By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMeir Adoni's Beet mafrum(photo credit: DAN PERETZ)Beet mafrum filled with chicken, raisins and cinnamon Serves 6Ingredients:6 beets, peeledFilling:2 boneless chicken thighs (pargiyot), ground1 boneless chicken breast, ground1 white onion, finely chopped2 tablespoons olive oil or sunflower oil1/4 cup dark raisins
3 tablespoons pine nuts1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped1 teaspoon cinnamon2 tablespoons matza meal1 eggSaltPepperSauce:3 tablespoons sunflower oil1 onion, roughly chopped2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped2 celery stalks, roughly chopped2 garlic cloves, peeled1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste2 liters of water3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar1/4 cup silan (date honey)CinnamonCuminSaltPepperSlice off the top quarter of every peeled beet. Using a melon baller or a knife hollow out the beets, leaving a wall 1cm thick all around. Reserve the lids and the insides of the beets for later use.To prepare the filling, soak the raisins in boiling water for 20 minutes, then drain.Heat the oil and brown the onions until golden, then let them cool.Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan for a minute or two until they just turn golden, no longer. Let cool. In a bowl, mix together well the raisins, onion, pine nuts and the rest of the filling ingredients.The filling can be prepared in advance and kept in a closed box in the fridge.For the sauce, heat the oil in a pot and stir fry the onion, garlic, carrot, celery and the insides of the beets. When the vegetables start to soften and the onions start to turn translucent, add the tomato paste and cook for another two minutes.Add the water, vinegar, silan and spices according to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the flame and taste the mixture to adjust the seasoning. Place the hollowed out beets and their lids in the sauce and cook them for 20 minutes.Remove the beets and let them cool a little. Until this point everything can be prepared in advance.To assemble the dish, fill the beets and top them with their lids. Reheat the sauce until just boiling. Add the filled beets to the sauce, cover the pot and cook for 30-40 minutes over a low flame, until the beets have softened and the filling is cooked through.Gefilte fish with carrot and citrus and horseradish cremesServes 8Ingredients:600g cleaned fish200ml (1 cup) water50ml (¼ cup) oil100g hardboiled eggs, chopped (about 2 large eggs)40g sugar100g almonds powder or finely ground almonds200g finely minced onion (approximately 2 small or ½ medium onions)2 raw eggsSaltPepperFish stockInstructions:In a blender or food processor, grind together half of the fish with the oil, water and boiled eggs.Mix in the remaining fish and the sugar, almonds, onion, eggs and salt and pepper.Form the mixture into patties, and cook them in fish stock for 30 minutes over low heat.Carrot and citrus creme:Ingredients:3 carrotsJuice of 4 oranges200 ml (1 cup) waterPinch of sugarPinch of vinegar50 ml (¼ cup) oilInstructions:Peel and dice the carrots. Mix together the orange juice, water, sugar and vinegar in a pot. Add the carrots, and cook on a low flame until the carrots are soft.Strain the carrots, and grind them to a paste along with the oil in a blender or food processor until smooth.Horseradish creme:Ingredients:Half horseradish root, ground3 large beets, cooked1 appleTeaspoon of fresh gingerTeaspoon of wasabiPinch of sugarPinch of vinegarPinch of saltInstructions: Grind all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor until the texture is creamy. Filter with strainer.Translated by Amy Spiro