Strawberry Pavlova

If you’re like everyone else who observes Passover, you’ve used a lot of eggs during the holiday!

Our usual family Passover menus use up more yolks than whites, so I’m always left with a load of egg whites. So, because I am one of those “waste not want not” people, I recently made a lot of meringues and meringue cookies and these Pavlovas.

Pavlovas, which are hard meringue shells filled with fruit, lavished with sauce and topped with whipped cream, are sugary sweet and you can do a lot with them. They’re also easy to make and are terrific for Passover because there’s no flour or any other ingredient we can’t eat during the holiday.

The meringue shell-cream-fruit dessert is named after a famous Russian ballet dancer named Anna Pavlova (1881-1931). Food historians say that a hotel chef in either Australia or New Zealand named the dessert after her visit there in 1926. The white meringue shell is said to mimic her tutu and in the original recipe, the shells were filled with kiwi fruit, in imitation of the decorations on one of her outfits. But any soft fruit will do.

Note: for more on beating egg whites properly, click here.

Pavolvas

Meringue Shells:

• 4 large egg whites at room temperature

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

• whipped cream

• sliced fruit such as strawberries, kiwi fruit, bananas, etc.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment set at medium speed until the mixture is foamy. Add the lemon juice and salt and beat, gradually increasing the speed, until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar (2 tablespoons at a time) and the vanilla and continue to beat, gradually increasing the speed to high, until the mixture stands in stiff, glossy peaks. Spread 8-10 equal amounts of the meringue mixture onto the sheet. Flatten the mounds with the back of a large spoon, leaving the edges slightly higher. Bake for 45 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 250 degrees. Bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet to a cake rack to cool. Gently release the meringues from the parchment. Fill the centers of the meringue shells with whipped cream. Top with sliced fresh fruit.

Makes 8-10

Apple and Green Tomato Chutney

So, summer’s over and the nights are cooler and I harvested all the remaining fruits and vegetables left in the garden before they either would rot or become frosted over or eaten by hungry animals that roam around the backyard.

I actually had a lot of unripe produce this year. So I made some pepper jam using the recipe I posted a few weeks ago except this time I added a few cups of green mini tomatoes and some chopped up fresh ginger.

I also made chutney using the recipe below. I’ve made this recipe several times using different vinegars. This version includes coconut vinegar, but any old kind of fruit vinegar will do.

We like chutney as a side relish for grilled or roasted meat or poultry— keep this in mind for Thanksgiving. It’s also nice in small amounts as a topping for cheese and crackers.

Apple and Green Tomato Chutney 

• 6 apples, peeled, cored and chopped

• 2 pounds green tomatoes, chopped

• 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped

• 2 small chili peppers such as serrano, deseeded and chopped

• 1 large clove garlic, chopped

• 1 cup chopped dates (about 12 large)

• 1 cup golden raisins

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger

• 2-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar or other fruit vinegar

• 2 cups brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon ras el hanout

• kosher salt

Place the apples, tomatoes, onions, chili peppers, garlic, dates, raisins, ginger, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, ras el hanout and some kosher salt (about one teaspoon) in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 2-1/2 hours or until very thick.  

Makes about 6 cups

Poached Green Figs with Orange Juice and Honey

The early Jewish holidays this year mean one big delicious bonus for us, fresh fig eaters that we are. This luscious fruit will still be in season.

In keeping with Rosh Hashanah I recently poached some fresh figs using honey (also, some ginger, whole cloves and orange peel for LOTS of flavor). The result was ….. oh-my! worthy. It’s on my dessert menu this year.

Poached Green Figs with Orange Juice and Honey

• 1 cup orange juice

• 1 cup water

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/2-inch chunk peeled fresh ginger, coarsely chopped

• 6 whole cloves

• 2 2-inch strips orange peel

• 8-10 fresh green figs

• ice cream, whipped cream, sorbet, optional

Place the juice, water and honey in a saucepan. Add the ginger, cloves and orange peel and bring the liquid to a boil. Stir to blend the liquids, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the figs and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the ingredients cool. Remove the figs from the pan and cut each in half. Set aside. Strain the ingredients in the pan. Discard the solid ingredients. Pour the liquid back into the pan and cook over high heat for 5-6 minutes or until the liquid is syrupy (the consistency of maple syrup). Let the syrup cool. Before serving, some of the fig halves in serving dishes, pour some poaching syrup on top. Place some ice cream, whipped cream or sorbet on top.

Makes 4-6 servings

Stuffed Strawberries

“Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did.” — Dr. William Butler, 17th century English writer

I agree 100%. For me — strawberries are my favorite fruit (ok, I also like a good nectarine!).

Mostly I like strawberries plain, because if you get a sweet, fragrant, ruby-red strawberry you don’t need anything else, although whipped cream is always welcome.

