s. The details elude me, but I think it was eggy, sweet, and delicious.
Tradition be damned. I fully expect one of today’s modern artisan delis to bu
st out of the mold and plumb the limits of blintz craft. Just as the passage of time has rendered the dairy-only Jewish restaurant a dietary artifact, it is time to throw off any remaining historical shackles.
Bring on the chocolate blintz.
—MCZ
Cheese Blintzes with Seasonal Toppings
Makes 12 blintzes
Most blintz recipes use a filling that begins with ricotta cheese, but we found that ricotta produced an inferior, runny blintz. Our preference is farmer cheese, which is tangier and much drier than ricotta, resembling cottage cheese that has had nearly all the moisture pressed out of it. It is also closer in taste and texture to the European fresh cheese fillings used by Ashkenazis in the nineteenth century (or even earlier) to make their blintzes. If farmer cheese is unavailable at any nearby markets (see Sources and Resources), small-curd cottage cheese, processed in a food processor until smooth, then wrapped and pressed in cheesecloth for at least 1 hour, is an adequate substitute.
Crepes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Filling
3 cups farmer cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Finely minced zest of 1 large lemon
1 large egg, beaten
Unsalted butter, melted, for making the crepes
Seasonal fruit topping, for garnish (recipes follow)
Sour cream, for garnish
To make the crepe batter, combine the eggs, milk, 1 cup water, flour, melted butter, sugar, and salt in a blender and blend for 30 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the blender container, and then continue blending for another 15 seconds. Pour the batter into a bowl, and lightly press plastic wrap directly on top of the batter so that air can’t get to it and form a skin. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.
To make the filling, in a medium bowl mix together the farmer cheese, confectioners’ sugar, salt, lemon zest, and egg until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the crepes, place a 6- to 7-inch nonstick omelet pan over medium heat. Using a silicone brush, lightly coat the bottom and sides of the pan with melted butter. (You may need to coat the pan with butter before you cook each crepe to avoid sticking.) When the butter is warm and the bubbles subside, pour ¼ cup crepe batter into the center of the pan and quickly turn the pan at a steep angle in order to evenly coat the entire inside of the pan with batter. It should be done in one smooth motion, taking no more than a few seconds to coat the pan, creating one thin disk of batter. Cook until the bottom of the crepe is speckled and golden brown, 1 to 1½ minutes. Using a small, thin spatula, gently lift one edge of the crepe and, using your fingertips, grab the edge of the crepe and quickly but carefully turn it over. Cook the other side for 30 seconds or until it is mottled with brown spots. Tilt the pan and slide the crepe onto a plate, adjusting it with your fingers so it lays flat. Repeat with the remaining batter to make the rest of the crepes. As the crepes cool, layer them between pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap, creating a stack. The stack of crepes can be wrapped on the plate in plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 day before using.
To assemble and make the blintzes, lay a crepe, dark side down, on a flat surface. Put ¼ cup of the cheese filling into the lower third of the crepe, spreading the cheese mixture into a long rectangle about 1½ inches wide and 4½ inches long. Fold the bottom edge away from you over the filling. Fold the two outside edges of the crepe into the center and roll the crepe away from you until the crepe fully wraps around the filling, like an envelope. Place the blintz seam side down on a baking sheet. Repeat to fill all the blintzes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, use about 1 tablespoon melted butter to generously grease the pan. Arrange 3 or more blintzes seam side down in the pan, without crowding, and cook on one side until browned and crisped on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side until browned, crisped, and heated through, about 5 minutes longer. (If the blintzes are not fully warm throughout, lower the heat slightly and cook for another minute or two.)
Serve with a heaping ¼ cup seasonal compote of your choice and garnish with a rounded tablespoon of sour cream.
Spring: Strawberry-Balsamic Compote
1 pound fresh strawberries (about 4 cups), trimmed and thinly sliced
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Pinch of kosher salt
½ teaspoon cornstarch
In a large bowl, toss the berries with the sugar and set aside for 30 minutes or until the strawberries begin to give off their juice. Place half the berries and all of their exuded liquid, along with 1 tablespoon of the balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt, in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cover the saucepan and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer until the strawberries are very soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and, using the back of a fork or a potato masher, crush the strawberries.
Combine the cornstarch with ½ teaspoon water in a small cup, stirring to remove all lumps. Pour the slurry into the saucepan and mix with the mashed strawberries and juice until thoroughly combined. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the berry mixture to a simmer. Continue to cook, stirring constantly to prevent lumps or scorching, until the strawberry sauce thickens to a light gravy consistency, about 1 minute. Pour the hot strawberry mixture over the remaining sliced strawberries in the bowl and add the remaining 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar. Gently mix the sliced strawberries with the sauce. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve or for up to 1 week.
Summer: Blackberry-Lavender Compote
1½ pounds fresh blackberries (about 6 cups)
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lavender flowers (about 2 buds)
Pinch of kosher salt
½ teaspoon cornstarch
In a large bowl, toss the berries with the sugar and set aside for 30 minutes or until the blackberries begin to give off their juice. Place half the berries and all of the exuded liquid, along with the lavender and pinch of salt, in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cover the saucepan and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer until the berries are very soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and, using the back of a fork or a potato masher, crush the blackberries. Cover the saucepan and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the lavender to steep in the berry juice. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids with a rubber spatula to strain out and capture as much liquid as possible. Pour the strained liquid back into the saucepan. Discard the solids.
Combine the cornstarch and ½ teaspoon water in a small cup, stirring to remove all lumps. Pour the slurry into the saucepan and mix with the berry juice until thoroughly combined. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the berry mixture to a simmer. Continue to cook, stirring constantly to prevent lumps or scorching, until the sauce thickens to a light gravy consistency, about 1 minute. Pour the sauce over the remaining berries in the bowl, gently mixing the berries with the sauce. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve or for up to 1 week.
Fall: Spiced Pumpkin Compote
3 cups granulated sugar
4 cups coarsely chopped sugar pumpkin or butternut squash
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¹⁄8 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of kosher salt
Combine the sugar and 3 cup
s water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook without stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes. Add the pumpkin, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Stir to mix in the spices, and bring back to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer until the pumpkin is soft but still holds its shape, about 15 minutes.
Gently drain the pumpkin, reserving the syrup. Return half of the pumpkin to the saucepan along with 1 cup of the syrup and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover, decrease the heat to low, and simmer the pumpkin until very soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. The puree should be thinner than gravy but thicker than heavy cream. Add more of the reserved syrup if the puree is too thick. Combine the remaining cooked pumpkin with the puree. Cool to room temperature, and then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve or for up to 1 week.
Winter: Blood Orange Compote
4 medium to large blood oranges, plus the juice of 2 blood oranges
2 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
4 cardamom pods
¼ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cornstarch
Using a paring knife, trim the ends and then remove the peel from 4 of the blood oranges, cutting away any of the remaining white pith. Separate the orange segments over a small saucepan to collect any juices and set aside the segments. Squeeze into the saucepan the juice from any remaining pieces of orange flesh that cannot be separated into segments. Add the blood orange juice, ginger, cardamom, sugar, and salt. Cover the saucepan and bring the liquid to a gentle boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl. Return the liquid to the saucepan. Reserve the orange segments.
Combine the cornstarch and ¼ teaspoon water in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve all lumps. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the saucepan and mix with the liquid until thoroughly combined. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook, stirring constantly in order to prevent lumps or scorching, until the sauce thickens to a thin gravy consistency, about 1 minute. Add the orange segments, stir gently to combine, and then remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature, and then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve or for up to 1 week.