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Students Host Passover Cooking Class with Dr. Hélène Jawhara Piñer
Last week, students involved in a Jewish food independent study (Zoë Lester ‘24, Daniel Wagman ‘25) and the Jewish Cultures Club (Talia Bakst ‘24, Rex Popick ‘24, and Lila Steinhardt ‘24) hosted a pre-Passover cooking class with historian and cookbook author Dr. Hélène Jawhara Piñer.
Dr. Piñer spoke about Passover and the food practices of Sephardic Jews under the Spanish Inquisition. Together, High School students and faculty cooked a dish that showcased one of the ways the Jewish people hid their religious identity in order to observe Passover in the New World. Click here to view the photo gallery.
Recipe for the dish cooked at the event: Corn Tortillas -- a Passover Mexican dish meant to disguise Jewish identity.
Serves 4
Time: 1 hour
Dough:
– 2 cups (300 g) corn flour/ masa harina (nixtamalized)
– 1 ½ tsp salt
– 1 ⅓ cup (260 ml) hot water
– 1 tsp olive oil
Fish and sauce:
– ¼ cup (50 g) olive oil
– 2 chopped cloves of garlic
– ½ lb (220 g) fresh white fish
– 2 very thinly sliced red onions
– 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
– ½ tsp black pepper
– 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
– juice of 1 lime
– 1 tsp salt
Recipe for the dish cooked at the event: Corn Tortillas -- a Passover Mexican dish meant to disguise Jewish identity.
- Vegetarian and nut-free recipe
- Contains white fish
- The recipe is in the cookbook “Sephardi. Cooking the History”
- Corn tortillas can be purchased already done (easier). The “Masienda” brand makes Kosher tortillas that can be purchased at Whole Food market.
- You can make tortillas from Kosher corn flour, but it will take time + we need plastic paper + a tortilla press.
- Contains white fish
- The recipe is in the cookbook “Sephardi. Cooking the History”
- Corn tortillas can be purchased already done (easier). The “Masienda” brand makes Kosher tortillas that can be purchased at Whole Food market.
- You can make tortillas from Kosher corn flour, but it will take time + we need plastic paper + a tortilla press.
Serves 4
Time: 1 hour
Dough:
– 2 cups (300 g) corn flour/ masa harina (nixtamalized)
– 1 ½ tsp salt
– 1 ⅓ cup (260 ml) hot water
– 1 tsp olive oil
Fish and sauce:
– ¼ cup (50 g) olive oil
– 2 chopped cloves of garlic
– ½ lb (220 g) fresh white fish
– 2 very thinly sliced red onions
– 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
– ½ tsp black pepper
– 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
– juice of 1 lime
– 1 tsp salt
1. To make the dough, mix together corn flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and the hot water.
Mix the preparation with a spoon until all the water is absorbed.
2. Make balls the size of a golf ball. Leave them to rest on a plate for 20 minutes, covered so they do not dry. Now to flatten and cook the tortillas, you can use a tortilla press if you have one: remember to put the dough ball between two pieces of plastic paper so it does not stick to the press; place it in the center of the bottom part of the press, then open it and carefully, with the palm of your hand, remove the tortilla from the parchment sheet. If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can use the bottom of a heavy saucepan and press down hard. Again, do not forget the plastic paper!
3. Cook in a preheated (medium-high heat) nonstick skillet for 20 seconds. Then flip the tortilla over and cook the other side for 20 seconds more. Repeat the operation once more until the tortilla has golden-brown marks.
4. Keep the tortillas in a plastic bag, not completely closed, while you make the filling.
5. Put olive oil, red onions, and garlic in a frying pan. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat until golden.
Add the fresh fish cut into pieces and pour in the fresh lime juice. Add salt and black pepper. Cover the frying pan and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes.
6. Then, sprinkle with the chopped fresh cilantro and chives.
7. Now fill the corn tortillas with the delicious fish and its lime juice.
Mix the preparation with a spoon until all the water is absorbed.
2. Make balls the size of a golf ball. Leave them to rest on a plate for 20 minutes, covered so they do not dry. Now to flatten and cook the tortillas, you can use a tortilla press if you have one: remember to put the dough ball between two pieces of plastic paper so it does not stick to the press; place it in the center of the bottom part of the press, then open it and carefully, with the palm of your hand, remove the tortilla from the parchment sheet. If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can use the bottom of a heavy saucepan and press down hard. Again, do not forget the plastic paper!
3. Cook in a preheated (medium-high heat) nonstick skillet for 20 seconds. Then flip the tortilla over and cook the other side for 20 seconds more. Repeat the operation once more until the tortilla has golden-brown marks.
4. Keep the tortillas in a plastic bag, not completely closed, while you make the filling.
5. Put olive oil, red onions, and garlic in a frying pan. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat until golden.
Add the fresh fish cut into pieces and pour in the fresh lime juice. Add salt and black pepper. Cover the frying pan and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes.
6. Then, sprinkle with the chopped fresh cilantro and chives.
7. Now fill the corn tortillas with the delicious fish and its lime juice.
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