Onion and Olive Socca

I have been meaning to post this for a while now (about 3 weeks...) and I am finally getting around to it! This socca accompanied me during an all-nighter trying to finish writing a 15 page paper. It was delicious and oh so satisfying. Quite different from my skillet socca and I have to say, I do prefer the texture of this method (baking) compared to preparing it omelette-style.

The inside was like custard. Drool.

Custard-y friggin' goodness.

Ingredients:

1 c chickpea flour (I made mine by food processing dried chickpeas)

1 t salt

1.5 c water

1-2 T oil

a few thin slices of red onion

a few olives, finely chopped

optional: a few sage leaves, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F

Add oil to a 9-10" pan (I use a skillet because that's all I have)

Mix together flour and salt.

Whisk in water until batter is clump-less (this will be very thin).

Pour batter into pan/skillet.

Place onions, olives and sage thoughtfully into batter.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until socca has a crust but is soft to the touch.

Optional: Turn oven to broil and bake for 3-5 more minutes for crispiness.

My unsuccessful attempt to remove it from the skillet...

 Horrible picture thanks to the quality of the pictures taken on my phone...

...oh how I wish I hadn't broke my camera.

Zucchini Pasta with Pesto Sauce

Zucchini made into "pasta" = the best. It is water rich, alkaline and nutrient rich. I have been on a serious pesto kick lately, pureeing just about any leafy green and nut that I can get my hands on. 

Based off of Pesto Pasta in Raw: The Uncook Book. This is a much more allaborate recipe than my typical one

For Pasta:

1 zucchini, cut lengthwise into pasta-like strips

1/4 of a red pepper, thinly sliced

1/4 c of marinated onions*

1/2 tomato, diced

5 basil leaves, chopped

leaves from 1 sprig of oregano

leaves from 1 sprig of rosemary, chopped

8 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in warm water for at least 10 minutes, chopped

1/4 jalapeno, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

juice from 1/2 lemon

Pre sauce

Mix together and set aside.

*1 onion thinly sliced and marinated in 2/3 c tamari for 10 minutes - 8 hrs

For Sauce: (This makes more than you need for the pasta so add as much as you desire!)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 handfuls of walnuts

1/4 c basil leaves

2 handfuls of baby spinach (MI spinach is finally in season!!)

1 heaping T miso

2 T olive oil

1 t salt

8 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in warm water for at least 10 minutes

Blend sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Add water to reach desired consistency (I used 1/2 c).

Pour as much as you want onto the pasta and refrigerate the rest.

Remember how I actually eat my food? Pasta curled up on my couch with my laptop ;)

This is not an all local recipe but all ingredients can be bought trash free. For Ann Arbor residents:

-Herbs can be bought unpackaged at Sparrow Market.
-All vegetables can be purchased packaging free.
-Tamari, sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, miso, salt, olive oil can all be bought in bulk at the People's Food Co-op.

Guest Recipe: Veggie Socca with Savory Almond Sauce

Martha Johnston, also known as my mom, made a socca of her own! Different veggies but same basic socca recipe. Here's her experience:

Mine was a comedy of errors. I did not have a non-stick pan and should have used more oil. I did it on the stove, could not flip it so I popped it in the oven. I ended up scraping it out and reforming it into 2 small pan cakes and re frying it. It still tasted great. 

The veggies in it I used was portabello mushrooms, red peppers, onions and dried basil.

Lookin' good garnished with sprouts, chopped scallions,

and raw almond spread (recipe below)

And here is the recipe for the dollop of goodness on top. Based off Yuri's cleanse recipes.

Almond Sauce (raw vegan)

Ingredients:
1 c almonds, soaked overnight
2 T sesame oil
3 T Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or tamari or soy sauce)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 dried dates, soaked for 2-3+ hours
½ lemon, juiced
¼ t cayenne, or to taste (or pinch red pepper flakes)
Coconut water (or water)

Directions:
Pulse all ingredients, except water, in a food processor.

Add water until desired consistency is reached, smooth and creamy.

My first socca

I have been eyeing socca recipes for about two months now but for no good reason, I have not gotten around to making one! Well, the other day Candice came over for dinner and it just felt like it was time.

A socca is an unleavened pancake made of chickpea flour. It is typically baked in a cast iron pan at 450F for 45 minutes to an hour however we did not want to wait. Therefore... skillet socca!

Savory Skillet Socca
This was way reminiscent of an omelet, in it's cooking method and it's texture. So savory and way too easy. I am foreseeing this as a staple in my dietary future. Adapted from Pure2Raw.

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil, divided
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c plus 1 T chickpea flour**
2 t dried Italian herbs (optional but delicious)
1 t salt
1 1/4 cup water

Directions:
Heat 1T oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Saute onions and garlic until soft and starting to brown, set aside.
Mix together flour, herbs and salt in a large bowl.
Slowly whisk in water until all the lumps are gone (this will be thin).
Stir the sauteed onions and garlic into the batter.
Heat remaining 1 T oil in the skillet.
Pour batter into the skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes.
Flip and cook the other side for 3-5 minutes.

**I made my own chickpea flour by grinding dried chickpeas in my food processor. It was the most horrific sound, I had to leave the room and cover my ears to suffer through it. But it worked! I am not actually sure if this is the correct method, perhaps I was supposed to cook the chickpeas and let them air-dry before processing them... Oh well! I liked the way it turned out (despite the hearing loss).

Spicy Roasted Tomato Pizza with Kale-Almond Pesto

This pizza is AMAZING. So flavorful and spicy and delicious. I will definitely be making this again, and I'm looking very forward to it!

Ingredients:
1 prepared whole wheat pizza dough
Kale-Almond Pesto (or other pesto of choice), enough to liberally coat crust

2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1/2 small white/yellow onion, chopped

3 T oil
½ T balsamic vinegar
salt
1-2 basil leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced

3-4 basil leaves, chopped finely

"Parmesan Cheese"

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F

In a small bowl, mix together the oil, salt, vinegar, 1-2 chopped basil leaves, and minced garlic.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the chopped veggies and oil mixture.

Pour into a greased or lined baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Remove roasted veggies from oven until ready to assemble the pizza.

Raise oven heat to 400F
Pre-bake rolled out pizza dough for 5 minutes, take out and set aside.

Generously spread pesto onto pre-baked pizza crust.

Dump roasted veggies evenly onto pesto.
Sprinkle finely chopped basil leaves and "parmesan cheese" (go nuts with this step- this cheeZe is really really really really amazing).
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Inspired by The Hungry Birdie

Ingredients:

1 prepared whole wheat pizza dough
1 onion, sliced

1 sweet potato, thinly sliced into rounds

1 garlic clove, minced

3 T oil

1 T fresh thyme (or 1/2 T dried)

salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F
Pre-bake rolled out dough for 5 minutes, take out and set aside.

Sprinkle onions with salt and sauté on low heat until soft and caramelized, about 15 minutes, set aside.

In same pan, quickly sauté thinly sliced potatoes until softened, set aside. (You can also steam them)

Add oil to same pan and saute garlic until starting to brown, DO NOT BURN.

Paint garlic-oil mixture onto pre-baked crust.

Spread onions onto dough and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

Place sweet potato rounds onto dough and sprinkle with fresh thyme.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.

Wild Rice Salad with Dried Figs

I cooked 8 cups of wild rice this morning. Not sure why, it just happened. So get ready for a week of wild rice brilliance! Let's kick it off with this baby:


Wild Rice Salad with Dried Figs
Wild rice is not necessary, any grain will do! Wheat berries, brown rice, quinoa, farro, cous-cous (I could go on but that may take a while). Extra plus for this recipe, it still tastes great after chillin in the fridge for a few days. Adapted from Bitchin' Camero (love the blog name).

How gorgeous are figs?!