But if you’re like most of us and aren’t able to get the perfect farmer’s market berries and you have to rely on fruit from the supermarket ok, they’re never the best there is, but you can prepare them in ways that make the most of the fruit.

For instance: stuffed strawberries! They’re really just larger berries that are cut and stuffed with sweetened cheese and whipped cream. They look fancy but actually quite easy to make and take very little prep work! Check out the instructions and see for yourself — also, if you don’t have a pastry bag or parchment paper or foil to make one, you can use a small spoon to fill the berry middles.

You can make this dish even more glamorous with a sauce — just melt some preserves. That’s it!

You can make them ahead!

Stuffed Strawberries

• 16-18 large strawberries

• 1/2 cup whipping cream

• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese (or use cream cheese at room temperature)

• 1 tablespoon dark rum, orange flavored brandy or orange juice

• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

• freshly grated nutmeg or chocolate shavings

• thin shreds of orange peel, optional

• orange marmalade or other jam, optional

Wash and dry the berries but leave the hulls on. Place the berries on a cutting board with the hull down. Cut the berries from the narrow end into quarters up to the hull, but without cutting through or breaking the hull. Gently separate the berry into quarters. Beat the cream and mascarpone cheese with the rum and confectioners’ sugar until the mixture is thick. Place the mixture into a pastry bag and fill each berry piping from the stem end up to the narrow end. Sprinkle with nutmeg or chocolate shavings. Garnish with orange peel if desired.

For optional sauce: melt the jam, spoon it onto dessert dishes and place stuffed strawberries on top

Makes 4-6 servings

Blueberry Granola Crisp

In my neck of the woods the blueberries are fabulous.

Just in time for a dessert trying out a new riff on my usual granola crust.

It went well…..

Blueberry Granola Crisp

Crust:

• 1 cup granola

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup raisins, optional

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 5 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut into chunks

Place the granola, flour, raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and pulse the ingredients 2-3 times to distribute them evenly. Add the butter and pulse several times until the butter pieces become tiny and distributed evenly within the dry ingredients. Set aside.

Filling:

• 4 cups blueberries

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the ingredients in a baking dish, toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. Cover the fruit with the granola mixture. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the crust is brown and crunchy.

Makes 4-6 servings

Hallowe'en Baked Apple

I’m not expecting too many — maybe no — trick-or-treaters this year. In an ordinary year the whole notion of going out in what usually turns out to be the first of yucky weather of the season to get an overload of junky candy always seemed preposterous to me, but maybe I’m just the Ebenezer Scrooge of Hallowe’en.

This year, during a pandemic, trick-or-treating sounds absolutely nuts.

I am hoping that parents throughout the country will at least take a year off and do something different this Hallowe’en.

Here’s one suggestion — what my parents did, back in the day when trick-or-treating wasn’t a thing.

First, we carved a pumpkin. My mother untangled the inside mess, separated the seeds and roasted them. It’s easy: rinse off the seeds, let them dry (use paper towels to dry them), place them in a small amount of olive or vegetable oil and toss them around, then put them single layer on a cookie sheet (parchment or foil lined helps with cleanup). Sprinkle with salt (herbs or blends such as curry powder or za’atar if you like) and roast in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are dry and crispy.

Second, my Dad placed coins in three apples (for three kids): one with a quarter, one with a dime and one with a nickel. He put them in a basin of water and we had to dunk our faces in the water and grab an apple with our teeth. One year he didn’t do the apple bobbing thing, he tied apples on strings on a line that he set up in our living room and we had to jump up and grab the apple with our teeth. Obviously the one who got the quarter was overjoyed and I realize that for today’s youngsters a nickel, dime or even a quarter may seem not worth it, but the bobbing or jumping is worth it. Good stuff for the memory bank.

Then we ate. I don’t remember any particular dish but I know it was likely to be baked macaroni. My mother always topped her mac-and-cheese with rice krispies. I tried that on my kids, who gave it a thumbs down, but I’m putting it out there for you anyway (click on the link).

My dad always made his famous hot chocolate.

Boy would I love some of that today.

Dessert? It was likely to be some apple thing my mother cooked up. So. How about some baked apples?

Baked Apples with Orange and Spices

• 4 large baking apples

• half a lemon

• 1/3-1/2 cup raisins

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel

• 3/4 cup orange juice, apple juice or cider

• 6 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 tablespoon butter, margarine or coconut oil, cut into 4 pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the apples, then remove the core and seeds, leaving about 1/2-inch on the bottom. Peel the apples 1/2 of the way down from the stem end on top, then rub the cut surfaces with the cut side of the lemon. Put the apples in a baking dish. In a small bowl, mix the raisins, orange peel, 3 tablespoons of the juice and 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup. Stuff this mixture into the apple hollows. Sprinkle the apples with cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix the remaining juice, maple syrup and water and pour over the apples. Bake the apples for about 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices, or until the apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 

Simmered Plums with Orange and Pepper

I got the most glorious plums recently.

