The Savory Side of Hamantashen

Mazel Tov! We have a new daughter! Baruch Hashem, we were blessed with the simcha of our son’s marriage to our beautiful new daughter-in-law a few weeks ago! This was the first wedding in our family, and was it fun.

With the wedding feasting over, I really wanted to do a reset to healthier eating. I was also a little worried that things would be too slow, too quiet, too boring! Then I realized — in the Matten home, life is never boring.

There are always things happening between the usual chaos in our home and my work. Plus, with Purim around the corner, there is lots of planning and baking to be done.

With my healthy eating plan in place, it’s time to plan for Purim. My family loves embracing the fun of having goofy costumes and a silly theme for our mishloach manot. Last year, our theme was Good “Purim” Humor, and we all dressed up with an ice cream truck theme, with our kids as ice cream bars and cones, ice cream sandwiches and ice cream truck men. Our mishloach manot contained types of mock ice cream treats.

Here are some savory hamantashen recipes you can make for family and friends for your Purim seudah. Chag Sameach and healthy eating!

4 sheets puff pastry, defrosted

2 cans (14.75 oz. each) salmon (pink or red)

11⁄4 cups bread crumbs, or more if necessary

2 large eggs

1 small onion, finely diced

1⁄2 cup ketchup

Place the cans of salmon in a large bowl. Do not drain. Crumble the salmon with your hands to make sure there are no lumps or hard pieces. Add the bread crumbs, eggs, onion and ketchup. Mix until smooth. If the mixture seems too moist, add more bread crumbs — but make sure that the mixture isn’t too dry.

Preheat oven to 400˚ or 375˚ if using a convection oven. Line 3 large cookie sheets with parch­ment paper; set aside.

Roll a sheet of puff pastry dough to 9×11-inches. Use a round (fluted if possible) cookie cutter to cut circles from the puff pastry dough. Use a scooper or tablespoon to scoop the salmon mixture into the puff pastry circles. Pinch into triangles.

Bake for 15 minutes until browned. Serve warm or cold with Cucumber Dill Sauce.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen.

2 medium cucumbers, peeled

11⁄2 cups low-fat mayonnaise

1 Tbsp. dried dill weed

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds (optional)

Process the cucumbers in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add mayonnaise and dill and pulse a few times to combine.

Transfer to a container with a lid and refrigerate until ready to serve.

4 sheets puff pastry, defrosted

2 lbs. Idaho potatoes

1 large Vidalia or sweet onion, finely diced (around 21⁄2 cups)

1 garlic clove, minced

1⁄4 tsp. sugar

2 Tbsps. canola oil

1⁄2 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Cover pot and reduce burner temperature to low. Cook the potatoes, covered, for 45 minutes until tender when pricked with a fork.

Remove the potatoes from the water and allow them to cool completely. This step can be done a day in advance; just keep the potatoes in the refrigerator until ready to use. Peel the cooled potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large (preferably non-stick) skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the onion, garlic and sugar and sauté until the onion is golden brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally, around 20 minutes. You may need to reduce the temperature of the flame if the onion starts to burn rather than caramelize.

Using a fork or potato masher, mash the potatoes until there are no large lumps. Add the caramelized onions. Mix the onions and potatoes until thoroughly combined. Add the salt and eggs. Stir until smooth with a fork, removing any remaining lumps.

Preheat oven to 400˚ or 375˚ if using a convection oven. Line 3 large cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Roll a sheet of puff pastry dough to 9×11 inches.

Use a round (fluted if possible) cookie cutter to cut circles from the puff pastry dough. Use a scooper or tablespoon to scoop the potato mixture into the puff pastry circles. Pinch into triangles.

Bake for 15 minutes until browned.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen.