RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Beth Greenfeld Fruit and Grain Pudding: Assure - pareve
Karen Selwyn wrote: > I read Gloria Greene's JEWISH HOLIDAY COOKBOOK. I learned there are > no recipes associated with Tu B'Shevat; the emphasis on is on the > fruits and nuts which are indigenous to Israel. I dearly love Gloria Greene's book, but it seems she is wrong about this one. It seemed to me that the Sephardim should have a traditional dish for Tu B'Shevat, since they were the ones who invented the Tu B'Shevat seder and celebrate this as a major holiday. So, I looked in Rabbi Sternberg's "The Sephardic Kitchen," and found the recipe for Assure. Here's what Rabbi Sternberg says about it: "The number ten (or esser), for Jews, refers to the Ten Commandments. The Jewish recipe for assure symbolically contains ten different ingredients, an ingredient for each of the Ten Commandments given by G-d to the Jewish people. Assure is eaten at the end of a ritual meal on Tu B'Shevat called the Tu B;shevat Seder. This custom was developed by Jewish mystics, the kabbalists, as a way of spiritually connecting with the turning of the season and the beginning of a new planting and growing cycle." Assure (start the night before) 1/4 cup dried chick peas 1 cup dark raisins 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots 1 cup brandy 10 1/2 cups cold water for cooking [not counted as an "ingredient"] 2 cups whole wheat berries 1 cup long grain brown rice 2 cups sugar 2 cups WHOLE milk (do not substitute 2% or skim) 1/4 cup pine nuts 1/4 cup slivered almonds [optional: confectioners' sugar] 1. Soak the chick-peas overnight in water to cover by 1 inch. Soak the raisins and apricots in the brandy overnight. 2. Drain and wash the chickpeas, and then put them in a pot of boiling unsalted water. Reduce heat to simmer, partially cover the pot, and cook the chick peas for one hour or until tender. Drain and set aside. 3. While the chickpeas are cooking, bring two saucepans of salted water to a boil, one containing 8 cups and the other containing 2 1/2 cups. 4. In the 8 cups of water, put the wheat berries. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 2 hours, or until the wheat berries are soft. About half the water will be absorbed. Drain the wheat berries and set aside, but don't discard the leftover water. 5. In the 2 1/2 cups of water, put the rice. Reduce heat to simmer, cover the pot, cook rice for one hour (until all the water is absorbed). 6. Take leftover water from wheatberries, and put it in a large saucepan. Dissolve the sugar into this water and bring it to a boil. Cook this mixture for about 20 minutes, or until it thickens into a thick syrup, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. 7. Add the milk to the syrup and mix well. REDUCE HEAT and cook, stirring often, until the milk is absorbed into the syrup and the mixture is thick and creamy. This will take one half to three quarters of an hour. 8. Reduce the heat under the syrup to low. Add raisins and apricots and left-over brandy, if there is any. Cook over low heat until tender, about twenty minutes. 9. Add wheatberries, rice, and chick peas. Cook until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. 10. Stir in the nuts. Remove the assure from the heat and mound the pudding in a large deep bowl or individual serving bowls. Chill, covered, at least two hours. You can sprinkle it, before serving, with confectioners' sugar if you want. It's a very rich dish and a little goes a long way, so this makes 12-15 small portions. Beth.