Ingredients:

Dressing

1/4 c olive oil

2 T lemon juice (the juice of 1 lemon)

2 T apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper

Salad

3 cups wild rice

8 dried figs, thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 c toasted almonds, chopped

Directions:

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside.

Mix together salad ingredients in a big bowl.

Pour dressing onto salad (use your own discretion, I ended up pouring it all on in one go and thinking it was a bit too dressing-y).

Eat immediately or store in the fridge until you’re ready for it.

Playing with my camera...

For some reason this reminds me of seafood.

Does anyone else see the similarities between crustacean meat and fig meat?

Maybe (probably) it's just me...

Marinated Kale and Beet Salad

Ingredients:
Salad
1/4 c pumpkin seeds (AKA pepitas) (1)
1 bunch kale (2)
3 T olive oil (1)
1/4 of a red onion, diced
1 carrot, grated (3)
4 roasted beets, cubed (2)

Dressing
2 T balsamic vinegar (1)
1 t dijon mustard (4)
1/4 t freshly ground pepper (1)
1 t dried basil (1)
1 garlic clove, minced (5)

Directions:
Toast pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat when seeds begin to pop, set aside to cool.
Wash kale and tear into bite sized pieces.
Combine kale and oil and massage kale (yes, massage) until it softens.
Whisk together salad dressing.
Place kale, onion, carrots, and beets in a bowl and add dressing.*
Toss and sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds.

*I prepared this for lunch the night before. I mixed the dressing with the kale, carrots and onions the night before, keeping the beets and pumpkin seeds separate. In the morning I combined all of the ingredients and off I went!

(1) Bulk section of the People's Food Co-op
(2) Goetz Farm
(3) Snowman leftovers
(4) Pre-challenge stash
(5) Labelled as "Local" at the People's Food Co-op

California Christmas: Chopped

I am not sure if anyone else watches Chopped but it's a show on the Food Network where people have to make an appetizer, main course, and dessert using specific ingredients. The challenge is that the ingredients are not always "normal". I have to use candy canes in my appetizer? Or bacon in my dessert?

Needless to say, watching it is a guilty pleasure of mine. And my aunt and uncle are fans of the show as well. As entertainment on a blustery evening in Northern California, we created a chopped challenge of our own!

The Rules:

My aunt and I had to make appetizers using cucumbers, my foraged chanterelles, and persimmons; a entree using salmon, asparagus, and (I can't remember what else); a dessert using pomegranates, quinoa, and chocolate.

Appetizer: Cucumber Disks with a Roasted Red Pepper-Walnut Spread, Wild Chanterelle Crostinis, Spicy Lime Tortilla Chips with Persimmon Chips and an Orange-Persimmon

Roasted Red Pepper-Walnut Spread

Also known as muhammara (I LOVE this word). Recipe from the NY Times.

Ingredients:
3/4 c walnuts, toasted and chopped

3 red bell peppers, roasted
3/4 c fresh bread crumbs*

1 jalapeño or other small hot chili pepper, stemmed and seeded
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T pomegranate molasses
1 T lemon juice
1 t ground cumin
salt and pepper
2 T olive oil.

Directions:

Put all ingredients (except oil) in food processor and pulse until smooth.

Slowly pour in olive oil into running food processor.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Eat with anything and everything: cucumbers, pita bread, your hands...

Entree: Asparagus and Red Onion Salad, Miso-glazed Wild Alaskan Salmon, Sweet Potato Latkes with Cranberry Relish, garnished with mixed salad greens.

Sweet Potato Latkes

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled

1 green onion, finely chopped

1/4 c whole wheat flour

1 T ground flax seeds, whisked into 3 T water

salt, pepper, smoked paprika

oil

Directions:

Grate the sweet potatoes (my aunt had a fancy grater feature on her food processor which made this process VERY easy)

Mix together all the ingredients, except the oil.

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.

Take a handful of sweet potato mixture and form a patty.

Fry in oil until dark brown, about 5 minutes.

