Travel to Syria & the Island of Rhodes
Open a cookbook and you can virtually travel to distant lands. Today we will not only travel to Syria and the island of Rhodes, but time travel as well, for both these places exist in all their former glory only in the authors’ fond remembrances.
In “Aromas of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews” (Ecco/Harper Collins, $50) Poopa Dweck chronicles how her honeymooning parents, Sarine and Murad Kattan were caught up in the progroms following the partition of Palestine in 1948 and never were able to return to their beloved Syria. All Jewish life was virtually extinguished, erasing centuries of this rich, thriving culture. Those Jews that survived fled by the thousands.
By all accounts, the culture and cuisine of the Jews of Aleppo should have perished. They did not. The Syrian-Jewish community, extremely tight-knit despite its scattering across many continents, continues to thrive.
“When the Jews left Aleppo, they dispersed throughout the world to Mexico, South America, Israel, Panama, Colombia, Geneva,” Dweck explained by phone from her home in Deal, New Jersey. “The largest Syrian Jewish community is in Brooklyn. We stay connected – the community is like one. At weddings and bar mitzvahs, we all know each other.”
Alienated by the Eastern European Jews when they arrived in America, the Aleppian community has defied assimilation. “When we came to Brooklyn, to the Lower East Side of New York, other Jews didn’t even think we were Jewish. We were dark skinned. We looked different. We didn’t eat matzo ball soup and challah. We made our own Syrian flat bread. The reason we’re so closely knit, I think, is that we have paid strict adherence to our customs and religious observances. We didn’t go to meatloaf. Through its food, holidays and life cycle events we’ve kept it intact.”
More than a collection of recipes, “Aromas of Aleppo” is the documentation of the rich culinary legacy of a once flourishing community with its unique customs and traditions. “Compared to other Arab cuisines, it is elaborate, very opulent, because Aleppo itself was a flourishing commercial center, and the ingredients came from all over the world and were of the best quality,” Dweck noted. “Through Turkish, Persian and Spanish influences that came to Aleppo, it was brought up to a high level. Our cuisine was known as the pearl of the Arab world.”
In “Stella’s Sephardic Table,” (Hoberman, $45) Stella Cohen, an artist and textile designer as well as a food writer and authority on Sephardic cuisine, takes us on a fascinating journey, in loving detail, into the culture, history and traditions of the island of Rhodes. Located close to the coast of Turkey and along the sea route to Israel, it was once home to a rich and vibrant Jewish community – it was even nicknamed La Chica Yerushalayim (Little Jerusalem). The economic depression of the thirties and the coming onslaught of the Nazis drove the Jews out – those who didn’t meet their fate in Auschwitz, that is, as many of Cohen’s family members did.
Cohen’s family wound up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where she was born. Her mother was her inspiration in the kitchen. “I never understood why my mom, who had some help in the house available, insisted she nurse a stew herself,” she told me while visiting her family in New York. “I would come back from school and be mesmerized by her fingers molding some savory pastries. When I was a very small child, she used to make her own filo by rolling it very thin and stretching it over pillows so it would dry out. Cooking was my mother’s ultimate joy. I began to understand what the Ladino word ‘necutchera’ meant, an accomplished woman with a refined sense of taste and intuitive wisdom. She took great pride in creating something beautiful made with love. I wanted to preserve our Rhodesli food as a tribute to the extraordinary skills of our foremothers. It was only when I began my own culinary journey that I realized that my mother’s instinct and passion for cooking involved not just feeding the body, but also nurturing the soul.”
This is a generous, flavorful cuisine that brings family together. “There is a Ladino saying – if there is food left over after a meal, then not enough has been prepared,” she said. “The dishes are aromatic and nutritious with an emphasis on simple ingredients, fresh vegetables, food cooked with love. I remember multiple generations of family and friends would come together to bake or cook and to enjoy stories and recollections while making these little feasts.”
Apart from the classic baklava, the Sephardim in Rhodes made a triangular version with walnuts called “trigonas.” “I like to make individual flower-shaped baklava with lavish pistachio and almond filling, often seen in Lebanon and other countries in the Middle East,” Cohen noted.
