A Persian Hanukkah Meal, from Lamb Meatballs to Cheesecake
Here at Bon Appétit, we love our latkes, and our brisket, and our sufganiyot. That said, we're always looking for ways to dress up our Hanukkah dinners, and when we heard that Louisa Shafia, author of The New Persian Kitchen, was hosting a Persian Jewish Hanukkah meal on Dec. 5 with Porsena chef Sara Jenkins, we had to find out what they were cooking up. Above, you'll see the images of the upcoming feast, and below Shafia offers context for the dinner, plus three recipes:
In the holy temple of Jerusalem, there is a light that never goes out, and according to historians, such a flame in ancient Israel would most certainly have been lit by olive oil. Over the millennia, the yearly celebration of the oil that burned for eight days has become, in a culinary sense, a festival of frying. But this colorful menu puts the spotlight back on olive oil, that peppery, fruity, verdant substance whose taste is truly miraculous.
Even before the original events of Hanukkah, which took place around 165 B.C.E., there were Jews living in Iran, Israel’s neighbor some 1,000 miles to the east. They thrived there under the benevolent rule of Cyrus, the first king of the Persian Empire. Iran has always been a fertile country, known in the ancient world for its magnificent gardens and orchards, and the native fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers found their way into Persian Jewish cooking. This Hanukkah menu draws on the bejeweled nature of Persian food, with ingredients like pomegranates, persimmons, apricots, rose petals, mint, almonds, and pistachios.
Some of the dishes here have been made in Iran for hundreds if not thousands of years, like the kufteh, the lamb meatballs held together with basmati rice and seasoned with mint and garlic. Others, like the Olive Oil Poached Fish made with herbs and lemon, and the Persimmon Cheesecake made with goat cheese and cardamom, are new creations inspired by the fairytale cuisine of this Silk Road country. You may find that the crisp, tangy Shaved Celery Root and Pomegranate Salad is the perfect topping for potato latkes, or that the ruby colored Pomegranate Walnut Stew beats out brisket as a stellar Hanukkah main course.
Winter Squash Fritters with Rose Petals
Makes about 16
Use any winter squash in these fritters: Red Kuri, kabocha, pumpkin, and butternut are just some of the colorful varieties of these versatile vegetables that bumble into markets on wobbly bottoms at the onset of autumn. The recipe calls for chickpea flour, a traditional Persian ingredient that’s available at most natural foods stores, but any flour will do. The batter can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator. A few extra rose petals make a fetching garnish.
1/2 cup walnuts
2 Tbsp. dried rose petals or dried whole rosebuds pulled apart and stems removed
6 scallions, green and white parts, coarsely chopped
2 cups peeled and grated winter squash
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1 tsp. ground cumin
Sea salt
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
High heat cooking oil
1/2 cup thick Greek-style yogurt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Pulse the walnuts, rose petals, and scallions in a food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl and combine with the squash, eggs, flour, cumin, and 1 tsp. salt. Mix well and fold in the feta.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add oil to coat the bottom. Drop in heaping tablespoonfuls of the batter, spacing them one inch apart. Cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes per side, until the fritters form a golden crust. You may need to lower the heat slightly as you cook. Drain the fritters on paper towels, then transfer to the prepared baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven until ready to serve.
Season the fritters with salt and pepper and top each with a dollop of yogurt.
Lamb Meatballs with Mint and Garlic
Makes about 30
Persians make all kinds of kufteh, or “pounded meat” delicacies, from plate-size, cinnamon-scented Tabrizi meatballs to small curried meatballs made with chickpea flour and dill. Kufteh are made with rice, which gives them a tender, fluffy texture. Before making the meatballs, it’s important to soak the rice for 1 hour; otherwise, the grains won’t cook through. You can combine the meat and seasonings a day before cooking, or you can cook the meat- balls completely the day before and warm them in the oven the next day. Serve with Persian pickles, flatbread, yogurt, and a light salad, such as the Shaved Celery Root and Pomegranate Salad.
