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Tu Bishvat is at the door, the almond tree is in bloom and the sun occasionally shines through. The entire atmosphere of the new year for trees makes us all crave for what symbolizes this holiday more than anything else: dried fruits. It’s not really clear how the holiday of blooming and flowers turned into a holiday when we eat fruit that have been painfully dried out and yet, just as chocolate matza is the essence of Passover, dried fruit symbolize Tu Bishvat.
If the dried fruit market offering of yore included mainly dried bananas, dates, pineapple and figs, and the appearance of the papaya served as a true revolution in the field, then the recent years have brought on the “attack of the dried fruits” with a great number of fruits, some more exotic than others, joining the long and respectable list of items served at the holiday table. Adi Blumenfeld, General Manager of “Touching Food” culinary centers, explains that the variety of dried fruits has increased because of two main reasons: First, the markets opened up and changed the world into a small global village – a fact that also impacts the importation of dried fruits. Many of the dried fruits that we eat come from China and the Far East. In addition, the trend of eating health foods generates their preference over candy and other sweets.
Nig Nog Nag – Who’s In the Bag?
In her book “The Tale of a Bag”, Mirik Snir tells the story of a bag of dried fruit joined by a date, an almond and more. It is safe to assume that today her book would turn into to a large encyclopedia. The variety of dried fruits available during the upcoming holiday, including the classic ones, are dried lychee, carambola, sugared cherry tomatoes, dried persimmon, dried hibiscus flowers, dried pomelo, melon and peach, as well as aloe vera plants, which, for some reason is very popular in the far east, as a snack, as a drink and in general. All of these are joined by dried fruits that have already been introduced and which have become very popular, such as sugared ginger (which also helps the body stay warm in the winter), dried cranberries and other dried forest fruits, along with dried coconut cubes. There is also a variety of exotic fruit, including the Jack Fruit with which most of us are familiar from our trips to Thailand and which has developed into a dried version and, of course, the king of all dried fruits, the pineapple, presented in a variety of versions. You can find dried pineapple roots, dried pineapple rings with sugar, pineapple rings that were naturally dried and contain no sugar, and many other versions.
Organics, Low Cals and Sugarless – The New Dried Fruits
Dried fruits are an excellent source of energy, they contain vitamins, minerals and iron and are definitely a worthy alternative to industrial candy. However, their sugar content is high and the increasing awareness to the perils of excessive sugar consumption has led to the launch of low sugar dried fruits (the sugared ginger, for example, is offered at various levels of sugar content), of fruits that underwent a natural drying process and completely sugar free fruits – like the dried persimmon and one of the many pineapple versions. They do not just provide a source of energy, but have a lower caloric value and, as stated – much less sugar. Another trend is organic dried fruits or fruits that underwent a natural drying process, causing less damage to the fruit’s nutritional value.
Touching the Rice
Raisins and almonds are most popular among the dried fruits and they demonstrate, more than anything else, the festive atmosphere that dried fruits can add to any dish. Thus, for example, simple white rice takes on a significant upgrade with the generous help of almonds and raisins, as do many other dishes. Chef Shai Asael conducts workshops at the “Touching Food” centers that are uniquely tailored to Tu Bishvat, where he teaches participants how to prepare – with the help of dried fruits – especially festive dishes. The workshop will take place at the Ra’anana branch on 22 January 2007 (189 NIS). For further details, please call: 09-740-4474.
In the meantime, below are two of the recipes to be presented at the workshop. They are both very good (I prepared, tasted and recommend them very highly), especially the apple strudel – which can be adopted for regular days of the year.
Smoked Beef Pastry with Onions and Figs
For the dough:
½ kg flour
2 tbsp. yeast
3 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ cup of olive oil
Water as absorbed
For the filling
200 g smoked beef breast, minced
4 diced onions
4 tbsp. oil
150 g minced dates
Garnish
Egg
Nigella
Preparation:
1. Dough preparation: Place all of the dry ingredients into the mixer and process slowly. Gradually add the oil and water until the dough becomes convenient, pleasant and does not stick. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
2. Filling preparation: Sautee the onions in a bit of oil until golden, turn of the flame and add the figs, smoked meat and spices.
3. Composition: Roll out the dough and make circles. Fill the dough with the filling and roll into balls. Cover with egg, sprinkle the nigella seeds and bake at 180-200° for 10-15 minutes.
Apple Strudel and Prunes
1 package filo dough
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup bread crumbs
100 g ground walnuts
A bit of cinnamon
200 g margarine/butter, melted
For the Filing
1 ½ Kg. Granny Smith apples
150 g seedless prunes
200 g walnuts
¾ cup sugar
A bit of cinnamon
To Serve:
Powdered sugar
Vanilla ice cream/Parve cream
Preparation:
1. Dough preparation: Cover the filo dough with butter, mix the sugar, breadcrumbs and walnuts and spread over the filo leaves. Repeat the process and cover the two layers with a final buttered filo leaf.
2. Filling preparation: Peel and grate the apples and then squeeze and mix with cinnamon, sugar, prunes and walnuts.
3. Composition: Place the filling on the filo dough and roll into a thick pipe. Butter and bake in the oven at 180-200° for 15-18 minutes. Serve hot with a ball of ice cream and sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
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