Thank you to all who attended the February 3 USY Community Shabbat Fundraising Dinner. Many attendees requested the recipes for the various Sephardic dishes served that evening. Each of the non-dessert recipes in their original form can be found at www.epicurious.com. Below are the adaptations used that evening.

Moroccan Style Baked Haddock with Chickpeas
2 15-oz cans of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
7-10 large garlic cloves, minced
1 t red pepper flakes
6 T olive oil
1/4 c water
1/2 t ground cumin
1 1/2- 2 lbs haddock fillets
salt
black pepper
hand full of chopped fresh cilantro
lemon wedges
Rinse and drain canned chickpeas. Combine in saucepan with 3/4 of the garlic (all but enough to sprinkle across the fish later), pepper flakes, cumin, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 cup water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes.
Preheat oven 400°F.
Spread the chickpea mixture across the bottom of a baking dish (use something long enough in which to lay out the fillets). Place fish across the top, sprinkle with salt and pepper and remaining garlic. Sprinkle very lightly (use fingers rather than shake on) with a few red pepper flakes. Also, if you like cumin, sprinkle a little cumin across the top.
Cook in oven for 20-30 minutes uncovered. Check after 20 minutes - it should be flaky but not falling apart.
Sprinkle fresh cilantro across the top. Serve with lemon wedges. Serves 4-5.

Adapted from Shabbat Shalom, ©1999, Susan Friedland, Little Brown and Co.

Spinach with Pine Nuts and Raisins (Spinaci con Pinoli e Passerine)
2 1/2 lbs. spinach leaves
2-3 T olive oil
2 small onions minced
4-5 T raisins (a couple small handfuls)
4-5 T pine nuts (pignoli nuts) toasted
Salt and pepper to taste
To toast pine nuts: Place pine nuts on a cookie sheet in a 325°F oven. They will toast pretty quickly so keep an eye on them - probably no more than 5-7 minutes. They should be golden to light brown in color. Remove from oven and set aside.
Rinse spinach and drain (but do not pat dry). Heat oil. Add onions and raisins. Sauté until onions are soft. Add spinach (there will be some residual water, that's fine). Sauté until spinach is wilted. Add the pine nuts, salt and pepper. Continue to sauté a few more minutes and serve. This can be served warm or at room temperature.
Serves 6.

Adapted from Cucina Ebraica: Flavors of the Italian Jewish Kitchen, ©1998, Joyce Goldstein, Chronicle Books.

Syrian Baked Pumpkin Casserole (Kibbet Yatkeen bi Seniyeh)
1 c bulgur wheat
2 c warm water
16 oz canned pumpkin (make sure it is pumpkin only and not pumpkin pie filling)
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c cold water
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 c vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Soak bulgur in the warm water for 30 minutes. Drain.
Mix all ingredients in large bowl, except for the oil.
Lightly oil a 9"x9" baking pan. Spread pumpkin mixture into the pan. Cut diamonds or squares in the uncooked mixture. Drizzle 1/4 cup of vegetable oil across the top. (It will look a little oily.) Sprinkle lightly with allspice.
Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Adapted from Olive Trees and Honey, © 2005, Gil Marks, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Sephardic Syrup-Soaked Semolina Cake (Tishpishti)
2 c fine semolina meal or farina
1/2 c ground almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts
1 T baking powder
1/2 to 1 t ground cinnamon
6 large eggs, separated
1 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 T orange juice or orange blossom water
2 t grated orange zest
Pinch of salt
2 c sugar syrup, cooled (instructions below)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 13"x9" pan.
Combine the semolina or farina, nuts, baking powder and cinnamon. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the oil, juice or orange blossom water, and zest. Stir in the semolina mixture.
Beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Add the salt, increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten, then gently fold in the remaining whites.
Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and immediately pour the cooled syrup evenly over the warm cake. Let cake cool and absorb the syrup. Cut into diamond shapes or squares.

Sugar Syrup 2 c sugar (or 1 c sugar and 1 c honey)
1 c water
2 t lemon juice
Combine all ingredients in a heavy 1-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, without stirring, until the mixture is syrupy, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Store in the refrigerator.

Couscous 1 box of Israeli couscous (Israeli couscous is the larger round pasta which can be found at Hannaford)
2 onions, chopped
olive oil
salt
pepper
Boil water (a little more than is called for on the box of couscous). Meanwhile, brown the chopped onions, stirring. When browned, add the couscous and brown and coat with onion. When mixture is blended well and couscous is no longer white, add boiling water according to directions on the box and follow remaining directions.

From The World of Jewish Cooking, ©1999, Gil Marks, Simon and Schuster.     

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