A lot of them (because they looked so good!).

However, there’s just two of us and rare visitors, two at a time, and there are just so many plums a person can eat!

Some of the fruit started to soften and I made some barbecue sauce with those.

Before the others met the same fate, I simmered them with some brown sugar, cinnamon, orange peel and just a few whole black peppercorns to jazz up the flavor. The sauce is vaguely hot, but not overly spicy.

Eat these lightly cooked plums plain, drizzled with some of the poaching fluids, and/or with whipped cream, heavy cream, ice cream, sorbet, sour cream, yogurt, mascarpone cheese, goat cheese — all good.

Bonus: this recipe is amazingly quick and easy.

Simmered Plums with Orange and Pepper

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 2” cinnamon stick

• 2 2-inch strips orange peel

• 16 peppercorns

• 6-8 medium plums, cut in half, pits removed

Place the sugar, 1-1/2 cups water, cinnamon stick, orange peel and peppercorns in a saucepan large enough to hold the plums. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the plums. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the plum skins split and the fruit is tender. Remove the pan from the heat and let the plums cool in the syrup. Serve the plums with some of the poaching liquid.

Makes 4–6 servings.

Blueberry Tart with Oat Crumb Crust

Summertime. And the blueberries are gorgeous.

Blueberry Tart with Oatmeal Crumb Crust

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup butter (margarine, solid coconut oil), in chunks

• 2 boxes (4 cups) blueberries

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar together in a bowl. Work in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Measure out 1 cup and set aside. Add the remaining mixture to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and press firmly onto the bottom and sides. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Mix the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and flour and spoon into the tart pan. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool.

Makes 8 servings

Simmered Strawberry Fool

This dessert may look very fancy and I placed it on a very fancy plate. 

BUT: other than serving fresh fruit as is, this is among the simplest, easiest desserts ever. And you can also serve it in a plain old dish, custard cup, individual ramekin. However you wish.

The point is, you can transform this into a festive Shavuot holiday dessert just by using a lovely serving piece. The prep is a cinch.

Most of the time a fruit fool is a simple blend of crushed fruit and whipped cream (sometimes with vanilla or another extract added). The extra step of cooking the fruit and adding Balsamic vinegar gives the dish a richer, deeper flavor. Well worth the few (less than 10) minutes of time it takes.

Strawberry Fool 

• one pint strawberries

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange peel

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Extra berries, cookie, chocolate shavings, mint leaves, etc. for garnish

Clean the strawberries, remove the stems and chop the berries into small pieces. Place the berries and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the Balsamic vinegar, cinnamon and orange peel and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the liquid is dark and syrupy. Remove from the heat and let cool. Whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick. Fold the strawberry mixture into the whipped cream until well blended. Spoon the mixture onto dessert dishes (over berries or cookies, if desired). Garnish with berries, chocolate shavings, etc. 

Makes 6 servings
 

Quarantine Charoset or Pantry Charoset or Completely Made-up Charoset

When I was growing up the Seder charoset was used symbolically only. My grandmother, and in later years my mother, would grate an apple or two, mix it with some walnuts and Manischewitz concord grape wine and that was that. It always turned brown and didn’t look very appetizing and we ate it only as commanded during the reading of the Haggadah.

Then, several years ago, charoset became a big deal. It was now expected to taste good, look good and be eaten like a side dish, the way we eat cranberry sauce or apple sauce.

And so, I stopped making the apple mush. Instead, over the years, I’ve made Persian versions, nut-free versions, coconut charosets and all sorts of others, based on different ethnicities.

This year I am making my special COVID19 jumble, made with what I have on hand in the way of dried fruit (plus an orange, which I always have in the fridge.

Should I call it Quarantine Charoset, Pantry Charoset or simply Completely Made Up Charoset?

I don’t use any nuts because of allergies, but you can add 1/3-1/2 cup of chopped nuts (any kind) to this recipe if you have some in your pantry.

Quarantine Charoset or Pantry Charoset or Completely Made-up Charoset

• 1-1/2 cups chopped dates

• 1 cup chop dried figs

• 1 cup chopped dried apricots

• 1/2 cup raisins

• 1 fresh apple, peeled and chopped

• 1/2 cup pomegranate jam (or any jam you have)

• 1/3 cup Passover wine (preferably Concord grape)

• 1/4 cup orange juice

• 1 teaspoon grated fresh orange peel

Place the dates, figs, apricots, raisins and apple in a bowl and toss the fruit to distribute the pieces evenly. Add the pomegranate jam and stir to coat the fruit. Pour in the wine and orange juice; add the orange peel. Toss the ingredients. Let rest for at least one hour before serving.

Makes about 5 cups