In the kitchen with Henny: Nosh nosh a hamentash!

It’s the funnest time of the year! Everywhere you look there are people of all ages wearing funny hats or costumes, kids going to school in pajamas, carnivals, lots of color, and upbeat music.

Of course, food is a big part of our celebrations and hamentashen cookies, also called oznei Haman (Haman’s ears), have become the food icon of Purim. If you want to go all out and have hamentashen for more than just dessert, here are some novel ideas to create other foods with the hamentashen theme. 

Challah-Tashen

Everyone will be so excited to start the Purim feast with fun challah hamentashen – challah-tashen! 

These can be made using your own challah recipe and filled with any seasonings or dips of your choice.

See illustration.

Yields 10-12 challah-tashen.

• 1 kilo challah dough
• 1 egg, beaten

Filling options:

• Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, za’atar, fried onion, minced garlic, cinnamon sugar 

Take a part of your dough and roll it out with a rolling pin, then cut out 4-inch squares.

Turn the square so it looks like a diamond shape.

Using a sharp knife, cut out a small triangle on one half of the diamond.

Brush with egg on the opposite side of the diamond (see illustration 5a and 5b) and fill the center of that half with seasonings or a teaspoon of dip.

Fold the half of the diamond that has the cut-out triangle onto the half with the filling. 

Seal the edges and brush with egg.

Preheat the oven to 170C/350F.

Let the challah-tashen rise for 15 minutes, then bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Knish-Tashen

These doughless potato knishes are super easy to make, and when you bake it in a round pan, it’s easy to cut into triangles to become potato-tashen!

I love that they still have that dough-like taste and texture without the fuss.

Yields 2 8” round pans.

• 8-10 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 onion 
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 2 cups flour (can be gluten-free)
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup oil 
• 2 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• Cooking spray
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Peel and cube the potatoes, boil in a large pot of water with 1 tsp. of salt added until soft, about 30-40 minutes. Drain and set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 170C/350F. Chop the onion and sauté in olive oil until translucent. Add onions to the potatoes and mash well until smooth.

Add the flour, eggs, oil, salt, and pepper to the mashed potatoes and mix well. (NOTE: Before adding the fourth egg, beat it in a cup and reserve a small amount of the egg for later.)

Lightly grease 2 large round pans with cooking spray. Fill the pans with the potato batter and brush with the reserved egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. 

Let it cool and then slice it pizza-pie style into triangles. These knish-tashen are always a big hit!

Meat-Tashen

Meat and dough go very well together, especially when they are shaped like hamentashen.

These are a great way to start the Purim meal or just to have something available to snack on through the busy and exciting day of Purim.

Yields about 20 meat-tashen.

• ½ kilo ground beef
• 1 onion
• 1 package frozen puff pastry dough
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 1 egg, beaten

Defrost the pastry dough about an hour before using. Chop the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, then add in the ground beef, pepper and garlic powder, or any other spices you like. Mix the onions and meat together until the meat is slightly browned; about 2-3 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a baking tray with baking paper. Unroll the pastry dough and cut out circles, about four inches in diameter, using a large circle cutter or large glass. Place about 1 tablespoon of meat filling in the center of the circle and then pinch the corners together to form a triangle and brush with egg. 

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the dough has a golden brown color. These can be made ahead of time, and they freeze well.

Hamentashen 

Hamentashen have been a Purim specialty for centuries. The fillings have varied from simple poppy seeds to delicious jams, chocolate chips, and anything else. 

This recipe was given to me by my sister-in-law, who got it from her sister-in-law. I love that it uses oil and not margarine for the dough, and they still come out crispy and sweet. I bet you can’t eat just one!

Yields about 4 dozen.

• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup oil
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1+ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. salt
• 3-4 cups flour

Filling:

• Use any jams or spreads of your choice.

Preheat the oven to 180C/375F. Mix all the ingredients in a mixer. Keep adding flour if the batter is too sticky. Use a rolling pin to roll it out. Cut out circles with a glass or cookie cutter. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center and then pinch and close to form a triangle. Bake for 15 minutes. 

Wishing you and yours a fun, delicious, and very happy Purim!

The writer is a kitchen coach, inspiring confidence and creativity in the kitchen. www.inthekitchenwithhenny.com