Flip to fry the other side.

Allow to cool on a rag (to wick away excess oil)

Serve with cranberry chutney!

Dessert: Spicy Chocolate-Dipped Date-Walnut Truffles, Pomegranate Quinoa Patties

My first pomegranate! Too pretty.

Purple Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash

Now that finals are over, I can catch up on some past meals. Introducing: Pre-final Posts Series.

Pre-final Post 1:

So one major negative that I have come to find in squash is dealing with removing the skin. Easy thing if you are roasting it whole and scooping out the innards but if you want to roast cubes of the meat, you have to peel the thing first. BIG hassle.

Enter Delicata squash. These little beauties have a thin enough skin that peeling is not necessary! This unfortunately means that they will most likely not grow in Michigan late into the winter. But I do appreciate their deliciousness now!

Purple Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash

The way this salad is constructed cooks the kale without actually cooking it! Therefore perfect for raw kale haters. Plus the sweet squash is the absolute best texture/taste/whole package of goodness.

Ingredients:
1 Delicata squash, halved and seeded (1)
2 t oil (2)
1 T balsamic vinegar (2)
1 T maple syrup (3)
a few leaves of purple (or regular) kale, de-stemmed and cut into bit sized pieces (4)
1 small onion, finely chopped (1)
1 garlic clove, minced (4)
1 T red wine vinegar (2)
salt and pepper (2)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F
Cut squashes into 1/2" semicircles.
Toss with 1 T oil and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.
Whisk together balsamic vinegar and maple syrup.
Brush mixture onto squash slices, reserving extra liquid.
Bake squash for 5 more minutes.
Turn on the broiler and broil for a few minutes to add color.

Place kale in a large bowl.
Heat remaining 1 t oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.
Add red wine vinegar and the reserved balsamic-maple syrup mixture and bring to a boil.
Immediately pour the hot dressing over the kale.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Cover bowl of kale with something that will keep in the steam (I used a large plate).
Leave be for 5 minutes.
Toss kale to cover leaves with dressing.
Serve with squash slices.

(1) Some farm stand at the AA Farmers Market, my fail for not noting the name...
(2) Bulk section at the People's Food Co-op
(3) Curry's Maple Syrup
(4) Tantre Farm

Spaghetti Squash Soup

Spaghetti Squash Soup
Based off of Vegan Yum Yum recipe.

Ingredients:
1 Spaghetti squash, halved (1)
1 kabocha squash, peeled and cubed (2)
1 head of garlic (1)
1 small onion, chopped (3)
3 c vegetable broth
oil
salt
1 t dried thyme
cayenne pepper and ground ginger
Garnish
1/4 c spaghetti squash
a handful of roasted squash seeds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450F
Place spaghetti squash cut side down in a baking dish.
Fill dish with about 1 inch of water.
Make an envelope/pocket-like holder out of aluminum foil and dump in kabocha squash cubes.
Cut off the top of the head of garlic, drizzle with oil and wrap in aluminum foil.
Put squashes and garlic in the oven and roast until soft, about 45 minutes.
Scoop spaghetti squash and squeeze garlic from their skins.
Reserve about 1/4 c of spaghetti squash for garnish.

Heat 1 T oil over medium heat and saute onion until soft.
Add in veggie stock and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and add in roasted veggies.
Simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
Puree soup in a blender or food processor in batches (so that it doesn't overflow)
Salt and season to taste.

Here's the fun part: garnish time!
Heat 2 T oil over medium heat in a saute pan.
separate strands of reserved spaghetti squash and drop into pan.
Fry until golden brown, stirring constantly.*
Transfer to a dish towel to drain excess oil.
Place on top of individual bowls of soup along with squash seeds.

I fried at too high of heat so mine ended up a liiittle too brown for my liking... But they still tasted good (what fried thing doesn't taste good though?) and looked pretty.