MEATBALLS
1/2 cup basmati rice, soaked in cold water for 1 hour
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp. dried mint
1/2 large yellow onion
1 pound ground turkey, lamb, or beef
1 egg, whisked
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Grapeseed oil, for browning the meatballs
SAUCE
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 tsp. dried dill weed
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
3 cups water, boiling
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Grapeseed oil, for frying, if needed
To make the meatballs, rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear, then shake off as much excess water as possible. In a food processor, combine the rice with the garlic, mint, and onion, and pulse until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl and add the meat, egg, salt, and pepper. Mix well. The mixture should be pliable and easy to shape. You can cover the mixture and refrigerate for 24 hours, if desired.
Form the meat into balls the size of a heaping tablespoon. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom. Working in batches, cook the meatballs for 6 to 8 minutes, until browned on all sides, then transfer to a baking sheet.
To make the sauce, add a little oil to the same skillet, if needed, and the onion. Cook the onion over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir in the tomato paste, dill, cinnamon, turmeric, and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper. Delicately place the meatballs in the sauce. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Stir in the lemon juice and serve warm.
Vegetarian Option
Use an equivalent amount of tempeh in place of the meat, and pulse it in a food processor until coarsely ground. Use 3 eggs instead of 2 eggs.
No-bake Persimmon and Goat Cheese Cheesecake
Makes 1 10-inch cake
Whenever I bring home persimmons, I always imagine that I’ll work them into an artful, sophisticated dish. But their coral color and honeysuckle flavor are so alluring that as soon as they ripen, I invariably tear into one raw, scooping out the flesh in sheer, uninhibited delight. Perhaps that’s why I’ve created a dessert that leaves the pure flavor of persimmons intact. This airy cheesecake requires no cooking, and the sauce is simply puréed persimmons. Make the cheesecake at least 4 hours before serving, or even the day before, so it’s firm and easy to slice. Try substituting ripe mangoes or peaches for the persimmons; because both of these fruits hold their shape, you can puree enough to go inside the cake and dice the rest to use as a topping.
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups pistachios, toasted
1 cup crushed graham crackers
3/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp. unrefined coconut oil, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. organic cane sugar
Sea salt
5 very ripe hachiya persimmons
1 lb. fresh goat cheese, at room temperature, crumbled
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
Lightly oil a 10-inch springform pan with coconut oil.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream into stiff peaks. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside in the refrigerator. Replace the mixer bowl without washing.
In a food processor, combine the pistachios and graham crackers with 3 Tbsp. of the coconut oil, the cinnamon, the cardamom, and 2 Tbsp. of the sugar. Add a pinch of salt and pulse until the mixture clumps easily. Transfer to the springform pan and spread evenly over the bottom. Press down with the bottom of a juice glass to pack it down evenly.
Scoop the flesh from the persimmons and puree in a blender until smooth. Set aside 1/2 cup of the puree, and store the rest in the refrigerator.
Combine the goat cheese, the remaining 3/4 cup coconut oil, and the remaining 1 cup sugar in the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth. Fold in the 1/2 cup persimmon puree, the lime juice, and a pinch of salt. Fold in the whipped cream. Pour the mixture into the springform pan and smooth the top. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, until firm.
To serve, remove the pan sides and cut the cheesecake into wedges. Garnish each serving with a generous spoonful of the persimmon puree. The cheesecake will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Recipes reprinted with permission from The New Persian Kitchen by Louisa Shafia, copyright © 2013. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.
Note: This recipe has not been tested by the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen.
1/10A Persian Hanukkah Feast
Iran has always been a fertile country, known in the ancient world for its magnificent gardens and orchards, and the native fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers found their way into Persian Jewish cooking. This Hanukkah menu draws on the bejeweled nature of Persian food, with ingredients like pomegranates, persimmons, apricots, rose petals, mint, almonds, and pistachios.
2/10Potato Cakes (kotlet) with Tamarind Sauce
Think of these as Persian latkes. Derived from the Russian dish kotlety, a pan-fried ground meat patty, this comforting snack food will fill your kitchen with the fragrant aroma of garlic, onions, and coriander. The simple tamarind sauce gives the cakes a tangy, fruity finish. This recipe is vegetarian, but you can replace the tempeh with ground lamb or turkey. The kotlet can be eaten with a knife and fork, or stuffed into a sandwich like a burger.
