I’m having trouble even typing up this entry because one of my hands is busy carrying pieces of Matzoh Crack Crunch to my mouth. This recipe, adapted from the great David Lebovtiz , has been adapted many times over. It’s super easy, and if you’re planning on taking this anywhere, I highly recommend waiting until the last day to make it so you don’t run the risk of only having half left on the day of the event. I hope I still a few pieces left for the Passover seder I’m attending in a couple days!
Preheat your oven to 350 F and cover a foil-lined baking sheet with matzo leaving no empty spaces.
Heat the butter and sugar over medium-low heat until melted, then increase the heat to medium and bring it to a boil, stirring the whole time. Boil for 3 minutes then remove from the heat and mix in the vanilla and a healthy pinch of sea salt.
Pour the caramel mixture over the matzo immediately and shmear it around to spread it as evenly as possible.
Lower the heat to 325 F and put the caramel-covered matzo in the oven for 15 minutes – watch it closely so it doesn't burn.
Take your delicious smelling matzoh out of the oven and pour your chocolate chips over it, and let sit for 5 minutes while they melt.
Shmear the chocolate across your matzoh with a spatula to coat it evenly. Let it sit out for a few hours until hard or in the fridge for a few hours.
Once the Matzoh Crunch is hardened, crack the pieces up and try not to eat the entire thing in one sitting!
Spring is right around the corner, which also means it’s Persian New Year (year 1392!) and time for lots of Persian sweets, herbed rice with fish and fresh dollar bills. Persian New Year is the exact moment that winter becomes spring, also known as the Spring Equinox. Persians love to celebrate, and the New Year season is no exception> The Nowruz traditions are all meaningful and fun – starting with Chahar-Shanbeh Soori – a cleansing ritual done by jumping over a fire… or candle if you live in Manhattan, the Tuesday night before the New Year – and ending with Sizdah Bedar – a picnic festival held 13 days after the New Year.
Nowruz (Persian New Year) Haft Seen Table
The Persian New Year is called Nowruz which translates to ‘New Day’. Perhaps the most important part of the celebration is the traditional tablescape called the Haft Seen (7 ‘Seens’ – ‘seen’ is the Farsi equivalent of the letter S). The table should contain a number of symbolic items including 7 (or more) items beginning with the Farsi letter ‘Seen’. Wikipedia has a great run-down of all the traditions and the many different 7seen items and their meanings.
This year, what is normally the media console, houses my mini-Haft Seen (thank you Manhattan-sized apartment!).
Nowruz Haft Seen close up
My haft seen this year has the following ‘seen’ items: Seeb (apple), Senjed (dried oleaster fruit… to be honest I have no idea what this is haha!), somagh (sumac), sekeh (coins), serkeh (vinegar), seer (garlic) and sonbol (hyacinth). There are also a few other items like eggs for fertility, mirrors/candles for lightness and goldfish for life .
Nowruz Haft Seen – fun with filters!
So at 7:01:56am ET (or click here to find out when spring starts in your part of the world) this Wednesday, in practice of one of my favorite Nowruz traditions, make sure to put something sweet in your mouth to guarantee a sweet year. To all of you reading this, thank you and wishing you a happy, healthy year filled with laughter, love and of course lots of delicious food! Nowruz mobarak!
Tahdig is the finest delicacy in Persian culture – the crispy bottom layer on rice and pasta dishes that is lovingly referred to as Persian Crack. Most Iranian kids grow up begging for it and then fighting over the last piece. Persian Espaghetti, more commonly known as Macaroni, is not only a perfect excuse to make pasta tahdig but delicious in and of itself. It’s essentially spaghetti with Persian-spiced meat sauce that gets steamed to form a beautiful tahdig crust.
Persian Accents 101: We call it espaghetti because with the Persian accent any word that starts with an ‘s’ gets an ‘e’ sound added in front of it. Spaghetti becomes espaghetti, school becomes eschool and Starbucks becomes Esssstarbucks.
Espaghetti (Persian Macaroni)
Recipe at the bottom!
—
One of the beautiful things about tahdig is you never know what it will look like when you flip it over… a surprise piece of edible artwork each time. Here are some of my tahdig ‘designs’ over the past year – some are prettier than others, but all equally tasty.
Persian Espaghetti (Persian Macaroni) with Tahdig
Persian Espaghetti (Persian Macaroni) with Tahdig
Fun fact: An Italian colleague informed me that they have a similar version of this dish called Fried Spaghetti where the pasta is fried like a torta to form crispy edges. And the Spanish have socarrat, the crispy bottom of paella which is the true sign of a good paella. I’m starting to think most cultures appreciate crispy edges… any other examples?
Persian Espaghetti (Persian Macaroni) with Tahdig
Recipe: Persian Espaghetti (Persian Macaroni) with Tahdig
Persian Espaghetti, also known as Persian Macaroni. Pasta and meat sauce all cooked Persian style with a delicious crust known as tahdig.
Ingredients
1 package of spaghetti noodles
1 lb ground beef
½ a large onion, diced
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce (yes, I use jarred sauce, deal with it!)
1 teaspoon turmeric
Canola or Vegetable oil
Salt & Pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and saute your onions for 2-3 minutes until they are translucent.
Add the turmeric and saute for another minute. Breathe deep and take in the wonderful aroma.
Add the beef to the pan and break it up with a wooden spoon and stir gently until all the meat is browned. Salt and pepper generously.
Open up your marinara sauce (I really like the Newman’s Own Marinara) and dump it into the pan with the meat. Make sure you’re wearing an apron, because you’re at a high risk for splatter here.
Optional: add in a few dashes of red pepper flakes for a little kick. As you may know I love my food with a little spiciness, so I always add in the pepper flakes!
Simmer the sauce on low for 20-25 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Cook your spaghetti to just under al dente (I like to stop 2 minutes before the suggested cook time on the package) and drain the noodles when done.
Coat the bottom of a deep, non-stick pot with oil.
Add a layer of the noodles to cover the bottom of the pot, then layer the meat sauce and pasta until it’s all in.
Form a ‘dam-koni’ by putting a thick paper towel or dish towel around the lid of the pot (*important: make sure to knot the towel securely against the handle of the pot so it doesn’t get near the stove) and then cover the pot tightly. The dam-kon serves to steam the pasta as it cooks.
Cover tightly and cook on medium-low for 30-40 minutes. Do not open the lid while cooking or else the steam will escape! ***Note: this is where you can say a prayer to the tahdig gods that your tahdig comes out well.
Open the lid and breathe in again. Place your serving plate upside-down on top of the pot and (with a firm grip) flip the pot over and wait for the *thud* of the espaghetti against the plate. Lift the pot away and take in the beauty of your espaghetti and tahdig.
Recent Comments