RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Beth Greenfeld Italian Jewish Cooking
I've really meant to review this book before, but I just can't bear looking at it so I haven't gotten around to it til now. I went out of my way to order it because I thought it would be interesting, and it's been a serious disappointment. It's called "Italian Jewish Cooking,' by Mira Sacerdoti, edited by Rita Erlich. Ms. Erlich seems to have more actual knowledge of Italian Jewish cooking, though Mira Sacerdoti has obviously cooked all the recipes in the book. I know that she has because she says things like, this dish is supposed to be made on Friday and eaten on Shabbat, but it always turns into a gummy mess when I do that so now I make it and then eat it right away. Or, about an eggplant dish, she says that the eggplant is mushy and the looks of the dish are nothing to write home about, but it tastes just fine. (Well, maybe I won't make that one for company.) One of my favorite remarks is, well, I'll give you the recipe the way I got it but whenever I make it that way it all falls apart and runs off the plate, so I do it in reverse. What the book is probably most useful for, other than giving you reasons, if needed, for banging your head against the wall, is the chapters on what Italian-Jewish cooking is. Well, for one thing, it's regional, just like the rest of Italian cooking. Certain foods, such as eggplant and fennel, were thought of for ages as beiing "Foods of the Jews." Certain flavours, such as sweet and sour fish dishes, tend to be called "alla Ebraica" or "alla Guidea." Certain substitutions or "variant ingredients" such as bone or beef marrow instead of oil or fat are Italian-Jewish in nature. And, some preparations, such as combining meat and vegetables in the same dish (to stretch the kosher meat over more servings, since it was hard to get) are "distinctively Italian-Jewish." So, I thought I would let y'all know what Italian Jews served on Chanukah, since that's the closest holiday. It seems, I found out, that Italian Jews celebrate one holiday that no other Jews do, called Shabbat Beshalach, on the Shabbat that we read the portion about the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. If someone reminds me, I'll post it right before the pertinent Shabbat. You'll like it--it has something in it to remind you of the heads of the drowned... Anyway, back to Chanukah (spelled Hanuckah in the book). In the introductory section, it says that two appropriate main dishes are meat alla Shimson and Fried Chanukah chicken. I have no idea what Meat alla Shimson is; it's not in the index, and I skimmed the whole book and couldn't find it anywhere. But I did find the chicken recipe, even though it's not CALLED Fried Chanukah Chicken in the index. It's just called Fried Chicken, and then you have to go look at it and see from the blurb that it's indeed for Chanukah, but you can have it any time. So, here it is: Fried Chicken 1 chicken size 12 cut into 4 or 4 chicken Maryland pieces [I will not comment on the fact that although I live in Maryland I have no idea what that means, but I will be sure to enquire about it the next time I'm in Italy.] 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 eggs juice of one lemon flour olive oil freshly ground pepper salt Put the chicken pieces in an earthenware or glass container in which they fit completely. Put the lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper into a shallow dish and beat with a fork until well amalgamated; then pour it over the chicken. Turn the chicken pieces once or twice to make sure that they are well coated on all sides, cover the dish, and allow to stand for at least one hour. Remove the chicken pieces from the mariande and pat dry with a paper towel. Break the eggs into a soup plate, season with salt and pepper, and beat lightly with a fork. Coat the chicken pieces with flour, dip into the egg, and fry in hot oil When the chicken is golden brown on all sides remove it from the oil and put it on a rack to drain in a moderately hot oven leaving the oven door open, until you are ready to serve. Okay, now it's time for dessert. The only Chanukah dessert in the book is for Precipizi so that's what I'll give you. Ms. Sacerdoti tells you, first of all, that the "finished Precipizi should resemble Torrone." Who or what "Torrone" is, I cannot say. He/it/they is/are not in the index anywhere, and not in the book either. Ingredients: for each egg use: 1 tablespoon plain flour 1 tablespoon castor sugar 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon liquor of your choice honey extra olive oil Mix all the ingredients together until you have a smooth pastry. Then form little balls, each the size of a walnut. Heat the oil and fry the pastry balls until golden brown. Remove and drain well on paper towels. Prepare an oiled, heat-resistant working surface. In a saucepan, heat enough honey to coat the balls. Put the fried balls into the hot honey and stir carefully until all the balls are covered. Then pour the whole mass onto the oiled surface. Spread the mass so that the balls are tight against each other and they are not on top of each other. With an oiled knife, cut into sticks about 30mmwide and 60-80mm long. As you cut, transfer each stick onto another oiled surface, leaving space between the sticks so that they do not stick to each other, and leave until the sticks are cold and hard.
