#1 Rosh Hashanah

“You do not want me to cook for you,” Daniela Spector warns at the beginning of the meeting with Hedai Offaim, noting that she has made so many banana cakes that no one has come to eat. So what brings her into the kitchen and takes her out of her comfort zone, how does this relate to the tremulous new rooms she is opening on her musical path, what is the connection between Rosh Hashanah and funerals, and why is a broken heart actually a powerful ax?

Round lentil pastry for Rosh Hashanah

In the market:

For the lentils:

¾ cup small black beluga lentils

¾ cup small green lentils

3 onions

½ cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic

1 bunch parsley

1 level tsp cumin

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

For the pastry:

1 kg white flour, sifted

600 ml water

1 tbsp. salt

1 cup olive oil

In the kitchen:

Soak the lentils in hot water for about an hour, and drain. Chop the onion and sauté until golden in a pan on a high light. Slice the garlic and add as well. Add the lentils to the pan, chop the parsley and add it too, together with the cumin. Mix and add 1½ cups boiling water. Cook until the lentils have softened. Season with salt and pepper, taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

While the lentils are soaking in hot water, prepare the dough: Knead the flour, water and salt together until a soft, pliable dough is obtained. Divide the dough into 8 and roll each part into a ball. Pour the olive oil into a pan with a high rim that exactly fits the dough balls, and place the balls in the pan. Flatten each ball slightly and make sure it is covered in oil.

Heat the oven to 250°C. Roll out each ball into a thin sheet on the counter with a rolling pin, and then continue to stretch it with the palms of your hands until you have a wide rectangle. Arrange the lentils in a row on the part nearest to the cook, and roll the dough around them in an elongated roll. Close the roll into a circle, and transfer it to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 15 minutes until golden, and serve with tehina and pickled lemons.

Host: Hedai Offaim
Guest: Daniela Spector
Photography: Idan Glikzelig
Sound: Nitzan Peri
Makeup: Tzofiya Gealdor
Artistic Director: Amichai Chasson
Production: Eyal Levit, Shir Sharoni, Avishai Huri

(Hi’zaher (Take care
Words and melody: Daniela Spector