The Havdallah tradition of closing Shabbat and getting ready for the week ahead with wine, spices and candle resonates with me. I particularly like sniffing the spices, usually cinnamon and clove, to help carry the sweet memory of the day into the week.
To continue the theme of a home-based service, I like make-ahead desserts featuring those spices so they are ready to serve right after Havdallah. I think that’s why I found the recipes from Ruth Barnes’ new cookbook “Sharing Morocco: Exotic Flavors from My Kitchen to Yours” (Greenleaf Book Group) so appealing. (They are adapted below.)
Barnes grew up in a Moroccan Jewish family on an Israeli farm. She shares not just 111 recipes but techniques gleaned from her extended family and information on Moroccan cuisine, culture and history.
The Candied Pears recipe is my adaptation of Barnes’ Candied Eggplant. I substituted Bartlett pears for the baby eggplants. Be sure to choose pears that are just ripe and not too soft. The eggplant variation, known as Hleiwat del B’duljan, follows the recipe.
The only change I made to her Moroccan Rice Pudding was to add a pinch of ground cloves. Leave it out to make Roz bil H’leeb as Barnes does.
Candied Pears
Adapted from “Sharing Morocco”
Serves 6-8
21⁄2 cups sugar
31⁄2 cups water
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
6 whole cloves
juice of 1 lemon
2 lbs. small Bartlett pears
Make syrup by combining sugar, water, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and lemon juice in a pan large enough to comfortably fit the pears. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. While the syrup is simmering, peel and, if desired, core the pears. Leave stems intact. Prick all over with fork.
After 15 minutes, add pears and keep syrup at a simmer, turning them in the sauce so they are covered. Simmer, covered, until pears are soft throughout (about 30-40 minutes depending on size and ripeness of pears and if they are cored), turning them and spooning sauce over them frequently. Remove pears. Raise heat on cooking liquid until it reaches a low boil and cook uncovered until liquid is thickened and reduced by about half. Pour over pears. Allow to come to room temperature before serving, or reheat gently in syrup to serve warm.
Eggplant variation: Use 21⁄2 lbs. baby eggplants. Wash and prick all over with fork. Leave stems. Bring large pot of water to a boil, lower heat and simmer eggplants for 15 minutes. Drain and cool eggplants. Squeeze water out of eggplants. Make syrup as above using 3 cups water. Add cooked eggplants and simmer for 90 minutes until syrup is reduced by half. Remove eggplants and serve with syrup.
Moroccan Rice Pudding
Adapted from “Sharing Morocco”
Serves 4-6
2 cups long-grain white rice
4 cups water
4 cups milk
1 oz. butter
1⁄8 tsp. salt
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄8 tsp. ground cloves, optional
1 Tbs. orange blossom water
1⁄2 cup raisins
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
In a large saucepan, combine the rice and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, until all water is absorbed.
Add milk, butter, salt, sugar and cloves (if using) to rice, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer and stir constantly until mixture is creamy and has thickened. Stir in orange blossom water. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Serve in dessert cups, garnished with raisins and sprinkled with cinnamon.
Faith Kramer is a Bay Area food writer. Her columns alternate with those of Josie A.G. Shapiro. She blogs at www.clickblogappetit.com. Contact her at [email protected].