b ooks
continued from page 39
3 cups peeled, coarsely chopped
yucca root
3 Tbsp. avocado oil (or preferred
cooking fat)
1 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. water chestnut flour or coco-
nut flour, if needed
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bring 10
cups of water to a boil in a large stockpot
over high heat. Carefully drop in the
chopped yucca root and boil for 20-25
minutes or until fork tender. Drain the
water and remove the yucca from the
stockpot.
Once the yucca is cool enough to
handle, remove the woody core from the
center of each piece and discard. Then,
in a heavy-duty blender or food proces-
sor, combine the yucca, oil and sea salt.
Blend until a dough is formed, doing so
in small batches if necessary. If you have
a blender with a tamper, using that will
help to get the chunks of yucca under
the blades more successfully.
Next, spoon the dough onto a piece
of parchment paper and allow it to cool
slightly. If the dough is sticky after cool-
ing, you may incorporate the coconut or
water chestnut flour by hand until the
stickiness is gone. Otherwise divide the
dough into 4 equal pieces.
Take one piece and roll it out in a
piece of parchment paper, using a knife
or pizza cutter to make a square shape.
You can incorporate the cutoff dough by
placing it on to p of the rolled out dough
and rolling it back into it.
Then, take a fork and pierce it in 4-5
vertical lines running down the length
of the matzah. Repeat with remaining
pieces of dough.
Bake for 20-25 minutes on each side
on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Ideally you would want to bake a few at a
time since each baking session is around
40 minutes. Once the matzah is baked
until crispy, remove and allow it to cool
slightly before serving.
Note: Kosher laws require that seder
matzah be made out of 1 of 5 grains in
order to be acceptable for Passover. So
technically this version is not kosher for
Passover but is still a great alternative if
you cannot have grains.
Bubbie’s tip: New to yucca? It can be
a little tricky in the beginning, but if you
have a tamper, use it! This will help yield
a beautiful dough.
SALMON GEFILTE FISH
If there were ever a food that was com-
pletely polarizing, it would be gefilte fish.
People either love it or hate it, the latter
often being those who haven’t tried it
until they were adults. The good news:
Making it with fresh salmon and white
fish yields a gefilte fish that is nothing
like the kind you’re picturing submerged
in a jar of fish jelly.
For the fish stock:
2 lbs. fish heads, bones and skin
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. coconut palm sugar (option-
al)
2 tsp. salt
Cold water, just enough to cover the
bones
For the fish:
4 medium carrots
1 small parsnip
1 small onion
2 eggs
⅓ cup potato starch
1 tsp. salt
2 lbs. salmon, ground (see note)
1½ lbs. mild white fish, such as cod,
pike or carp, ground (see note)
For the fish stock: Place the fish bones,
sliced onion, roughly chopped carrots,
apple cider vinegar, coconut palm sugar
and salt in a medium stockpot. Add cold
water to cover and bring to a boil.
Allow the stock to simmer for 50-60
minutes, until the vegetables are very
soft. Strain the stock and discard the
vegetables and bones. Place the stock in
a large, deep saute pan and set aside.
For the fish: Grate 2 of the carrots and
the parsnip. If you are using a food pro-
cessor to do this, you may need to switch
to the chopping blade after shredding, so
the vegetables get very finely minced.
Grate the onion and squeeze out the
excess liquid.
In a large bowl, whisk together the
eggs, potato starch and salt. Mix in the
grated vegetables. Add the fish and mix
with your hands until well combined.
Form the fish mixture into oval patties
about ¼ cup each.
Peel and slice the remaining carrots.
Bring the stock back up to a simmer
and add the fish patties and sliced car-
rots. Simmer for 10 minutes, flip the fish
and simmer another 5 minutes. Chill the
stock, fish and carrots for at least 1 hour,
or until very cold. Serve the fish cold
with the sliced carrots and a little of the
stock, if desired.
Note: If you don’t have a meat grinder,
ask your fish monger to grind the fish
for you.
Makes 12–16 servings.
Bubbie’s tip: What, it’s too much work
for you? In my day, the recipe started with
“catch a fish,” so quit your kvetching!
Cap & Gown
YEARBOOK
2016
Free Listing Submission Deadline:
May 9, 2016
The Jewish News will
honor all Jewish students
who are graduating this
spring from Michigan
high schools in our
Cap & Gown Yearbook
2016. The Yearbook will
be published in our
May 26 issue.
Go online to submit
your free listings to:
www.thejewishnews.com/contact/cap-and-
gown/free-listing/
All cap and gown submission
MUST go through the website.
If you have any questions,
call Jackie Headapohl, Editor,
at (248) 351-5110.
*
April 7 • 2016
43