How Does Nougat Glacé Symbolize Jewish Survival?

Last week, I accompanied my twins’ sixth grade class on a visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.  While the students visited the Daniel’s Story exhibit, designed for young children, I went on a special tour for parents to the permanent exhibit where we discussed ways to discuss the Holocaust with our children.  Our guide suggested we talk to them about the rich Jewish communities of Europe that existed prior to the war, the slow rise of Nazism and why it was so popular, the lack of response of bystanders, and the resistance, and less about the more gruesome aspects of the Final Solution. She reminded us that for many of their questions, such as why more Jews didn’t run away or where God was, there are no simple answers. 

After our tour, we rejoined the children for a program where they were shown photos from the museum’s collection and asked to comment on them.  The first photo was of Italian girls dressed up for the holiday of Purim.  They were wearing long white skirts and white hats that looked like chef’s hats.  The object was to show the students that before the Holocaust, Jewish kids lived normal lives like they do today.  

When I have taken my own children on trips to Europe, we always visit Jewish institutions, such as synagogues and kosher restaurants.  There they see European Jewish children running around after services and eating pizza, a picture as normal as the Italian photo in the museum.  As they study more about the Holocaust, they will learn that between a thriving community pre World War II and today, many of the European Jewish communities were devastated.

When my family lived in Geneva, Switzerland from 1993-1997, we traveled by car all over France.  As the Provence region was only three hours away, we visited multiple times, each time exploring a different area.  One of my favorite desserts from the region is called Nougat Glacé (pronounced noogah glacay), a light frozen candied almond dessert, creamy and crunchy at the same time and very refreshing. 

Last December while in Paris researching the kosher pastry shops of the city, I ate at several delicious kosher restaurants. One place, Le Chateaubriand, offered a very classic menu, so I started with ordered foie gras, had roasted veal, and finished with their nougat glacé, the traditional French dessert.  In Parisian kosher bakeries you will find both classic Ashkenazi and North African pastries.  Yet every kosher patisserie in Paris, and there are many, also offers the same traditional French desserts you see all over Paris and beyond: éclairs, fruit tarts, and croissants. I witnessed a thriving Jewish community that doesn’t retreat from French life; rather, it embraces it while retaining its own rich Jewish character. 

As American Jews we feel that we have always achieved this balance. We feel entirely American and deeply Jewish.  We were raised on apple pie and mandelbread.  We even turned bagels into American bread. Friends, you need to visit the  Holocaust Museum to fully appreciate how our European Jewish heritage was nearly completely destroyed and that we are profoundly blessed to be living Jewish in America.  And when you can, go to Paris, and sometime between the Louvre and the Eifel Tower, eat classic French desserts in kosher pastry shops or restaurants and smile a sweet, triumphant smile.  We are still here.

Nougat Glacé               gluten-free, dairy-free

Makes 16 servings

This dessert feeds a crowd, but the best part is that you can store it in the freezer for up to one week and slice and serve as desired.  I like to serve it with a berry sauce, but puréed mango or kiwi would also look pretty and taste good too.  I imagine that a chocolate sauce would make it taste like a candy bar, so let me know if you try that.  The recipe is made in two parts and you can make the praline even a week before you finish the dessert, but you will have a hard time NOT munching on it. 

Praline (caramelized almonds)

¾ cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

1 cup slivered almonds (long sticks, not sliced)

Mousse

½ cup sugar

¼ cup honey

½ cup water

3 large egg whites

2 cups non-dairy (parve) whipping cream

To make the praline, place the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium high heat until the mixture thickens and starts to color.  Add the nuts and stir with a wooden spoon.  Turn heat down to medium low.  The mixture will get dry, but then the sugar will melt again and turn golden.  Keep stirring.  The praline is done when the nuts are toasted, surrounded by a dark caramel and all the sugar pieces have melted.

Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to spread the nuts and caramel on a parchment-covered baking sheet, and let cool for at least 15 minutes.  Store in a bag or container for up to one week.  When ready to use, place the praline in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and chop the nuts so that the largest pieces are about ¼ inch; some will have turned to powder, but just make sure there are many ¼-inch pieces which give the dessert the right crunch.  Set aside.

To make the mousse, line a 12-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap is sitting in the corners and goes all the way up the sides of the pan to the top.  Use two pieces if necessary.  Beat the cream until stiff.  Set aside.  

To make the Italian meringue, heat the sugar, honey and water in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat.  Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk.  When a candy thermometer placed into the honey/sugar mixture reads 225°F, start beating the whites on low speed and then increase the speed slowly to achieve soft peaks and then stop beating.  When the cooked mixture reaches 260°F,  turn the machine to low speed and add the sugar and honey mixture slowly down the side of the bowl.  Turn the speed up to high and beat for five full minutes, until the mixture is thick and shiny and the bowl is no longer hot to touch. 

Fold the chopped nuts into the meringue mixture.  Fold in the whipped cream in four parts and scoop into the prepared pan.  Smooth the top.  Lift the pan about an inch off the counter and drop down to remove any bubbles inside.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Place in the freezer for 8 hours or overnight.  To serve, remove top plastic and turn the loaf out and onto a long, rectangular plate.  Serve ½- 1-inch slices.  Store covered in the freezer and slice as needed.  Serve with a colorful fruit sauce.

