FOULARES (For Purim) (Turkish Hard-Cooked Eggs Wrapped with Cheese Pastry)

 

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LESSON OBJECTIVES AND OUTLINE FOR TEACHERS

I. LESSON OBJECTIVES

A. The students will demonstrate their knowledge of proper cooking techniques by preparing the Foulares; thereby demonstrating that they know how to:

1. Grate cheese using the food processor.
2. Measure and combine ingredients.
3. Roll out dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface.
4. Cut dough into the proper shapes.
5. Transfer dough to a baking sheet.
6. Attach hard-boiled eggs with strips of dough.

B. The students will demonstrate their knowledge of Purim by completing the final Sample Test.

II. KITCHEN ORGANIZATION: TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

A. TIMING

1. To save time, unshelled hard-boiled eggs should be prepared and cooled to room temperature or refrigerated until class time.

2. The rest of the recipe can be prepared during class time.

B. TECHNIQUES

1. To prepare the hard-boiled eggs, cover the eggs in a pot with tepid water. Cook, uncovered, and bring to a hard boil on medium to high heat. As soon as the water reaches a boil, turn off heat and cover with a lid. Let sit on the burner for 15 minutes, drain off hot water, and immediately run cold water over the eggs.

2. I find it helpful to roll out the dough on a large, lightly-floured, non-stick silicone mat (silpat) to ease removal of the cut shapes to a baking pan. Likewise, lining the baking pan with a silpat or parchment paper eases the removal of the baked foulares.

3. We like to eat ours with Russian dressing or chipotle mayonnaise on the side.

III. FOOD FOR THOUGHT

A. As most Jewish families in the United States are of Ashkenazic background, this particular recipe may be seen by the students as very strange as we have nothing that resembles it here.

B. It may be interesting to point out the differences between the familiar foods we Ashkenazim associate with Purim, such as hamantashen, and stuffed or filled foods, such as kreplach, and the traditions that have developed depending on ingredients available in other parts of the world. 

MATERIALS FOR FOULARES

• 2 dozen small (also sometimes known as pullet) eggs
• 1/4 lb. sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 6 c. flour
• salt
• pepper grinder
• optional (sauces, sides, or dips to accompany the crackers)
• foot templates or foot-shaped cookie cutters

• mixer with dough hook attachment
• large mixing bowl
• 2 sharp knives
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• food processor with grating disk attachment
• wooden spoons
• silpats or parchment paper
• rolling pins
• baking sheets
• scissors
• paper towels
• dish cloths
• dishwashing liquid
• dish towels
• pot holders

FOR THE STUDENTS:

The below description and recipe is excerpted from Sephardic Holiday Cooking by Gilda Angel:

    Turkish and Greek Sephardic  Jews make these foot-shaped pastries only once a year—just before Purim. The exact shape varies from community to community. In one typical version depicting Haman in jail, the villainous Haman is represented by an unshelled hard-cooked egg. Strips of pastry surrounding the eggs are meant to symbolize prison bars. Another interpretation of this foot-shaped pastry is that the secured egg represents Haman's ankle.

    Traditionally, these unusual pastries are eaten on the Sabbath just before Purim, Shabbat Zakhor. In the Torah reading for that day, the treachery of Amalek is recalled. Jewish tradition has it that Haman descended from the evil Amalekites.

    In my husband's family, lunch after morning services on Shabbat Zakhor invariably includes foulares. Accompanied by salads and coffee, or milk for the children, foulares are considered a special treat. They are also used for mishloah manot, the sending of gifts, on Purim, since the two different blessings made on Purim can be recited before eating them (mezonot for the pastry and shehakol for the egg).

Foulares (for Purim) (Turkish Hard-Cooked Eggs Wrapped with Cheese Pastry)

(Makes approximately 16 pastries and additional crackers.)

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 4-1/2 cup all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached
• 1-1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 1/4 lb.)
• 16 hard-cooked small eggs (leave shells on)

1. Grate cheddar cheese using grating disk of food processor and measure out the correct amount.

2. Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.

3. In large bowl, combine oil, water, salt, pepper, flour and cheese. (This can be done in electric mixer bowl with dough hook attachment.)

4. Divide dough in half.

5. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to a thickness of 1/4-inch. 

6. Cut foot-shaped pieces of dough measuring approximately 5-1/2 by 2-1/2-inches. Design your own pattern, or make one using the drawing below.

7. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet.

8. Press an unpeeled egg into heel end of foot and secure with strips of dough.

9. Repeat with remaining dough and eggs.

10. Shape leftover dough into small crackers and put on separate baking sheet.

11. Bake feet in preheated 400-degree oven 20 minutes, or until dough is golden brown. Crackers will probably take less time depending on their size.

12. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.