Last night was Rosh Hashanah, or the start of the Jewish New Year celebration. Wine, challah, tons of veggie dishes, and apple-laden sweets were consumed in dangerous quantities. Nothing like ringing in the new year with gluttony! Although we don't have a huge celebration, we always try to make a small little get-together to teach our daughter about the holidays, and of course, one of the most important components of the Jewish tradition: the food.
Every year I try out a new apple recipe (which is to symbolize a sweet year - usually accompanied by honey, but I don't really like honey) and this new torte recipe that I found in The Foods of Israel Today was one of the best I've ever tried. My favorite part of it was that it was incredibly easy to make, and Toddler Shuka helped with all the steps along the way, which she loved. Passing down traditions in the kitchen - that's an oral tradition that will live forever!
2c unbleached flour
1/2tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 large egg
3/4c unflavored oil (I used coconut oil)
1c sugar (I used sucanat)
grated zest of 1 lemon
6 apples, peeled and cored
1/2tsp cinnamon
*Grate the apples and place in a colander along with 1/4c of the sugar - it should sit in the colander to drain for about 30 minutes.
*Put the flour, baking powder, salt, egg, oil, 3/4 c of the sugar, and lemon zest in the food processor bowl and process until a dough is formed (about 2min or so). Remove and roll the dough in flour, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
*Preheat oven to 200c/450f. Take 2/3 of the refrigerated dough with floured hands, press it lightly into the bottom of a cake or pie pan, pushing up the sides to form a pie shape. Take the grated apple mix and add the cinnamon. Place the apple mix in the pie base. Roll out the remaining dough to a circle, quite thin, and place on top of the apple mix, crimping the edges of the dough together to seal them. Make a few holes in the top of the cake so steam can escape.
*Bake on the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 170c/350f and bake for 30 minutes more or until golden brown.
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