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Dishing it up / Yeast feast
By Haim Cohen and Eli Landau
Tags: Recipe, Israel News, Cooking

"Now it arrives," complains the doctor, waving a printed page, "after the holidays!"

"What arrived?" asks the chef

"It's an e-mail from someone called Sonia, asking if we have a recipe for babka."
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"What's babka?" asks the chef.

"In that case," says the chef enthusiastically, "we'll finally invite Moran Lila to be our guest. Let her do tricks with yeast."

Moran was born into the food business. Her father, a butcher, has for years been the manager of a delicatessen that is not for meat-lovers alone, located on Tiran Square in Herzliya Pituah, with the original name of Etzel Yigal (At Yigal's). For as long as she can remember, she was trailing behind her Turkish grandmother - and here the doctor wants to say something about genetics. "Genes, as we know, are divided into two main groups: dominant and recessive. They come in pairs, and it's enough to have one dominant gene in the pair for the trait it represents to be in evidence," he reminds us.

In terms of her ethnic origins, Moran is half Polish, one-quarter Persian and one-quarter Turkish, but the latter part is dominant in her - well, at least when it comes to her cooking talent. Her Turkish grandmother was actually the secret behind the success of Yigal's delicatessen: Every day she used to prepare soups, stuffed delicacies and bourekas that became famous not only in Herzliya, but all over the country. Over the years, while working as a loving apprentice, Moran decided to give up her studies at university and quickly transferred to the Bishulim School, where she studied the art of cooking and baking. For about two years, she has had her own business. Nowadays, during the week, she prepares homemade dishes: desserts, baked goods and various stuffed delicacies - just like Grandma. All her creations are on sale at her father's delicatessen. On Friday she is there herself, with smiles and homemade foods.

Moran accepted our invitation. She came, she baked, everyone tasted and licked their lips and their fingers, and her husband took pictures. Indeed, this is the time for proper disclosure: Moran is married to Danielle Lila, the photographer of this column.

Chocolate and halvah cake

For 4 "English cake" baking pans.

For the dough: 1 kg. flour 1 + 1/4 cups milk 1 pkg. fresh yeast 3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp. salt 4 eggs vanilla essence 200 gm. soft butter

For spreading: 200 gm. soft butter, cut into 25-gm. cubes 3/4 cup sugar 6tbsp. Shokolit (sweet chocolate powder) 4 tbsp. cocoa chocolate spread "string" halvah

In a mixer with a kneading hook, mix the flour, lukewarm milk, yeast, sugar, eggs and vanilla, for a minute or 2. Add butter; process for another 7 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl covered with cling-wrap; let rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Prepare the mixture for spreading on the dough: Mix the sugar, the Shokolit and the cocoa in a bowl.

Divide the dough into 4 parts, rolling out each into a rectangle. Spread 1cube of butter on, scatter over 2 tbsp. Shokolit and fold one-third of the dough inward, and over it the second third. Turn the dough around so that the part without a fold is facing away from you. Repeat the rolling out, spreading and folding.

Roll out the 4 parts of the dough again so that each is the length of the baking pan and as wide as possible (roughly 30 cm. square). Spread the chocolate spread on the dough, and scatter halvah over, to taste. Roll up the dough and cut in half lengthwise. Twist the 2 parts together and place in a greased pan. Cover with a towel and let rise for about an hour. Brush with egg, and bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius, for 20-25 minutes.

Ricotta and caramelized pear cake

For 4 "English cake" baking pans.

For the dough: 1 kg. flour 1 + 1/4 cup milk 1 pkg. fresh yeast 3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp. salt 4 eggs vanilla essence 200 gm. butter

For spreading: 1 cup sugar 200 gm. soft butter, cut into 25-gm. cubes

For the filling: 800 gm. ricotta 1 cup sugar 40 gm. melted butter 3 tsp. cornstarch vanilla essence zest from an orange 2 egg yolks

For the pears:

In a mixer with a kneading hook, mix the flour, lukewarm milk, yeast, sugar, eggs and vanilla for 1 minute. Add salt; mix for another 2 minutes. Add butter; process for another 7 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl covered with cling-wrap; let rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Prepare the filling: Mix all ingredients thoroughly in order to get a smooth consistency. Store in the refrigerator.

The pears: In a skillet saute the pears in butter and sugar until you get a caramel color, about 10 minutes on a low flame. Strain and cool; mix in the cheese.

Divide the dough into 4 parts. Roll out each into a rectangle and spread butter on it (1 cube). Scatter 2 tbsp. sugar and fold one-third of the dough inward, and over it the second third. Turn the dough around so that the part without a fold is facing away from you. Repeat the rolling out, spreading and folding once again.

Roll out the 4 parts of the dough so that each is the length of the baking pan and somewhat wider (30 cm. x 20 cm.). Spread about 2 heaping tbsp. of the cheese filling on all the dough, roll up the dough and halve it lengthwise. Twist the 2 parts together and place in a greased pan. Cover with a towel; let rise for about an hour.

Brush with egg and bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius, for 25-30 minutes.

Yeast 'snails' with pesto, goat cheese and grilled peppers

The amounts are for 20 snails. 350 gm. flour (2.5 cups) 2/3 cup lukewarm milk 1/3 pkg. fresh yeast 1 tsp. sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. salt 50 gm. soft butter

For spreading: 100 gm. soft butter, cut into 25-gm. cubes 120 gm. grated Kashkaval cheese

For the filling: 120 gm. goat cheese 4 tbsp. pesto 2 red peppers grilled over the fire, peeled and seeded, cut into cubes

In a mixer with a kneading hook, mix the flour, lukewarm milk, yeast, sugar and eggs for 1 minute. Add salt; mix for another 2 minutes. Add butter; process for another 7 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl covered with cling-wrap; let rise overnight in the refrigerator.
In a mixer with a kneading hook, mix the flour, lukewarm milk, yeast, sugar and eggs for 1 minute. Add salt; mix for another 2 minutes. Add butter; process for another 7 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl covered with cling-wrap; let rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Divide the dough into 2 parts. Roll out each into a rectangle, and spread butter on it (1 cube). Scatter 2 tbsp. Kashkaval on each part, and fold one-third of the dough inward, and over it fold the second third. Turn the dough around so that the part without a fold is facing away from you. Repeat the rolling out, spreading and folding.

Roll out each of the 2 parts of the dough so that they are the length of the baking pan and somewhat wider than it (30 cm. x 20 cm.). Spread pesto over the dough, and scatter over goat cheese and grilled peppers. Roll up the dough and cut into snails (about 10 from each part of the dough); cover with a towel and let rise for about an hour. Brush with egg and bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius, for 25-30 minutes.

Moran says the cakes and snails can be frozen after baking. Before you eat them they should be defrosted in the refrigerator, and she recommends warming them up a little in the oven before serving.
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