I am glad to be writing the blog this week.Last week I found myself very busy traveling back and forth to Phoenix AZ.
My mother lives there and had taken a turn for the worse and I wanted to visit and give some TLC.
I'm glad that there is such a strong and caring crew at Smokey Joe's (as in many organizations,
starting at the top)
and I was able to fly out on only one day's notice.
This week, while we are thinking about Purim, I would like to think about what to serve at the Seuda. This year I find myself thinking about the theme of hidden things that runs through Purim. Everyone I'm sure remembers from their school years that the Book of Esther is the only book in Tanach that does not have Gd's name anywhere, but His hand is seen throughout the story of Esther.
Because of this we eat Kreplach with hidden fillings and Hamentashen are often made with their fillings hidden as well.
Phoenix has citrus trees growing everywhere you look, including my mother's back yard, so incorporating both ideas I made some "Orange Chicken Potstickers"
with an orange plucked from my mother's own tree.
Orange Chicken Potstickers
- 1 package square dumpling wrappers ( you can find them in the produce area of most supermarkets)
- Boneless meat from I/2 cooked, roasted, or BBQ Chicken (All white, all dark, or a mixture of both)
- 1 large Onion coarsely chopped
- About 3/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil for frying, divided use
- 1 Tablespoon fresh Sage coarsely chopped
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 Orange
- 1 Raw Sweet Potato shredded on food processor or large holes of box grater
- 1 slightly beaten Egg for sealing the dumplings
- 1 cup , about of Chicken stock or water (You'll see why in a bit)
Saute onion until soft and golden brown in about 1/4 cup of oil in large skillet. While the onion is browning peel the orange zest into long strips with a vegetable peeler and put aside.
Peel white pith from orange and cut sections free from membranes and chop coarsely.
When onions are brown, season with salt,pepper, and add sage and orange rind. Put in work bowl of food processor and using pulses, chop until uniformly rice sized pieces. Taste a bit and check for seasoning. Add chopped orange and sweet potato and mix well.
Keeping the dumpling wrappers covered as much as possible with a damp kitchen towel,and lay out three or four wrappers with a point facing you. Moisten the edges of the top with beaten egg and put one teaspoonful of filling on the center of each wrapper. Fold each filled wrapper in half to form a triangle and press to seal well. fold the two lower corners up to form a crown and seal with a bit of egg. Continue until either all filling or all wrappers (or both) are finished.
Lightly coat your skillet with oil and over medium high heat add one layer of dumplings being careful not to crowd in pan and brown one side of dumpling until dark golden brown. Then add 1/4 cup of stock and cover skilet and finish cooking until pan is mostly dry. Remove dumplings from pan, wipe clean and do it again until all dumplings are cooked.
Serve with chopped parsley and dipping sauce of choice and discover the treat hidden inside the dumpling.
Happy Purim, Moshe
