Savory Hamantaschen - Leek, Fig and Cambozola

Hamantaschen. Triangular. Filled with stuff. Made for Purim. Meant to resemble Book of Esther’s Haman. Also maybe meant to resemble aforementioned defeated enemy’s ears (in Israel Hamantaschen are called “Oznei Haman” - translation from Hebrew: Haman’s ears). Whatever they are, they are defined by their shape. There are endless variations on their dough, their size, their flavors, and their fillings.

This year, like many other years, I continue to explore the possibilities of what Hamantaschen can be. I experiment with the dough. Egg or no egg? Butter or margarine? Sweet or savory? Traditional fillings or crazy fillings? I'm still seeking my perfect version of a sweet, not-too floury dough (this one comes close), but I am increasingly happy to eat a pastry that is a little more savory. While it has a note of sweetness, this hamantaschen is more appetizer than dessert. The dough is the same used in flaky pie dough or crostatas, the filing has leeks, fig preserves and Cambazola cheese. The result is salty, sweet, and rich.

As a cautionary note, the impulse may be to fill these generously with your filling; exert restraint, it will seem like too little but any more will cause the cookie to overflow or taste too filling-heavy. Another cautionary note, make sure to really pinch shut the edges of each hamantaschen. These tricky guys like to unravel in the oven any chance they get.

Savory Leek, Fig, and Cambozola Hamantaschen

Makes approximately 20

for the dough-

2½ cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, cold

6-8 tablespoons ice cold water

1 egg, beaten for the egg wash

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the filling-

2 large leeks, diced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼-½ teaspoon fig preserves per hamantaschen

½ teaspoon Cambozola or creamy blue cheese per hamantaschen

for the dough-

In a food processor, add the flour, sugar and salt. Pulse a few times. Add the cold cubed butter. Pulse until the mixture forms pea-sized crumbs of butter and flour. (If doing by hand, using a pastry cutter combine the dry ingredients with the butter until pea-sized balls form).

To the food processor add the apple cider vinegar, and the ice water a few tablespoons at a time. Pulse until the mixture comes together in a ball. If the dough doesn’t stick together easily between your fingers, add another tablespoon of water. When it is done, the dough will be slightly crumbly but will easily form into a ball. Form the finished dough into a flattened disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerated for 2-3 hours or overnight.

for the filling-

Clean and dice the leeks. To a skillet over medium low heat, add the butter. Add the leeks to the pan and season them with salt. Sauté until the leeks are soft and starting to caramelize (turning golden but not crispy and browned), about 10-15 minutes

to assemble your hamantaschen-

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Flour your surface and rolling pin lightly. Roll out the dough until about ¼-inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit, cookie cutter, or even a drinking glass, cut out rounds from the dough. Fill each round with ½ a teaspoon of the leek mixture, ½ a teaspoon of fig preserves, and ½ a teaspoon of cambozola blue cheese. Fold over one third of the round onto the filling, fold over a second third, and fold over the last third. With each third, gently pinch and seal the edges of the dough firmly together, forming a well-secured triangle-shaped pastry. Transfer the hamantaschen onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure there is at least an inch between each pastry. You can re-roll the remaining dough and form more hamantaschen.

In a small dish, beat an egg. With a pastry brush, brush the top of the dough with the egg wash. Top with freshly ground black pepper if desired.

Bake the hamantaschen for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown.

Once baked, transfer to a rack to fully cool. Serve at room temperature. The hamantaschen can be stored in an air-tight container for several days, if they last that long.

Pear, Rosemary and Goat Cheese Crostata

I never tire of making crostata's and galettes (as is obvious on this blog). I love that they can be sweet or savory, or walk the line between sweet or savory. I also love that the pastry is simple, with very little wait time. And most importantly, it's a great way to use up some extra ripe fruit.

This pear and goat cheese crostata walks the line between sweet and savory. It's great as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee (or glass of wine!), or sliced into small wedges as an appetizer at a dinner party. It could also be a dessert, if you're into serving something not too sweet. Also, add more sugar, it will be sweeter. Take away the goat cheese, it will be less savory. The rosemary adds such a nice hit of green and aromatic flavor with or without cheese. If you don't have rosemary, try something else: thyme, black pepper, tarragon, or maybe even marjoram. 

If you don't have a food processor, you can even make the crostata dough by hand (and it's arguably better that way). A food processor helps if you're nervous about mixing it all up evenly and well. Also, good butter helps. This is a good place to splurge on a nicer brand as there really aren't too many ingredients in this pastry. For flour, I prefer King Arthur brand, for its high protein content, but any kind will do. And if you don't want dairy, you could use a quality vegan margarine (like Earth Balance) in the dough; it will make the pastry a little saltier (so omit any additional salt), and it's not quite as great as butter, but it 100% works. 

And lastly, the pears. You want good pears. I like them in this dish when they're really ripe. Even a little bruised is ok. If they're too hard the tart doesn't bake as evenly. You use Bosc, Anjou, or whatever you can get your hands on that's good at the market. You don't need to peel them, and they add such a nice pop of color. 

