Smoked salmon rugelach: The ultimate comfort food

The satellite is afloat of stories astir radical running. Sometimes they’re moving toward something: fame, luck oregon a amended life. More often, they’re moving from something, similar persecution oregon poverty. The Jews of Eastern Europe knew each astir this.

The archetypal large migration of Ashkenazi Jews to Mexico took spot successful the aboriginal 20th century, fleeing the aforesaid pogroms that sent their cousins to Ellis Island. They recovered that determination were already Jews successful their caller country, chiefly Syrians who had migrated from the Ottoman Empire. The Ashkenazi Jews acceptable up businesses and assemblage institutions. They made homes. They built synagogues. They learned Spanish. And, of course, they ate.

Mexico City’s Monte Sinaí synagogue was founded successful 1923 by Ottoman Jews arsenic the country’s archetypal Jewish temple. (Gobierno de la Ciudad de México)

Which brings america to rugelach. The Ashkenazi Jews of Mexico weren’t astir to springiness up their celebrated pastries, adjacent if they present lived successful a spot wherever chili peppers outnumbered snowflakes a 1000 to one. So the rugelach stayed. And, being successful Mexico, it changed.

Somewhere on the way, idiosyncratic thought: What if we filled it with cajeta? Cajeta is Mexican caramel, made from goat’s milk. It is sweet, sticky and, if you bash not respect it, susceptible of gluing your teeth unneurotic permanently. Someone other tried guava paste, due to the fact that guava paste makes everything better.

The small crescent-shaped pastries became thing new. They weren’t wholly Eastern European anymore, but they weren’t wholly Mexican either. They were thing successful between— similar the radical who brought them to Mexico, rugelach had near location and recovered itself determination new.

Now, successful this mentation made with smoked salmon, the traditionally saccharine rugelach finds itself determination adjacent newer: the satellite of savory flavors.

Smoked salmon, different subordinate of the pantheon of Ashkenazi Jewish food, present joins rugelach to make thing new. (Ruth Hartnup/CC-BY-2.0)

Ingredients

For the dough

• 8 oz pick cheese, softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt

For the filling

• 4 oz smoked salmon, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp pick cheese, softened
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp caller dill, chopped
• ½ tsp citrus zest
• ¼ tsp achromatic pepper

For assembly and topping

• 1 ovum (for ovum wash)
• 1 tsp water
• 1 tbsp sesame oregon poppy seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the dough. In a bowl, premix pick cheese, flour, and brackish until a brushed dough forms. Divide into 2 discs, wrapper successful plastic, and chill for astatine slightest 1 hour.
2. Prepare the Filling. Combine the smoked salmon, pick cheese, mustard, dill, citrus zest, and achromatic capsicum successful a bowl. Mix until spreadable.
3. Prep the oven. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Line a baking expanse with parchment paper.
4. Assemble the rugelach. Roll retired 1 dough disc into a 12-inch circle. Spread fractional the filling evenly implicit the dough.
5. Shape the rugelach. Cut the dough into 12 wedges. Roll each wedge from the wide extremity to the constituent to signifier crescents. Repeat with the 2nd dough disc.
6. Bake the rugelach. Place crescents connected baking expanse Brush with ovum lavation and sprinkle with sesame oregon poppy seeds. Bake for 20-25 minutes oregon until aureate and chill somewhat earlier serving.

Stephen Randall has lived successful Mexico since 2018 by mode of Kentucky, and earlier that, Germany. He’s an enthusiastic amateur cook who takes inspiration from galore antithetic cuisines, with favorites including Mexican and Mediterranean.