When Resident Magazine asked us to share some holiday recipes with them, we knew we wanted to share some traditional Sephardic Jewish food, as opposed to the better known matzah ball soups. Here’s a dish that we’ve been eating for Rosh Hashana forever.

Black eyed peas are eaten during the new year to bring prosperity. In the Southern United States, they’re usually served with ham, but that tradition was probably adapted from Sephardi Jews; we stew our loubia with kosher meat.

Also for Rosh Hashana, Leek Ejjeh.

Black Eyed Peas with Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground meat (beef, lamb or veal would all work)
• 1/3 cup rice (soaked for 30 minutes)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 onion, grated
• olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 lb. dried black eyed peas, soaked and drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• water, as needed
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. mix together the rice, ground meat, oil, allspice, cinnamon, salt, pepper and onion to make hashu. set aside.
2. heat a pan over medium heat, coat the bottom in oil and saute the garlic for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
3. fry the hashu in the garlic, browning evenly
4. add the peas, tomatoes, lemon juice, cumin and salt. mix well, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour. if it dries out, add water as needed.
5. serve with rice.

PS, sorry for the lack of photos. Did you make this? Send us your picture and we’ll add it to the post!

Now with an updated picture! Don’t hesitate to make this delicious meal for Shabbat.

Kibbe cherry is a traditional Friday night dish. Usually we serve it in a pretty bowl, but we couldn’t take the picture on Shabbat, so this is the picture you’re stuck with! Don’t worry, it tastes a lot better than it looks in this picture, we promise!

Not only is it one of our favorite ways to prepare kibbe, it’s also ridiculously easy. Unless you don’t have kibbe in your freezer, then you’re in trouble, or just stuck in the kitchen rolling the balls for a while. Besides the onion, there’s no slicing (and no pitting, ’cause we’re using canned cherries here). Plus, it’s a one-pot dish! Just make some rice and a salad, and you have an easy weeknight meal. Make about 10 other dishes, and you have a perfect dish for Shabbat dinner! Many people make one giant kibbe roll instead of the little balls, but we like this way better.

Kibbe Cherry, adapted from Deal Delights 2:

Ingredients:

• A few glugs of olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• About 20 kibbes
• 1 15-ounce can cherries
• 3 tablespoons oot
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 cup prunes (optional)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oil on medium heat and add onions and kibbe until onions are soft and kibbes are browned, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until all the flavors mix together and the cherries and prunes are soft.

3. Serve over rice.

Sweet kaak is nothing like regular kaak, except that it’s also kinda like a bread stick. Actually, it’s really more like a cookie made with orange zest. I usually don’t love orange zest, but for some reason I absolutely love sweet kaak. It’s a traditional Syrian treat, one that if I have in my cookie jar (okay, fine, I don’t have a cookie jar, but I do have airtight containers that I can leave on the counter and store cookies in) I will finish in about a day. Basically, they are sugar cookies that are twisted. Yum!These photos are from my first attempt at baking sweet kaak, and I have to say they aren’t the prettiest batch I’ve made. Not as skinny or long as I would have liked, that is. The problem? I used oil instead of Earth Balance – now I know. I hate making cookies with oil-based dough because rolling them out is always a problem. So in the improved recipe that I’m sharing with you, I used Earth Balance. I’m sure these would be amazing with butter, but they are such a pareve dessert/snack that I wouldn’t even think of trying them that way.

The recipe in Deal Delights was not precise enough to make for a first time, though I might try it after I master this version. That version has more eggs, less zest and vanilla, and a little less flour.

Though these cookies traditionally have orange zest, they are also really good without it. Sometimes I make half the dough with zest and half without…try it both ways and tell me what you prefer.

Sweet Kaak, adapted from Aromas of Aleppo:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 sticks Earth Balance shortening
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• zest of one orange, finely grated
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 5 cups flour
• 4 large eggs
• Extra sugar, for rolling (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix together all the ingredients (except extra sugar). Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is well-incorporated. If dough is not wet enough, add up to two more eggs.

2. Refrigerate dough for one hour.

3. Roll dough into strands 4 inches long and about 1/2 inch thick,.

4.  Twist two together into a “figure S” or “twisted rod” and pinch the ends.

5. Roll each cookie in sugar and place on greased cookie sheet.

6. Bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. They won’t really brown much, don’t worry about it.

Since our mom doesn’t like onions, this mechshe wasn’t something we ate much growing up, but it’s definitely still one of my favorites! I love the flavor of slow-cooked onions, which get sweet and caramelized in the oven, and the contrast with tart tamarind sauce is perfect.

