Hanukkah treats

Recipe by Chef Dalia

It is that time of year again…Hanukkah.

And let’s face it; we’ll be surrounded by food once again. Anyone who celebrates Hanukkah knows that, aside from lighting a Menorah each night, the part of Hanukkah that most people look forward to is the food.

Antiochus, the king of Syria, tried to kill us. We survived…let’s eat (and you don’t have to ask us twice). Hanukkah is an extremely special time of year because — you guessed it — fried food. It is common tradition during Hanukkah to eat fried foods (think latkes), to honor the miracle of light which happened in the temple, when just a small bit of oil that should have only lasted for one night, lasted eight nights. The affection for fried foods during Hanukkah is rooted in celebration of the miracle of the oil that kept a menorah lit almost 2,200 years ago.

When I moved to the U.S., I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know about the Jewish holidays—which are, in theory, the same Jewish holidays I grew up with in Israel. I learned that Hanukkah in the U.S. had changed into a commercialized show that was nearly unrecognizable to me. This is not the Hanukkah I grew up with. In Israel, without any other major holiday to compete with, Hanukkah shines strongly, all by itself. Latkes may be the Hanukkah main food here in America, but in Israel, sufganiyot rule the roost. Sufganiyot are donuts filled with jam, eaten during Hanukkah.

These deep-fried, jam-filled donuts symbolize the burning of oil lamps in the ancient temples of Jerusalem. While oldfashioned, holeless, jam-filled sufganiyah are still the ones most people eat during the holiday, the fillings and toppings available these days are seemingly endless and simply mouthwatering — fillings made of chocolate spreads and flavored pastry creams to toppings like chocolate and caramel glazes, sprinkles and chocolate curls. The options are many and so are the calories that go along with them!

Rugelach is another favorite Hanukkah treat that is a must for the Hanukkah dessert table.

That literally means “little twist” in Yiddish. Rugelach is a yeast pastry, filled with chocolate, cinnamon and sugar or jam. The origins of this pastry are in the old Jewish communities. Nowadays, you can find it literally everywhere in Israel.

If you walked through the “Machane Yehuda” Market in Jerusalem, you would have seen and smelled the huge variety of sweet and sticky pastries and deliciously gooey rugelach on display, especially during the holidays.

Rugelach and I go way back, to the holidays of my childhood, when my siblings and I would scarf down batch after batch of jam-filled rugelach at my grandmother’s house.

“No Hanukkah gathering is complete without dessert!” she used to say.

As an Israeli, it was very difficult for me to decide which pastry or baked good would best inspire my taste this Hanukkah celebration. However, I do have one small and delicious favorite… rugelach! But I also love the classic Hanukkah sufganiyot. There are few greater joys than taking a bite and letting the jam squirt out the other end, while powdered sugar clings to your lips. That is, until you meet my modern Israeli combination “rugelach sufganiya.” Fried rugelach dough in the shape of a sufganiya filled with strawberry jam and more… They are oh-so-yummy. These delicious Israeli jam rugelach sufganiyot are the highlight of my holiday season!

Personal Chef Dalia Hemed can be reached at daliahemed@msn.com.

Israeli Jam Rugelach Doughnuts

Ingredients: For the dough:

• 1 lb. bread flour

• 3 tbsp. white sugar

• 1 tbsp. of active dry yeast

• 1 tsp. of lemon zest

• 2 medium eggs

• ¾ cup milk

• 1 tsp. of salt

• 1 cup softened butter

• extra flour for sprinkling

• canola oil (for frying)

• strawberry jam

For decoration:

• 1¼ cups confectioners' sugar

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 2 tbsp. milk

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour. Add the granulated white sugar, the yeast and mix.

2. Make a well in the center. Add into the well, the zest, eggs, milk, salt and butter.

3. Either with a stand mixer or your hands, knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic, smooth and just a little sticky, but not too much.

4. Grease a bowl, put the dough inside it and cover with a plastic wrap. Set aside to rise for about 45 minutes.

5. Flour a working surface and place the dough on top of it. Divide the dough into two balls. Set one ball aside and work on one at a time.

6. Roll one ball into a very thin dough sheet, approximately 11” x 15”. Fold in half and then fold again. Using a rolling pin, slightly and carefully roll out the folded dough sheet to a rectangle shape.

7. Use a 3-inch round biscuit cutter to cut a round from each rectangle shape. (You can use a 1-inch round biscuit cutter to cut hole in the center for a doughnut shape). Reserve the remaining dough.

8. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, pour in enough oil to fill it at least 2 inches deep. Heat over medium heat to 350ºF.

9. Fry the rugelach sufganiyot in hot oil for 60 to 120 seconds on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels and allow them to cool before glazing.

10. To make vanilla glaze: in a medium bowl, mix 1¼ cups of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and then add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a smooth, glaze-like consistency forms.

11. To assemble; Split each fried and cooled rugelach sufganiya in half, and place 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam in the center. Sandwich the halves back together and drizzle the glaze of your choice over the top. Serve immediately.