(1) Tantre Farms
(2) From the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market but I didn't catch the name of the vendors :(

Guest Blogger: (continued) Thanksgiving

I wanted to share some recipes with you this Thanksgiving and to tell you how much I enjoy cooking, especially for and with other people I cherish. Samantha and I made miso soup for breakfast the other day, on a misty weekend morning, and it was a beautiful morning indeed. I feel like cooking can be a very intimate experience, especially because taste and smell are so primal, and also because you want to make sure that the people you are cooking for enjoy what you've made for them. Food for me is primarily about sharing. At the same time, as students, it is easy to forget that food can taste good, and it doesn't need to be elaborate. In any case, just like Samantha, I take food seriously.

I come from a family of people that love to eat and cook - my parents and sister are amazing cooks. I have learned much of what I know from them. Also, being Indian, cooking is something I tend to feel out - recipes serve only as a baseline (except in baking, when proportions really do matter for things like developing the right amount of gluten in bread dough or fluffiness of muffins). Proportions are tinkered with. If you asked me how many teaspoons of turmeric I add to a pot of fried okra, I honestly couldn't tell you. Cooking can and should be creative - we all have different tastes, and it is fun to explore and expand your own tastes as well. Also, I think that it is important to imagine what things taste like - this will allow you cook in your mind, and make changes that you think will make things different or suit your tastes.

Here are some things I made for my friends (and myself!) this Thanksgiving. I found a great list of Thanksgiving recipes on Well's Vegetarian Thanksgiving on the New York Times website. All of these recipes were made trash-free, too! Here's what I made, and my thoughts on them. The NYTimes website calls for what is in black, and any changes/substitutions/additions I made are in green or the NYTimes ingredient is struck through:

1) Pumpkin dumplings (with my own addition of onion apple topping)

1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree (I had a can of this from a year ago, before I started my no-trash project, and so I used it. You can easily make your own pumpkin puree by peeling a pie pumpkin, steaming it, and then blending it)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup store-bought gluten-free flour blend (I used flour with gluten)
Salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (Don't be shy - you can definitely use more oil than this. I love oil.)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 small head radicchio, sliced into 1/4-inch strips (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used dried parsley)
Two apples - they can be tart or sweet...whatever you'd like! You can also use pears.

Preparation
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, flour and 1 teaspoon salt to make the dough.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook until softened, about five minutes; remove from the heat and set aside. I added apples to this to give it an added fall flavour. 

 

 

3. When the water comes to a boil, use a teaspoon to scoop up the dough and form a dumpling, then carefully slide the dumpling off the spoon and into the boiling water. Continue forming dumplings until half the dough is used. Cook until the dumplings float, then simmer for about two minutes; remove with a slotted spoon and add to the saucepan with the onion. Repeat with the remaining dumpling dough. Don't worry if the dumplings break slightly and make the water murky. That is totally fine!

4. Return the saucepan with the onion to medium-high heat. Toss in three-quarters of the radicchio and stir gently until just wilted, about two minutes; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste. To serve, divide the dumplings and sauce among four bowls and top with the remaining radicchio and parsley.

Yield: Serves 4.

I think that this recipe could have used some more spices and/or herbs in the dumplings (to satisfy my Indian taste buds), but I also appreciated the simplicity of tastes with the NYTimes recipe.
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2) Roasted Vegetable Galette with Olives
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (could definitely use more salt)
1/3 cup water (needed a few splashes more than this to make the dough come together)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped pitted Kalamata olives
-----------------------------------
Filling:
1 1/2 cups diced peeled carrots (3 medium)
1 1/2 cups diced peeled parsnips (3 medium) I used Daikon radish instead
1 1/2 cups diced peeled butternut squash (1/2 medium)
1 cup diced peeled beet (1 medium) I used both red beets and golden beets
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided (definitely used more than this)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried (didn't have this and so I think I used some oregano instead, although you could also use sage, thyme, ginger, lavender, black pepper or paprika, I'd say)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 head garlic
1 cup crumbled creamy goat cheese (4 ounces), divided (It is hard to find goat cheese without packaging)
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water for glazing
You can definitely add in or substitute in various kinds of potatoes, peppers or squashes. Express yourself through your choices.

