The secret is to pre heat the pan.

Ingredients 3 tablespoons canola oil 2 large onions, chopped 1 teaspoon turmeric ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon paprika 3 cups basmati rice ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1 whole chicken (4-5 lbs.), breasts removed and reserved* 10 eggs, pre-boiled (optional) 3-5 toothpicks For the filling: 2 breasts of chicken (from the whole chicken), cut into ½” cubes ⅔ pound ground beef with 80/20 fat content 2 teaspoons Baharat 1 teaspoon salt For the sauce: 1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes, divided 5 ¼ cups water, divided 2 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon black pepper For the rice: ¼ cup tomato paste 2 tablespoon canola oil 1 tablespoon Baharat 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon salt *Ask you butcher to remove the breasts from the whole chicken while keeping the skin of the chicken intact for stuffing.

Chayie Lax

Hot from the sizzling oil, dripping with warm, lemon scented, honey syrup the bumuelo is a Sephardic tradition.  That first bite of sweet crispy goodness is worth the calorie conscious guilt I will feel after eating this traditional goodie. Bumuelos also known as birmuelos, as burmuelos, depending on where Sephardic families are from, are the Jewish version of a doughnut or beignet.  Since bumuelos originated in Spain, they traveled with Ladino (Judeo Spanish) speaking Jews in the 15th century to the Ottoman Empire as part of their traditional cuisine.  Bumuelos have their counterparts in many other countries.  This honey puff is known in Greece as loukoumades, and in Syria, as zalabieh. Where I grew up in Seattle, Washington, we called them bumuelos and my Turkish decent mother made great ones.  

They are so easy and quick, dairy-free, no exotic ingredients and taste OK cold.  Of course everything fried is better hot from the oil, but sometimes that is hard to do if you are serving a complete dinner.  The Ladino speaking Sephardim call this fried treat bumuelo, or some pronounce it Burmuelos, other Sephardim  (the im ending makes the word plural) call these fried treats Lokma, Loukumades, Zalabia, or in French, Beignet.

Inspiring produce abounds at the Santa Monica Farmers Market every Wednesday.  If you arrive early enough there is a chance of shooting some great pictures before the later crowds block the stalls from a clear view.  Some very fine and limited quantity items sell out in the first few moments after the market opens, usually to some chef from a very good restaurant.  One week I arrived a few moments too late to purchase some miniature purple cauliflowers that would have looked spectacular on plates for individuals.  Last week and I assume going forward Rainbow chard seems in abundant supply.  Rainbow chard is aptly named Swiss chard but with a rainbow of different colored stems, including, fuchsia, red, orange, yellow, purple and white variegated.  I had to buy some since the intensity of colors was so amazing.

Bulemas or Boyus, depending on what town your grandparents came from, are spirals of stuffed dough, baked in the oven until crisp.  Spinach and cheese filling is my favorite.  Yeast dough is stretched until, it is a long rectangle, then filled, rolled into a cylinder, sealed at the ends, and coiled into a nest.  They are traditionally served as part of a Sabbath or Holiday lunch. They freeze and reheat very well.

Last week, while having lunch at the popular eatery Joan’s On Third, I tried a roasted Brussels sprouts salad that looked very appealing in the prepared salad case.  I realized, although a bit too dressed for my taste, that Brussels sprouts and dates are a great flavor combination.  Here is my version.  It was a great side dish with the previously posted Pomegranate Chicken last Friday night.

Since we are all trying to eat healthier, brown rice has become a staple in my kitchen.  Serving a lot of brown rice presents a dilemma.  How do I keep it fresh and interesting?  Sometimes it is good just plain or sometimes with yellow onions, green onions, chilies, raisins, nuts, and cumin or curry powder.  Many times, I use a brown and wild blend of rice.  The jewel tones of the diced grilled vegetables in this rice dish make it very appetizing.  Serve this rice on summer barbeque buffets or in the fall at holiday dinners like Thanksgiving.  

In the spirit of health conscious eating, I am serving more brown rice dishes. Brown rice has a nutty, satisfying taste to it that is great with meat, fish, or fowl. This recipe takes it a step further with the addition of fragrant curry powder, zippy green Anaheim chili and a little sweetness from the golden colored Sultana raisins.

Mejedra, Majadra, or even Enjadra are various spellings for a Middle Eastern, Sephardic comfort food. Warm and earthy, the slightly sweet and toasty flavor of well done caramelized onions with rice containing lentils is very satisfying.  It is often eaten plain, as a side dish, or sometimes with yogurt for a quick lunch.  When creating this recipe I opened my pantry and decided that instead of white basmati rice to make it with a brown rice with a little wild rice blended in.  It was delicious but the regular white basmati is traditional.

I wrote about this a year and a half ago and I want to encourage you to try it.  It gets better every time I make it. Smoking a brisket is not like baking a cake.  It is not exact. The constant is, bring the internal temperature of the meat to about 160 °F.  The meat will be succulent, caramelized and very dark on the outside, a red smoked ring and then juicy meat to be sliced thin across the grain to eat plain or put in a killer sandwich. There are so many variables, the style of your smoker, the size of the brisket, the temperature and weather of the day and on and on.  Pick a brisket that is whole, thick and with  1/4 to 1/2 inch of white fat on the top side.  Do not use a super trimmed brisket, the fat needs to drip and will keep the meat moist.  It takes all day, about 8 to 10 hours to smoke a whole brisket.  I started in the morning, placed the brisket on the smoker at 11 AM and we ate dinner at 8 PM.    Adjust your start time to earlier in the day for early dinner.  

Brisket is one of the best cuts of meat to serve for a holiday.  Brisket can serve a crowd, is relatively economical, and you can cook it ahead.  When I cook it ahead, I degrease and cut the brisket into thin slices before I reheat it. The other great thing is, the leftovers are wonderful, and even Nona can chew it. This recipe yields soft juicy meat enveloped in slightly sweet, garlic infused earthy wine sauce. When I serve brisket, I always serve a poultry dish as well since many people do not eat red meat.

Artichokes are an essential Sephardic vegetable.  When I was a child, artichokes were only available in the spring.  Basically the California coast harvest period was from April to June, and then, you had to wait until next year.  Now I see them available in the market, most of the year. Artichokes are traditionally served for Passover meals.  I have learned to love them steamed whole, grilled, fried, marinated, and in dips.  Roman style in Rome, breaded and fried in Israel, stuffed in Turkey and the Mediterranean, artichokes, that thistle that loves to grow in fields near the foggy coast is truly versatile.

I made these the other night and froze them.  This year 2013, Shavuot  falls on May 14, 15 and 16th.  I am taking the opportunity to bake some dairy treats.  Boyus or some call them Bulemas are everyone’s favorite.  Make some and your family will be grateful. The hardest part of baking a boyu is getting the dough right.  I prefer yeast dough with that special aroma and olive oil taste, crispy with just enough chew, it is the perfect pocket for salty cheesy spinach filling.   The trick for getting the dough to stretch effortlessly is to make a soft dough, don’t handle it too much, and let it rest by giving a double rise and a double stretch. One more thing, I always double or triple the recipe.

Boyus or Boyuz or Boyikus are spinach and cheese filled Sephardic pastry.  I have tried many recipes and I think at least three are archived on this blog in the recipe index.  Last week when I was researching and making strudel I had a thought.  Strudel dough is essentially like philo dough.  Nona says that her mother made her own philo dough for the boyus.  You see where I am going with this.  I made two batches of strudel dough and instead of butter for brushing the dough; I used olive oil for one trial and sunflower oil for the second trial.