Since stuffing these is quite a process, I like to make a double batch and freeze half, so that next time the cravings hits, I can cook up a batch right away; no need to defrost, just cook the frozen onions for a bit longer.

The onions

Ingredients:

• 3 large or 4 small yellow onions
• 1 pound hashu
• 1 cup of water
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup tamarind
• 1 teaspoon agave
• salt

Directions:

1. Remove the skin from the onions by cutting a slit from top to bottom.
2. Place the onions in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes, until the onions are soft and pliable.
3. Drain the onions and separate the layers.
4. Stuff the onion layers: place a spoonful of hashu into each onion layer and roll tightly. At this point, the mechshe can be frozen, or proceed to step 5.
5. Preheat the oven to 350.
6. Mix the rest of the ingredients together, place the onions in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and pour the mixture over the onions. Cover and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast for an hour. Serve hot.

This recipe was taught to me as part of my you’re-getting-married-time-to-learn-how-to-cook training by an amazing cook…. who does not use measurements.  I stood with her and watched closely,  taking notes diligently. After making this a few times on my own, a measurable recipe was born.

Named after its main ingredient, kanafeh is shredded phyllo dough with a creamy-ricotta filling drizzled with rose-fragrant simple syrup. Traditionally, it is baked in a round pan but a pyrex will do just fine. Making kanafeh is kind of labor intensive, so this is not your everyday dessert (if there is such a thing).  Generally, this dessert is made for special/happy occasions – big family holiday meals or [my future sister-in-law's] bridal shower, for example.  It freezes really well, so it is a perfect dessert to make in advance and take out when needed. This recipe is also perfect for Shavuot dessert! Now you can stray from cheesecake or the banana cream pie we made last year. [Editor's note: but why would you ever not want to make that banana cream pie? serve alongside!]

This is not a healthy dessert, but oh-my-gd is it good.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shredded phyllo dough, aka kanafeh.  You can find this at specialty stores, like — I know we’ve mentioned this a million times — Kalustyan’s or Syrian stores, if you live in Brooklyn.
• 3 1/2 sticks butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3.5 tbsp corn starch
• 15 oz ricotta cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Start by pulling apart the shredded phyllo dough. You want to pull it apart as much as you can. Don’t worry about keeping the strands long, just keep shredding.

3. Toast the kanafeh in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until it gets nice and golden on top.

4. While this is toasting, take 3 and a half sticks of butter - hey, if you’re going to splurge, you might as well do it right -  and brown it on the stove top. Now, you can always cheat and just melt them in the microwave, but if you brown the butter, you will most definitely taste the difference. Browning this much butter is gonna take way longer than you’re used to (lets face it, how often do you use that much butter in one shot?). For me, on a med low flame, it took about the time the kanafeh took to toast. So, its a good idea to do them simultaneously.  However, the time will depend on your pot and stovetop, so keep an eye out. You don’t want to burn it! The butter will will change to a light brown color and start smelling like heaven.

5. Pour the browned butter over the toasted kanafeh – careful, this is going to be very hot! – so wait til it cools a little, and then mix and shred everything again – very very well. You want to get mad at the kanafeh – you want to separate the strands and rip them up into tiny tiny pieces.

6. Mix the heavy cream, milk and corn starch well. Try to break up any corn starch lumps. Move it to the stove top, and cook on med heat, stirring constantly “in one direction only” (as my teacher told me), until it is thick, about 7 minutes. Do NOT let this boil.  Let it cool for a few minutes, thickening a little more, and then add in the ricotta. Mix well.

7. Divide the buttered kanafeh into two. Layer one down at the bottom of your tray, spread the ricotta mixture over it, then cover with the second layer.

8. I have never made this recipe start to finish in one shot. I always stop at this point, cover and freeze the kanafeh, and take it out when I need it. While its frozen, before you bake, its a good idea to cut your knafe into small pieces. Otherwise, once its cooked, it will be too soft to cut into without mashing it. You can put it directly in the oven while frozen (if your pan can handle freezer-to-oven temps) and bake for 1 hour @ 350 degrees, rotating halfway through. [If you're baking immediately, it will probably take a less time, so keep an eye on it. It will be done when the top is golden brown.]

9. Pour syrup on it immediately before serving (recipe follows).

To make the syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• a drop of lemon juice
• a drop of rose or orange blossom water (optional, but yummy!)

Directions: Bring all ingredients to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for 7-10 minutes. You want the syrup to be thick.