Preparation
1. To prepare crust: Combine all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse several times. Mix water and oil; sprinkle over the dry ingredients and pulse just until blended. Add olives and pulse to mix. (Alternatively, combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the water-oil mixture, stirring until well blended. Stir in olives.) I did this by hand. When you make doughs, it is important to know what they feel like. I also added a few hand fulls of water to make the dough come together at this point.
2. Press the dough into a disk; if it seems dry, add a little more water. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer. The unbaked crust will keep, well wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Just use some oil to coat the sheet.
4.To prepare filling: Combine carrots, parsnips, squash, beet (or whatever else you added or substituted), 1 tablespoon oil, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large bowl; toss to coat. Spread the vegetables on the prepared baking sheet. Cut the tip off the head of garlic. Set on a square of foil, sprinkle with a tablespoon of water and pinch the edges of the foil together. Place the packet on the baking sheet with the vegetables. Roast, stirring the vegetables every 10 minutes, until they are tender and beginning to brown and the garlic is soft, about 35 minutes. (The garlic may take a little longer.)

5. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl. Unwrap the garlic and let cool slightly. Squeeze the garlic cloves into a small bowl; add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and mash with a fork. Add the mashed garlic to the roasted vegetables and toss to mix. Add 3/4 cup goat cheese and toss to coat.
6. To assemble galette: Roll the dough into a rough 14-inch circle about 1/4 inch thick. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and place the dough on it. Arrange the roasted vegetables on the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Fold the border up and over the filling to form a rim, pleating as you go. Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup goat cheese over the vegetables. Stir egg and water briskly; brush lightly over the crust. (It would make it look nice, the egg glazing, but I totally forgot to do this!)

7. Bake the galette at 400 degrees until the crust is golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Yield: Makes 8 servings.
This was so good. Again, I'd add more salt to the crust, and you can also try to add some herbs/spices to the crust.
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Alsatian Pear and Apple Kugel with Prunes

5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds ripe Bosc pears You can also use D'Anjou or any other pear
an apple or two
2 small onions (about 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
Salt to taste
1/2 loaf bread (about 7 ounces), cubed
3/4 cup sugar
8 tablespoons butter or pareve margarine, melted I just used vegetable oil instead of butter. It is hard to find trash-free butter. And if you notice cake recipes, they are just full of oil!
2 large eggs
2 cups pitted prunes
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Juice of 1 lemon

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 2 tablespoons of the oil.
2. Peel the pears and cut all but one of them into 1-inch cubes. Don't peel the pears - their skin is already delicate. I did peel the apple though.
3. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of the oil over a medium-high heat in a skillet. Lightly sauté the onions until they are translucent. Remove from the heat and salt lightly, allowing them to cool slightly.
4. Soak the bread for a few seconds in lukewarm water and squeeze dry. Put in a large bowl, and, using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix with 1/4 cup of the sugar and the butter or pareve margarine oil. Stir in the eggs, onions and half of the diced pears, setting aside the remaining pears for the sauce.

5. Pour the batter into the spring form pan and bake for 2 1 hour 40 minutes or so hours.

6. While the kugel is cooking, make the sauce. In a heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat, put 1 cup of water, the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, the prunes, cinnamon, lemon juice and the remaining diced pears. Cook this compote mixture uncovered for 30 minutes.
7. Finely grate the remaining pear and stir it into the cooked compote. (I didn't grate the pear, although this would have been better. I thought that the pear would disintegrate, just like apples do when you boil them. I was wrong! No harm done, though)

8. When the kugel is done, remove from the oven and set on a rack to cool for about 20 minutes. Unmold from the pan onto a serving platter, and spoon half of the compote over it. Serve the remaining compote on the side.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

The onions give this an extremely savoury taste - very different than what we expect cake-like things to be. I loved it.

~Love,

Darshan