3/10Winter Squash Fritters with Rose Petals
It’s customary to serve dairy dishes at Hanukkah, to commemorate the bravery of Judith Maccabee. She fed the enemy leader plenty of salty cheese, so he got thirsty, drank too much wine, and essentially got wasted, making him easy to capture. This fritter has salty crumbled feta in the batter, reminiscent of an Ashkenazi cheese latke. Use any winter squash in these fritters: Red Kuri, kabocha, pumpkin, are all good choices. The recipe (see below) calls for chickpea flour, a traditional Persian ingredient that’s available at most natural foods stores, but any flour will do.
4/10Shaved Celery Root and Pomegranate Salad
During Hanukkah, it’s customary to eat fried foods to commemorate the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days and nights. According to historians, that precious substance was olive oil, which has been produced in Israel for thousands of years. In addition to fried latkes—the traditional holiday favorite—try this crisp, palate-cleansing salad that’s dressed with olive oil and features Iran’s most storied fruit. It’s so tangy and crunchy, you may even want to put it right on your latkes.
5/10Vinegar Carrots with Toasted Sesame Seeds
Trading along the Silk Road brought the flavors of the Far East to Iran, and vice versa. In Eastern Iran, and in countries like Uzbekistan that are situated in between Iran and China, there is a delicious intermingling of Central and East Asian flavors, like in this salad, seasoned with garlic, sesame seeds, chiles, and vinegar. Use a carrot peeler to peel the carrots into long ribbons or a mandoline slicer to cut them into matchsticks. This salad makes a colorful, crunchy topping for latkes.
6/10Lamb Meatballs (kufteh) with Mint and Garlic
Persians make all kinds of kufteh, or “pounded meat” delicacies, from plate-size, cinnamon-scented Tabrizi meatballs to small curried meatballs made with chickpea flour and dill. These meatballs (see recipe, below) are not so different from classic Ashkenazi “sweet and sour” meatballs, but the sauce for the kufteh has the distinctly Persian flavor combination of dill, cinnamon, turmeric, tomato paste, and lemon juice. Kufteh are made with rice, which gives them a tender, fluffy texture. Before making the meatballs, it’s important to soak the rice for 1 hour; otherwise, the grains won’t cook through.
7/10Pomegranate Walnut Stew (fesenjan)
Pomegranates are steeped in symbolism in Judaism, and were part of the décor of the First Temple in Jerusalem. They are usually part of the Rosh Hashanah meal, but seem especially appropriate now, when they’re in peak season. The sweet-and-sour flavor of fesenjan, a classic Iranian stew regularly featured on the menus of weddings and special occasions, is the magical combination of rich ground walnuts and tart pomegranate syrup. On this year’s solemn occasion of Thanksgivukkah, it’s worth mentioning that fesenjan can be made with turkey and double as a stunning Thanksgiving entrée.
8/10Olive Oil Poached Fish
This dish is a beautiful way to highlight olive oil. Use your best-quality olive oil, as the low heat of poaching leaves its delicate nature and flavor intact. Fresh and dried green herbs play many roles in Persian food, from colorful garnish to flavor component to main ingredient, and here they are the main seasoning for the fish, along with lemon zest and juice. Warm flatbread makes a nice accompaniment to soak up the pan juice.
9/10Jeweled Rice (morassa polo)
Rice is an essential part of any Persian feast, and jeweled rice, its most sumptuous and regal expression, is typically reserved for special occasions. Studded with barberries, pistachios, and rose petals, and seasoned with delicate saffron, this dish shows off the fruits and nuts of the Iranian garden. This version is made with whole grains, but if you want to use the more traditional basmati rice, simply cook it according to the package instructions and follow the rest of the recipe as written. (And check out Bon Appétit's previous Jeweled Rice recipe.)
10/10No-Bake Persimmon and Goat Cheese Cheesecake
Persimmons are a well-loved Iranian fruit that’s in season in the fall. The Farsi word for persimmon, khormaloo, translates to “date plum,” a fitting name. The persimmon has long been a neglected fruit in the US, but in recent years it’s getting more attention on both Hanukkah and Thanksgiving menus, in salads, desserts, and even latkes. Make sure to use the hachiya variety of persimmon for this recipe. They are sugary sweet and floral, but they must be completely soft and ripened before using, a process that can sometimes take up to a week.
