DAN'S PAPERS, September 17, 2010 Page 47 www.danshamptons.com
Food / Dining Simple Art of Cooking Silvia Lehrer The 10-day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a period of deep spiritual significance for observant Jews. It is the beginning of the New Year on the solar calendar and the biodiversity of the harvest. “For the New Year the table is full of everything that is growing”, my mother would say – and this well before any of us spoke of biodiversity. Growing up in Brooklyn we had a Seckel pear tree in our yard and today, here on the East End, we have a Bartlett pear tree that has yielded an amazing amount of fruit since mid-August. Traditions are strong for this holiday and I think about several dishes of my Sephardic heritage, such as Seckel pears poached with plums for extra sweetness and reddish color and winter squash phyllo pie with honey and eggs. My Greek born mom made her own phyllo dough and with her practical nature showed me the way, a good many years ago, to 9th avenue to purchase fresh phyllo dough. Today of course it can be purchased frozen in any supermarket. Should you be inspired to prepare the phyllo pie the trick is to defrost the frozen dough overnight in the fridge for ease of handling. “We wish you a sweet New Year,” is a typical greeting as friends and family meet and greet on this holiday, and offering slices of apple dipped in honey is a tradition to greet the New Year after the fast. Remembrances of foods past are strong and so I also think about my mom’s ravani, a cake made by both Sephardic Jews and Greek Orthodox. The cake made
A Sweet Holiday Finish
with honey and butter is nice to have around to celebrate a sweet year on any calendar. SWEET POACHED PEARS AND PLUMS The first pears of the season, Seckel or Bartlett are poached in sugar syrup with plums, yielding a sweet red juice, which the pears absorb to turn their flesh reddish. Serves 8 to 10 8-10 Bartlett pears or 2 pound Seckel pears, about 12 to14, depending on size 6 cups water or enough to barely cover the fruit 1 scant cup sugar 5 to 6 whole cloves 2 tablespoons lemon juice 5 to 6 Italian prune plums or 3 red plums Casaba or Persian melon, cut into sections for serving, optional 1. Select pears that are not yet ripe and with stems attached, if possible. With a melon ball scoop out and remove the core at the base of each pear. Then soak the pears for 10 to 15 minutes to leach out any impurities. 2. Meanwhile prepare sugar syrup. Place water and sugar in a large stainless or an enamel-over-iron saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sugar over mediumhigh heat and add the cloves and lemon juice. With cover ajar cook at a brisk simmer for about 15 min-
utes. Put the pears in the syrup with the plums and reduce heat to medium and cook at a brisk simmer. Cook, with cover ajar about 45 to 50 minutes, or until pears are tender. (Test occasionally with the tip of a paring knife for doneness.) Plums will fall apart and impart a particular sweetness and reddish color to the syrup. With a slotted spoon carefully transfer pears and the plums to a large bowl. Discard the stones from the plums and return plum pieces to the syrup which will thicken the sauce slightly. Reduce liquid in pot until slightly thickened and caramelized and pours lazily from a spoon, about 10 to 12 minutes. Watch this procedure carefully or the sugars in the syrup can burn. You will know this is happening when the liquid starts to foam up. Cool the syrup then pour over the pears. Refrigerate, covered, for up to a week. 3. When ready to serve arrange pears on a platter with a lip to hold the juice and surround with slices of ripe melon, if desired. CALAVASA (Squash Phyllo Pie) Calabaza or Calavasa, the word simply refers to squash in Spanish. Serves 4-6 1 butternut or acorn squash, about 2 1/2 pounds 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup (continued on page 50)
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