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Tomorrow is April 1 — April Fool’s Day. My friend Krista will celebrate her birthday and although I would love to pull a prank on her, I dare not. Maybe I will scout out a gag gift but definitely not something perceived to be insulting.
A number of famous people were born on April 1 including Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a French attorney who is known for his masterpiece “The Physiology of Taste.” He entered the world in 1755 and is considered to be a gastronome of the highest order.
The list of Brillat-Savarin’s culinary quotations is quite long, but two of them instantly pop into my mind:
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.”
“The discovery of a new dish confers more happiness on humanity than the discovery of a new star.”
Brillat-Savarin’s strong penchant for fine French food and wine has little to do with April Fool’s Day. A fool, by the way, is an old-fashion British dessert made with a slightly sweetened puree of fresh fruit that is folded into whipped cream and chilled.
I started to think of recipes which would fool people into eating a specific dish when, in fact, it is a mock version of the recipe. Take chopped liver, for instance. Jews dive into this appetizer twice a year — during Rosh Hashana and Passover. I make it with rendered schmaltz, tasty old-fashioned chicken fat. There is a vegetarian version which looks like chopped liver and, in a funny way, even tastes like chopped liver.
There are a number of recipes for mock chopped liver floating around the Internet. A number of Jewish cookbooks and synagogue sisterhood cookbooks offer the how-to when it is time to get the food processor ready or bring out your grandmother’s wooden chopping bowl to make vegetarian chopped liver.
Two ingredients are a must. The recipes contain chopped hard-boiled eggs and walnuts. Some people use lentils, green beans or peas along with the above. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper give the dish flavor. A bit of vegetable oil, such as Canola, keeps this appetizer moist and tasty.
Although I have eaten fake meat and poultry made from tofu or grains, I would not attempt these dishes at home. I don’t know why. I’ve tried them in vegetarian restaurants but I guess dinner guests might think it a bit weird.
Mango Fool
From “The New All Purpose Joy of Cooking” by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer and Ethan Becker
Ingredients:
3 ripe mangos, peeled and cut into large chunks
2/3 to 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, depending upon the sweetness of the fruit
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of orange juice
1-1/4 cup of cold heavy cream
Directions:
Place the mango chunks in a food processor or blender. Puree the mangos. Blend in the sugar, lime and orange juices. Place in a bowl and chill overnight.
When ready to serve, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the mango puree and cream together. (You can blend them thoroughly or leave streaks of gold through the cream.) Pile into chilled stemmed glasses and serve at once.
Serves four.
Note from Phyllis: You can garnish the fools with sprigs of fresh mint.
Vegetarian Chopped Liver
Ingredients:
1 pound of green beans
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup of Canola oil
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, cut into chunks
5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup of chopped walnuts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook for about 10 minutes. Drain and refresh into cold water. Drain well.
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and sauté the onion until golden brown, for about five minutes.
Place the green beans in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse on and off a few times for a rough chop. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse on and off for a rough chop. Blend and pulse on and off a few times for desired consistency. Taste and correct for seasoning.
Serves four.
Note from Phyllis: This appetizer can be served on a leaf of lettuce or radicchio, as well as a spread for crackers, bread or matzo. SPR
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