Savory Caramelized Onion Hamantaschen

51 Comments Posted: March 4, 2012

Posted: March 4, 2012

As much as I love a good seder at Passover or rowdy game of spin the dreidel at Hanukkah, these delightful Jewish holidays just done stand up to the awesomeness that is Purim. Last year, I made some fairly traditional hamantaschen and shared the story of Purim with Jew all. (J’all for short for you southerners.)

As a refresher, way back in ancient Persia, our hero Esther saves the Jewish people from the King’s evil adviser Haman’s plans of exterminating all the Jews. Story of our lives. To celebrate, we dress up in costumes in honor of Esther dressing up to hide her Jewish identity and eat and drink. A lot. Is it a wonder this holiday is my favorite? Gluttony and booze? I’m there! The best part is we Jews over the age of 21 (I barely made it!) are literally commanded to get so drunk that we can’t tell the difference between Mordechai (the tag-team hero along with Esther in the Purim story) and Haman. Recovering alcoholics and children are exempt from the tradition. I guess.

We also eat tasty triangular cookies called hamantaschen filled with awesomeness that resemble the three-cornered hat Haman pranced around in. Sweet recipes like raspberry jam and prune filling are popular, but I went crazy this year with a savory caramelized onion hamantaschen. Blame it on the booze. Rumor has it that Esther was a vegetarian to secretly keep her kosher ways, so this fits in nicely! Here is all you need for savory hamanaschen.

First up, caramelize your onions. Slice them into thin slices and add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt to a large saucepan with 1 tbsp oil. Definitely add the salt because it helps pulls out moisture and makes the onions extra sweet! Cook slow and low for 10 minutes until the onions start to wilt.

While your onions are a-cooking (make sure to stir occasionally) you can make your pizza dough. Combine 1 cup all-purpose flour with yeast, sugar and salt. Then add the water and knead for one minute. Gradually add the 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour and thyme and knead until you have a smooth ball (hehe) or about 3-4 minutes. Add more flour if needed.

Put dough aside. By now, your onions should be pretty soft. Add the honey and a little more olive oil if the onions are sticking. Sweat your onions for 5 more minutes and then add the tomatoes, thyme, red chili pepper flakes and more salt.

Cook for an additional 5 minutes until the tomatoes start to cook and the onions are cooked down. You also want to make sure to cook away any moisture from the tomatoes so your hamantaschen are not soggy.

While your mixture is cooling a bit, roll out the dough very thin- about an 1/8 of an inch. Cut the dough into rounds using a 2 or 3 inch circle cutter (the top of a glass will due). Then put a teaspoon and a half of the filling in the middle of each circle.

Then fold up the sides to form a triangle, making sure to securely pinch the ends closed.

Put the hamantaschen on a cooking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with cornmeal and bake at 425 for 5 minutes.

Then sprinkle on goat cheese and bake for another 5-7 minutes until your pizzas are golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

Serve with plenty of booze and a side of aspirin.