Savory Hamentashen

Every Purim I find myself kind of disappointed by the hamentashen at the Jewish day school where I work. The school orders about 1000 huge, doughy, dry pastries and this year they were filled with chocolate. Not a bad idea, but I really prefer jam. They were delicious when dipped in tea, but after two of them I was so sugared out that I really needed an anecdote. So, I went home and improvised some savory hamentashen. You can invent your own, too- I sauteed onion and garlic in oil and white wine, put in nearly equal parts vegetable and cheese, and added an herb and an egg or two. A formula that works every time.

For the dough, I made a pie crust that my husband found on Cooks Illustrated. It was pretty easy and astoundingly delicious. Please note that the recipe contains vodka. This cooks off, and my husband the alchemist insists that it has something to do with preventing glutinous formation. I don't know what that is, but I don't like the sound of it. Anyway. I, Erica Smiley, will never use store-bought pie crust again. Here's the recipe for this wondrous pie crust. One recipe makes enough for one recipe of one filling.

Fillings:
















Mushroom Parmesan Sage

1 package mushrooms, chopped
olive oil
cooking wine
1/4 cup or so parmesan cheese
3-4 dried sage leaves
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
Sautee onion and garlic in oil and wine until onions are translucent. Add sage and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms shrink. Remove from heat and let cool. Add parmesan and egg. Nibble.
















Spinach Feta Rosemary

1 package pre-washed spinach
1-2 tsp rosemary
olive oil
cooking wine
2 eggs, beaten lightly
3/4 cup feta, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped onion

Sautee onions and garlic as above. Add rosemary and sautee several minutes. Pile up the spinach and cook until wilted. Let cool and then chop and add cheese and egg.

Coat your hands with flour and flatten small handfuls of dough into patties. Place about a tablespoon of filling in each one and pinch three corners. Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes, until browned.