Get cooking for Chanukah with carrots, beetroot, plums and cheese
Vegetables add depth and soul to your festive dishes
Originally from Siberia, Alissa Timoshkina comes from a family with a Ukrainian-Jewish lineage, whose history forms an important part of her culinary writing.
Earlier this year, Alissa published her second book, Kapusta, in which she champions the humble yet mighty vegetables that form the backbone of Eastern European cooking. Filled with glorious, veg-forward and seasonal recipes, Kapusta celebrates the top five most popular vegetables from the region – cabbage, beetroot, potato, carrot and mushrooms.
We’ve selected some of Alissa’s recipes that are perfect for Chanukah – spin the dreidel to decide what to make!
CARROT, HONEY AND TWAROG FRITTERS (pictured above)
Cooking with sweet cottage cheese is one of the best traditions of Eastern European cuisine. These little sweet cottage cheese patties, known as syrniki, from the Slavic word syr for (cottage) cheese, make up the bulk of happy childhood memories for so many. You will find twarog at eastern European shops, or replace it with ricotta.
MAKES 10 TO 12
• 50g (1¾oz) unsalted butter
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
• 2−3 tablespoons honey, or to taste
• 200g (7oz) twarog (or ricotta)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 scant teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons plain flour
• 2 tablespoons raisins, pre-soaked in 20ml (1½ tablespoons) rum (optional)
• grated zest of ½ lemon
• vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
• icing sugar, for dusting
• crème fraîche, to serve
1. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat and add the
carrots and honey.
2. Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes.
3. Mix the twarog (or ricotta), eggs, sugar, baking powder, salt, flour, raisins and lemon zest in a large bowl.
4. When the carrots are soft, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Add the carrots to the flour mixture, stirring to combine.
5. Heat enough oil for shallow-frying (about 4−6 tablespoons) in a large frying pan. Scoop two heaped tablespoons of the mixture directly into the hot oil and pat it down with the back of a spoon to form a fritter. There is no need to strive for perfection in shape – the more
rustic they look, the better. Fry on each side on a medium high heat
for four minutes.
6. Remove with a slotted spoon and let rest on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve with some crème fraîche.
A TZIMMES CARROT CAKE
This recipe is pure invention, born out of the golden rule: as long as you have carrots and prunes, you can make a delicious dish and feature tzimmes in its name. So here you have it – a carrot cake with prunes, apricots, ginger and cinnamon. Grab a tub of sour cream and tuck in!
SERVES 8 TO 10
• 225g (8oz) plain flour
• 125g (41/2oz) golden caster sugar
• 135g (5oz) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 90g (3oz) walnuts, roughly chopped
• 90g (3oz) pitted prunes,
roughly chopped
• 90g (3oz) dried apricots,
roughly chopped
• 120g (41/2oz) unsalted butter, melted
• 200g (7oz) grated carrot (about two medium carrots)
• zest of 1 large orange
• 3 eggs
• sour cream, to serve
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) and grease and line a 25cm (9in) round cake tin.
2. Combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices, salt and walnuts in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the dried fruit, melted butter, grated carrot, orange zest and eggs. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir gently to combine.
4. Pour the mixture into a tin and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out almost clean.
5. Let the cake cool slightly before serving. Enjoy with a big dollop of sour cream.
BEETROOT AND PLUM TWAROG
SERVES 4
The addition of just a few extra ingredients can create a whole new culinary experience out of this beautiful root vegetable.
• 1 large raw beetroot, peeled and grated, or cut into julienne strips
• 2 plums, slightly under-ripe
• 2 tablespoon cider apple vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 250g (9oz) Polish twarog (or ricotta)
• zest of ½ lemon
• 1 small bunch of dill, roughly chopped
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds, for sprinkling
1. Mix the beetroot in a bowl with
the vinegar and honey.
2. Slice the plums into thin strips or matchsticks. Mix with the beetroot. Add the twarog (or ricotta), salt, pepper, lemon zest and dill.
3. Sprinkle with poppy seeds and
serve with some rye bread or sourdough toast.
All recipes courtesy of Kapusta by Alissa Timoshkina (Quadrille, £28).
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