Holiday In: The eternal Purim triangle

Here are a few twists on the holiday’s hamantashen favorites.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
hamantashen 390 (photo credit: Oran Shalev)
hamantashen 390
(photo credit: Oran Shalev)
Like many of us, Amir Porat loves cakes. But unlike most of us, he turned his passion into a business.
Together with Italian pastry chef Rosella Yona, the 34-year-old opened Biscotti, a gourmet bakery that also sells to many cafes and restaurants.
For Purim, the duo created a collection of hamantashen with some very interesting fillings. Here are the recipes for a few of their most popular ones.
CLASSIC HAMANTASHEN DOUGH
Makes 40-50
✔ 31⁄2 cups flour ✔ 1 heaping Tbsp. baking powder ✔ 1 cup powdered sugar ✔ 200 gr. butter, cold, cubed ✔ 1⁄3 cup oil ✔ 2⁄3 cup orange juice ✔ Zest of 1 orange ✔ 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Mix dry ingredients in a mixer bowl with the kneading arm. Add butter, and mix until texture is like sand. Add rest of ingredients and knead only until dough separates from the sides of the bowl. Remove from bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Roll dough to a thickness of 3 mm. and cut out 8-cm discs.
Place 1 tsp. of your choice of filling in the center of each disc and fold from three directions, pressing the seams, to create the desired shape. Bake in a preheated 180º oven for 10 minutes.
Note: To turn into a more special dough, you can add 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds to the dry ingredients.
Fillings:
Poppy and orange ✔ 1⁄2 cup sugar ✔ 21⁄2 Tbsp. honey ✔ 1⁄3 cup milk ✔ Zest of 1 orange ✔ 100 gr. ground poppy seed ✔ 2⁄3 cup (50 gr.) ground walnuts ✔ 1 apple, grated ✔ 1 tsp. vanilla extract
In a small pot, heat milk with orange zest, sugar and honey, until honey melts.
Add poppy seeds, nuts, apple and vanilla.
Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
Halva and pistachio ✔ 1 cup undiluted tehina (240 gr.) ✔ 1 cup silan (date honey) ✔ 50 gr. coarsely ground pistachio
Mix tehina and silan until smooth. Add pistachio and mix.
Date ✔ 300 gr. date paste ✔ 1 level tsp. cinnamon ✔ 1 level tsp. dry ginger powder ✔ Zest of 1 lemon ✔ 2⁄3 cup ground walnuts
Mix all ingredients.
ALMOND WITH CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND FILLING
To prepare the dough, replace 1⁄2 cup flour with 100 gr. ground almonds, and proceed with the classic recipe to make the dough.
Filling:
✔ 300 gr. bitter chocolate ✔ 250 ml. cooking cream ✔ 30 gr. butter ✔ 1⁄3 cup sugar ✔ 2 eggs ✔ 1⁄2 cup sliced almonds
Bring cream, butter and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat.
Break chocolate into a mixing bowl and pour hot cream mixture over it.
Wait a couple of minutes and mix until smooth. Let it cool. When lukewarm, fold in the eggs one after the other. Refrigerate chocolate mixture overnight. Add sliced almonds. Continue as in the classic recipe.
BROWN HAMANTASHEN WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE FILLING
Add 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder to the dry ingredients and continue preparing the dough as in the classic recipe.
White chocolate filling:
✔ 300 gr. ready-made white chocolate spread ✔ 50 gr. chocolate chip
Mix and proceed as in classic recipe.
SAVORY HAMANTASHEN
✔ 3⁄5 cups flour ✔ 1 heaping Tbsp. baking powder ✔ 200 gr. butter ✔ 1⁄4 cup olive oil ✔ 1 level tsp. salt ✔ 160 ml. sour cream ✔ 1 tsp. dry or chopped fresh oregano ✔ 1 tsp. dry or fresh chopped basil
Prepare dough as in the classic recipe.
DRIED TOMATO FILLING:
✔ 200 gr. dried tomatoes, oil strained and chopped ✔ 100 gr. goat feta cheese, crumbled 50 gr. Kashkaval or Parmesan cheese, grated.
Mix all ingredients. Chill in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before using.
Roll dough to 3 mm. thick. Cut out 8- cm. discs. Fill each disc with 1 tsp. of the filling. Shape and bake for 10 minutes in a 180º oven.
Eggplant filling ✔ 1 eggplant, sliced ✔ Olive oil ✔ 1 Tbsp. coarse salt ✔ 100 gr. basil pesto ✔ 150 gr. crumbled Bulgarian feta cheese
Place eggplant slices on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil and sprinkle coarse salt. Bake in a 200º oven until browned (about 20 minutes). Chill and cut into 1x1 cm. cubes.
Roll dough and cut out discs. Spread thin layer of pesto on the discs, place a piece of eggplant and a few cheese crumbs on each one. Shape and bake in a 180º oven for 10 minutes.
Recipes and photos courtesy of Biscotti bakery.