Like many traditional Syrian and Mid-Eastern desserts, this has rosewater in it; I replaced it with simple syrup.

Thanks to the folks over at Oh! Nuts who offered to send me some dried fruit and nuts for this recipe!

Helou Michmosh adapted from Aromas of Aleppo

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound shelled pistachios
• 1 1/2 pounds dried apricots
• 1 cup water + more for pistachio boiling
• 1 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Make simple syrup with 1 cup of water and sugar. Let cool.
2. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Put the pistachios in a pot, and just cover with the boiling water. simmer for 3 minutes and drain. Set aside.
3. Steam the apricots in batches for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally to ensure they are evenly softened
4. While the apricots are still hot, pulse them in your food processor until they are smooth.
5. Combine the simple syrup and the apricot paste in a medium saucepan. toss in the pistachios and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture forms a paste.
6. Line the bottom of a 8×8-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the mixture into the pan. Cover with foil and let dry.
7. Slide a sharp knife along the edges of the tray. turn out the paste onto a flat cutting surface and cut diagonally to make a diamond shape about 1 1/4 inches wide. These sweets last for 3 to 4 weeks covered loosely with aluminum foil.

My favorite way to eat this is with salty Syrian cheese. You can also just enjoy with a half of a pita bread, like the photo above.

Ejjeh Parsley, adapted from Deal Delights

Makes 8-10 patties

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped parsley, most of the stems removed
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (or scallions)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs (or matzah meal)
• 2 eggs
• Oil and/or butter for frying

Directions:

1. Combine chopped parsley, onions, salt, allspice, cinnamon, eggs, and matzo meal and mix well. Let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Heat up a skillet or frying pan and cover the bottom with oil or butter.

3, Drop tablespoons of parsley mixture to frying pan and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side.

4. Let drain on paper towel.

5. Repeat with remaining parsley mixture, adding more oil/butter if needed.

6. Serve in sandwiches with slices of Syrian cheese, and enjoy!

Now that Passover won’t be back for another year, maybe we’ll make a giant batch of kaak for our freezer.

Kaak are bread sticks, but instead of being actual stick shapes, they are formed into rings. They are flavored with kemun, kizabrah, mahlab, and yansoon. Or cumin, anise, and cherry pit. I wouldn’t say that they’re hard to make, just time consuming. You need to shape each ring, then bake at two different temperatures. If you have two ovens, then this might be a little easier than it was for us. Anyone want to buy me a double wall oven? I promise you a batch of kaak! We baked these in Adele’s not-so-giant Manhattan kitchen. And hey, if we could do it there, then it can be done anywhere. You just have to have some patience.

Grandma Rena used to make the best kaak ever. In stick instead of ring form, sometimes. Probably because it was much easier to make that way. They were thin and crispy, and had just the right amount of everything. These days, many people won’t even try to make kaak, but the store bought varieties, though sometimes great, are just not as amazing as homemade. We had to give these a try, even though we had no old Syrian ladies to teach us the secret tricks. We looked at a few recipes together, and decided to stick with the one written in the red Deal Delights book, since they were all pretty much the same.

The smell of kaak baking in the kitchen is one of the best smells ever, so you have to give these a try just to smell. Plus, homemade kaak is a treat for anyone! Your friends and family will be delighted if you bring them some of these treats.

These weird sounding ingredients can be found at a Syrian or Middle Eastern store. If you live in Manhattan, try Kaluystan’s. In Brooklyn, you can find these ingredients around the corner. You can always try the internet, as well.

Kaak, adapted from Deal Delights

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 pounds unbleached all purpose flour (that’s about 6 cups, and half a bag of flour)
• 1/3 cup yansoon
• 1 teaspoon mahlab
• 1 heaping teaspoon kizabrah
• 1 heaping teaspoon cumin
• two tablespoons oil
• 1/2 pound (or two sticks) Earth Balance or other non-hydrogenated shortening
• 1 1/2 ounces fresh yeast, or 6 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
• 4 tablespoons kosher salt
• One egg mixed with a splash of water, for egg wash
• Sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Proof the yeast: In a large bowl or measuring cup, combine the yeast, sugar, and water. Let foam.

2. In a large measuring bowl, mix together the flour, yansoon, mahlab, kisabrah, cumin, oil, salt, and shortening.

3. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture.