The Passover Hunger Games

There aren’t too many addictive Passover treats.  On Chanukah I love my doughnuts and on Shavuot, I am a slave to my cheesecake, scooping up a spoonful every time I pass the fridge.   Most families have a special Rosh Hashanah apple cake or strudel that they couldn’t live without.  On Passover, we slog through the holiday, making the culinary best of things, but we are perfectly happy to say goodbye to our Passover foods the second the holiday is over. 

This year I am calling for the end of the hunger games.  All year long I preach that there is no reason why parve desserts have to be inferior to dairy desserts.  Now I am telling you that with the right Passover treats, you can have a smile on your face for eight days and you won’t feel like killing anyone. 

Last year I gave you Passover granola, which I keep in baggies in my purse throughout the holiday, eating handfuls and leaving a trail of crumbs everywhere I go.  This year I offer up raspberry honey marshmallows that are pretty, sweet, gluten-free and highly addictive. 

I am not the only one who appreciates the need for a unique treat on Passover.   I discovered a pastry chef in New York City who has the same idea.  In addition Ram Caterers of New york runs a kosher for Passover program at Miami's Fountainbleu Hotel and offers Passover whoopie pies, cupcakes jelly doughnuts and their own versions of Ring Dings and Devil Dogs.  This past week, I really should have been home in Maryland scrubbing, shopping and preparing for Passover.   Instead, I was in New York City for the annual International Association of Culinary Professional (IACP) conference, which started sweetly with a walking pastry and chocolate tour of lower Manhattan and ended with my asking Martha Stewart about Passover desserts on her TV show. 

At first I thought the tour would feature exclusively chocolate Easter eggs. Two pastry shops were already offering Passover desserts, albeit ones not certified kosher for Passover.   I am always looking for ideas to bring to the kosher community.   Jacques Torres had several flavors of chocolate covered matzoh, including one containing chili powder called “Wicked”, a nod to the wicked son we read about in the Haggadah.  

The next place we visited was Francois Payard who personally gave us a tour of his bakery. One of his chefs was working on nothing other than Passover cookies.  He was piping an almond cookie batter onto sheets in a fleur de lys shape.   When I asked Francois about his chocolate-covered matzohs, he handed me his Passover specialty: two graham cracker-sized matzohs with caramel between them that was enrobed in chocolate.  Whenever anyone mentions caramel matzoh, I am always reminded of Marcy Goldman's famous caramel matzoh crunch that has been a staple in my house for 20 years.  My friend, and fellow Jewish cookbook author, Tina Wasserman, says that in her family it is the Passover equivalent of a highly addictive drug.  Francois’s version was equally sinful, but as it is dairy, it is kind of cheating.  Watch for another Passover posting next week when I will try to post my own parve version of Passover caramel matzoh sandwiches (working title, suggestions welcome).

Let the sweet games begin.  Happy Passover! 

Raspberry Honey Marshmallows 

Makes at least 35 1- 1 ½ inch marshmallows

Prep time 20 minutes; they need to sit overnight

The first time I ever 

saw homemade marshmallows was in Paris in 2008 and I could not believe the variety of flavors offered including olive oil, basil and vanilla, and coffee.   The trend started coming here a year or two later and then finally to the kosher world.  The biggest challenge was finding a substitute for corn syrup which featured prominently in every marshmallow recipe I found.  I decided to try honey instead and was surprised that it actually worked. You should taste the raspberries before you puree them and add confectioner’s sugar to adjust the flavor to your taste.  You can also make them with strawberry purée.

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin powder

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup honey

¼ teaspoon salt

12 ounces fresh raspberries

½ cup plus 4 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, divided

Place the gelatin powder in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Pour ½ cup cold water over the powder and let sit for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, place the raspberries and two or more (depending on tartness of the berries) tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar into the bowl of a food processor and process until completely puréed, scraping down the bowl several times.  Strain into another bowl and set aside.

Place the sugar, honey, salt and ¼ cup water into a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil and then cook until the mixture reaches 250°F, using a candy thermometer to check the exact temperature.  Use the wire whisk attachment on the mixer and turn on to low speed, starting to mix the gelatin.  While the mixer is going, slowly pour the hot mixture down the side of the bowl into the gelatin, not onto the wire whisk where it will get stuck.  When it is all poured in, turn the speed up to medium high for 12 full minutes until the mixture gets very thick and fills up the mixing bowl.  Meanwhile cover a 9 X 13 inch pan with a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the bottom and go up all the sides.  Using a sieve, dust the bottom on the pan with ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar.

Use a silicone spatula to gently fold the raspberry purée into the  mixture.  You can mix it completely for solid pink marshmallows or mix it part way to create a marble effect.  Scoop the mixture onto the sugarcoated parchment and spread evenly and into the corners.  Let sit uncovered overnight.

Take a large piece of parchment and use a sieve to dust half of another ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar to cover the parchment.  Use the parchment edges to life the marshmallow out of the pan and onto the sugar-coated parchment.  Use scissors, a pizza wheel or sharp knife to cut into squares or any shape or use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes (eat the scraps).  Place the remaining confectioner’s sugar into a bowl and dust every cut marshmallow to coat all sides with sugar.  Use the sieve to shake off excess.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.  May be frozen.