Pear, Rosemary and Goat Cheese Crostata

Serves 4

For the pastry-

1¼  cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cubed

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons ice cold water

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

turbinado or raw sugar, for sprinkling

For the filling-

2 pears (about 1 lbs / 450 grams), ripe but still firm, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

2 tablespoons honey, plus more for garnish (local honey)

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, roughly chopped

juice of ½ a lemon

4 oz. fresh goat cheese

To a food processor, add the flour sugar and salt. Pulse a few times to combine the mixture. Add the cubed butter to the dry ingredients, pulse until pea-sized pieces of dough are formed. Alternatively, you can use your hands or a pastry cutter to combine the dry ingredients with the butter.

To the dough, add the apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of water at a time. Pulse until the dough comes together into a ball but is not too wet. It should stick together between your fingers when squeezed. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

While your dough is chilling, prepare the fruit and cheese. To a bowl, add the sliced pear, sugar, honey, rosemary, and lemon juice.

Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C)

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper. The dough should roll out to about 12-13 inches in diameter, or about ½ an inch thick. The edges do not have to be perfect. Leaving a 1.5-2 inch border, pile the sliced pears into the middle of the crust. Dollop the goat cheese over the top of the pears. Fold the edges of dough over the pears.


Brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg yolk. Sprinkle the Turbinado or raw sugar over the brushed dough. Transfer the crostata with the parchment paper onto a baking sheet.

Bake the crostata for 45-50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the pears are tender. If the crust starts to brown too much before the pears are cooked, cover the the exposed crust with foil. Drizzle a little honey over the hot crostata. Slice and serve warm or room temp.

Before going in the oven

Savory Pumpkin Noodle Kugel

Growing up kugel was completely absent from our Russian Jewish immigrant table. We had matzo balls, latkes, chopped liver, borscht, stuffed cabbage, herring... you name it. But kugel never showed up. (That said, somehow my mom's very un-Russian famous dish was noodles and cottage cheese... in a way that's a stripped down deconstructed savory form of kugel.)

Sometimes I ate kugel at friends' houses or at shul or wherever Jews congregated with homemade food. I am not a picky eater. I never was, but kugel always rubbed me the wrong way. Sure, I'd eat it but then immediately think,"Why is this so sweet and dense? Why does it have raisins??? Why?! Why cottage cheese??? Why not any other creamy cheese that isn't salty and dry and curdy?" I just didn't get it. I mean I got it, but I wanted it to be better. I wanted more for kugel.

The picture above isn't glamorous because kugel isn't glamorous. For me, kugel is meant to be a dish served for a crowd that is hearty, filling, and comforting. It should elicit feelings of warmth and sentimentality. It should be something that can be made ahead, eaten warm or cold, right out of the oven or as leftovers for lunch the next day. It should be something that doesn't detract from a main dish, but makes the meal feel more complete. Kugel should be able to find a place at any holiday or shabbat table. But it needs a serious makeover...

This brings me to this recipe. I'll start by saying this is one of the easiest recipes I've ever developed; if you can boil pasta and combine stuff in a bowl, you're good to go. I've actually found quite a few variations of traditional kugel out their in the world... but I wanted to try to make one that I could personally get excited about. If you're a sweet-kugel kind of person, more power to you. You could probably eliminate the savory elements in this recipe and add about a 1/2 cup of sugar and maybe some cinnamon and a little butter and you'll have yourself sweet pumpkin kugel (but maybe don't add raisins?).

This kugel is reminiscent of traditional kugel in that it is made with Manishevitz egg noodles and has a custardy quality, but it's a little unexpected. The truth is this kugel veers into mac n' cheese territory. It also has pumpkin, and I'm the first to concede that pumpkin is problematically ubiquitous... but it's good and nutritious and that's what I care about more. It uses ricotta instead of cottage cheese. It has a touch of maple syrup to balance the flavors, and it has garlic to highlight its savoriness. I added sage because I wanted an herbaceous note. I'm not skipping out on eggs or heavy cream, because I don't use a whole lot of either and also because kugel is special.

And I make it with the delicate balance of reverence to tradition, simultaneous hope for old things becoming new, and with love. Lot's of love.

Savory Pumpkin Noodle Kugel

Serves 6-8

1 lb. egg noodles

1 15 oz. can unsweetened pureed pumpkin, or 1¾ cups fresh cooked pureed pumpkin

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup whole milk ricotta

½ cup creme fraiche or sour cream

½ cup heavy cream or milk

¾ cup shredded gruyere or swiss cheese (optional)

2 garlic cloves, minced fine

1½ tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon chopped sage, about 3 medium leaves

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

freshly ground pepper, to taste

cooking oil spray

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the egg noodles to the boiling water and cook until al dente (cooked but firm), about 6-7 minutes or as directed on the package. Err on the side of undercooking your noodles, they will continue to cook in the oven, and this will prevent them from getting too mushy. Cool and reserve the cooked noodles.

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, beaten eggs, whole milk ricotta, creme fraiche, heavy cream, shredded cheese (optional), minced garlic, maple syrup, chopped sage, kosher salt, freshly ground nutmeg, and freshly ground black pepper. Using a spoon, combine everything together until incorporated.

Add the cooked egg noodles to the pumpkin puree mixture. Stir until all of the noodles are coated in the mixture.

Spray an 8 X 11 baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the egg noodle mixture into the sprayed baking dish. Cover the dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes uncover and bake for 20-30 more minutes, or until the top of the kugel is golden brown and the kugel has set and is firm.

To make ahead:

The kugel mixture can be made a few hours ahead of time and cooked just prior to serving.

Alternatively, the kugel can be fully cooked up to a day in advance and reheated just prior to serving.