4. Knead dough well (by hand or in your mixer with the dough hook), about 5 minutes, until it’s smooth and not sticky.

5. Set dough aside and cover with a damp towel. Let rise for 1 1/2 hours in a warm place.

6. Split the dough into quarters, working with a section at a time.

7. Roll each quarter into into 2 inch logs.

8. Slice each log into 1/2 inch strips and then roll each of those strips out into 4-6 inch snakes.

9. Shape each snake into a circle, overlapping to make sure they stick.

10. Dip into eggwash and then into sesame seeds (or you can brush with eggwash and sprinkle with sesame seeds)

11. Place on baking sheets and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, repeat until all the kaak is baked.

12. Lower the oven to 250 degrees and bake for 20 minutes, until the kaak is dry and crisp. (If you have two ovens, set one to 400 and the other to 250. Transfer each batch straight from the hotter oven to the cooler until they’re all bake).

In my family, we often make this dish pareve. We don’t add any meat or bones, just beans, tomato paste, and peeled potatoes. When doing this, it just takes some more boiling and a bit more seasoning, too, to make it just perfect. And a great Thursday night meal. I know some people who make it more like a meaty stew, which is good, but not really what I’m used to with these beans. Basically, with this recipe the possibilities are endless. There are so many ways to change up this recipe, it’s just so easy to make in many different ways! So this is my experiment with great northern beans, tomato paste, and some marrow bones.

Fassoulieh, adapted very loosely from the white Deal Delights cookbook

Ingredients:

• 3 marrow bones
• Olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup dried great northern beans, soaked overnight
• 8 cups water (or stock, if you want to impart even more flavor)
• 4 potatoes, peeled and cut in half
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Allspice, to taste

1. Add olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot and brown marrow bones on both sides.

2. Add onion, allspice, salt, and pepper and saute until translucent.

3. Add beans, water, potatoes, and tomato paste and mix until combined. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for one hour.

4. Taste for seasoning, and add more if necessary. Bring to a boil again, then simmer for another two hours.

5. Serve over rice.

What I did was only make half of the dough, and then I refrigerated the other half and flattened, cooked and ate as I needed. It’s really great to be able to make fresh pita on the spot, so I’m going to start making this dough more regularly! Like most breads, you have to wait and knead, so it’s time consuming, but definitely not hard.

I like to have all of my ingredients ready before I start. Just in case I forget something, it’s better to know now than later and have to run to the store and in the mean time ruin your bread!

Yikes, don’t judge my crumby counter! It’s never like this, except for after kneading dough on it. I should have wiped it down before photographing!!

Even though I used the bowl for my food processor, I kneaded with my hands. That glass bowl living on my counter is just more accessible than the ones in the cabinet I can only reach if I stand on a stool.

The charred parts aren’t burnt, they’re extra tasty!

Look how much they’re puffing up! It’s like magic.

This one looks confused. Or maybe he’s saying, Help! Please don’t eat me!

Syrian Bread/Pita Bread, adapted from Just Hungry

Ingredients:

• 1 packet (7g) instant dried yeast
• 250ml warm water from the tap (about a cup, plus more if needed)
• pinch of sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp olive oil

Equipment needed:

• a non-stick frying pan (or two)
• lids to fit the pans
• a glass mixing bowl
• a large kitchen towel

Directions

1. Mix together the warm water, yeast, and pinch of sugar. Leave in a warm place until frothy.
2. Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the liquid gradually, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Add the oil, and as soon as it’s formed a ball start to knead. (If it’s a bit dry, add water drops at a time until it’s kneadable.) Knead until smooth and pliable.
3. Put the dough ball in a plastic bag or in a clean bowl covered with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until more than doubled in bulk, about two hours.
4. After the dough has risen, punch it down and knead again. Cut into 8 to 12 equal pieces. Round off each piece into a smooth ball, and leave, covered with a damp cloth or plastic, to rest for about 10 minutes, on a floured surface. (At this point you can refrigerate individual dough balls wrapped in plastic. When you’re ready to use them again, set out for 20 minutes to get to room temperature and then continue with the rest of the directions.)
5. Flatten the balls with a rolling pin to your desired diameter (for 12 pieces, about 5-6 inches / 12-15 cm is good). Let rest again for a few minutes so that the dough balls ‘relax’.
6. Heat up one or more non-stick frying pans over medium-high heat.
7. Take a flattened ball and put in a hot frying pan. Cover with lid. Leave for about 2-3 minutes, until it puffs up. Flip over and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side.
8. Take out of the pan and immediately put onto a large kitchen towel and fold over, enclosing the bread. This allows the pita to cool in a somewhat closed environment, so the surface is sort of pliable rather than crispy and brittle.
9. Repeat for the rest of the dough.