Pistachio Filla Wedges in Rose Water syrup (Baklawa)
The sheen on the surface of baklawa comes from the shira (Fragrant Aleppian Dessert Syrup)
Yield: 30 wedges
1 1/2 pounds pistachios, shelled, blanched, peeled, and finely chopped
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine,
melted
24 sheets filla (about 1 pound)
1 cup cold shira (Fragrant Aleppian Dessert Syrup, recipe follows)
1. Combine pistachios, sugar, and 1/4 cup of the melted butter in medium mixing bowl.
2. Working with half the filla, brush each sheet, one at a time, using slightly less than half the remaining melted butter. Stack them evenly, one on top of the other. (Keep untended sheets covered with wax paper and towel to prevent drying out.) Fit buttered filla sheets into 14-inch round or 10×12-inch baking pan, folding sides over to create a round or straight edge.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
4. Spread nut mixture over filla. Repeat step 2 for remaining filla, covering nut layer and brushing top sheet with butter generously. Refrigerate, covered, 20 minutes. Cut pastry into diamond, square or rectangular pieces.
5. Bake 1 hour or until puffy and golden. Remove from oven; pour cold shira over it. Let cool.
Shira (Fragrant Aleppian Dessert Syrup)
Yield: 2 cups
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water or rose water
1. Combine sugar, lemon juice, orange blossom water and 1 cup water in medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly with wooden spoon until mixture boils. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, or until syrup slides slowly down back of spoon.
2. Allow syrup to cool. Use immediately or pour into glass jar and refrigerate. It will keep up to 2 months.
Source: “Aromas of Aleppo” by Poopa Dweck
Saffron-Glazed Baby Chickens Stuffed with Couscous and Almonds
Ras-el-hanout is a spice mix common in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian cuisine. You can find it in specialty shops or online.
6 (14-ounce) free-range baby chickens (sometimes called broilers or fryers), rinsed and patted dry
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ras-el-hanout (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1 cup hot chicken stock
1 to 2 tablespoons runny honey
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in 1 cup hot water with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon for 10 minutes
Stuffing:
1/2 cup couscous
1 cup hot chicken stock
Pinch saffron threads
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in 1 cup hot water for 10 minutes and drained
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 cup whole blanched almonds, toasted and roughly chopped in food processor
Sea salt and finally ground white pepper
1. Stuffing: Place couscous in bowl and pour in hot chicken stock and pinch saffron threads. Lightly work with your hands to break up any lumps. Add oil and fluff lightly with fork. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside about 10 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed. Add raisins, cinnamon, confectioners’ sugar, honey and half the chopped almonds. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix gently with fork. Set aside.
2. Season baby chickens inside and out with salt and pepper. Spoon couscous stuffing into chicken cavity until approximately 3/4 full. Secure skin with toothpick.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in braising pan over medium-high heat and cook onions with cinnamon and ras-el-hanout (if using) until softened.
4. Blend vegetable oil with saffron and rub over chickens. Place them breast-side up in braising pan over onions. Pour in hot chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, basting chickens with pan juices from time to time. Turn chickens often and add hot water as necessary. Cook until tender and juices run clear when thighs are pierced with a skewer
5. Transfer baby chickens to large plate. Bring pan juices to rapid boil, reducing cooking liquid to 1 cup. Add honey, confectioners’ sugar and raisins with soaking liquid to sauce. Stir to blend well and taste. Adjust seasoning for salt and pepper and sweetness.
6. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in large frying pan over medium-high heat and transfer chickens to frying pan. Carefully fry them turning until they are glossy and golden brown.
7. To serve: Heap plain couscous in center of large warmed platter. Stack baby chickens around couscous. Spoon saffron sauce over chickens and scatter with remaining chopped almonds. Serve immediately.
Source: “Stella’s Sephardic Table” by Stella Cohen
Jlife Food Editor Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” (Workman) and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook” (an e-book short from Workman), a columnist and feature writer for the Orange County Register and other publications and can be found on the web at www.cookingjewish.com.
