Marcie Place, owner of The Chocolate Spoon, fills her stall at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market throughout the year with festive treats: tahini-dark chocolate chip cookies, Turkish coffee shortbreads, saffron and citrus teacakes, and ma‘amoul, a rosewater infused shortbread style cookie with a filling of walnuts and cinnamon sugar.
Baked into these treats is a love for her heritage, which is part-Syrian.
“My father’s family came to America from Syria in the 1940s,” says Place. “He spent much of his childhood with his Syrian aunts learning the fine art of Syrian bread-making. He spent many Sundays watching them make large loaves of Syrian bread, lathered in butter and piled high in wooden bushel baskets. Later my siblings and I were able to participate in these glorious day-long events.”
Being Syrian also meant celebrating American holidays like Thanksgiving with meals that were deliciously non-traditional. As Place recalls, “Our holiday meals consisted of Syrian rice, stuffed kousa (a Syrian squash), m‘judrah (a savory dish of rice and lentils), rolled grape leaves and ma‘amoul.”
“Our family,” she adds, “is still not very good at preparing the traditional Thanksgiving meal.”
Perhaps, however, there is tradition in breaking tradition, which is what the Saratoga Farmers’ Market invites you to try doing this holiday season.
While the weekly offerings reflect the best of what’s local and seasonal, the faces of those who bring the market to life are diverse in ethnicity, nationality, and culture. Stroll through the market and you will meet vendors, staff, and volunteers who claim French, German, Israeli, Syrian, Indian, Mexican, Italian, Dutch, Irish, and other roots. How they tell market visitors to prepare the meats, vegetables, and other items they sell reflects those roots, and the recipes that accompany this story are aimed at helping you innovate.
While Place doubts she’ll ever be able to master Syrian cooking as well as her father did, she says that “honoring my dad and his heritage through my baking is a great privilege to me. After all, food is love.”
Foods for your feast
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
Ma‘amoul
From Marcie Place, The Chocolate Spoon: “Like many Syrian recipes, this treat is usually passed down generation to generation without a recipe or exact measuring. When I asked my dad to teach me how to make ma‘amoul, he made an attempt at a handwritten recipe but halfway through just started throwing ingredients into the mix and telling me stories from his childhood. My recipe does have his seal of approval. Here it is, without measurements”
Pastry:
Flour
Milk*
Unsalted Butter*
Rosewater
Filling:
Walnuts, Dates or Pistachios
Sugar
Cinnamon
Rosewater
Confectioners’ Sugar for Dusting
Cider-braised rib roast
From Christophe Robert, Longlesson Farm: Many of Robert’s recipes involve cooking meats slowly in wine, which he attributes to his French upbringing.. The following recipe breaks from that tradition and uses local cider instead.
Ingredients
4 lbs. meaty short ribs*
1 Tbsp. olive oil *
1 1/2 cups apple cider*
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp. prepared horseradish
1 cup dried cranberries
1 onion*, chopped
2 cloves of garlic*, chopped
Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet and brown ribs well on all sides. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients and pour over ribs, stirring to coat.
3. Cook on LOW for 8-9 hours, stirring once about half way (if you are there and it’s possible. Otherwise, don’t worry.)
4. When ribs are fork tender, transfer them to a foil lined, rimmed baking sheet. Skim and discard as much fat as possible from the sauce.
5. Transfer juices to small pitcher or gravy boat for serving.
6. About ten minutes before serving heat the broiler. Broil about 4” from heat for about 5 minutes to crisp. Transfer to serving platter and serve with the pitcher of juices
Warm Potato Salad
From Julia Howard, market director: “On Christmas Eve, my family traditionally lights the four candles of Advent and then feasts on a German meal of weisswurst and potato salad.”
Ingredients
2 pounds red potatoes*, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 pound bacon*, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3/4 cup finely minced yellow onion (about 1 small)
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard*
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves*
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives*
Preparation
1. Place potatoes and 1 tablespoon salt in large pot and cover with cold water until water level is 1 inch above potatoes. Set over medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until a paring knife can be inserted into potatoes with no resistance, 10-15 minutes. Strain potatoes and set aside.
2. While potatoes are cooking, place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate, leaving as much rendered fat in the pan as possible. Pour out all but about 3 tablespoons of fat from pan.
3. Add onions to pan with bacon fat and cook over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, mustard, 2 teaspoons of salt, and pepper to make the dressing.
5. Place potatoes, bacon, onions, parsley, and chives in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss gently to combine. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes to allow flavors to meld, then serve immediately while still warm.
Cheese and Onion Rolls
Ingredients
1 dozen rolls, partially baked, with tops that can be easily split
1 onion*
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated*
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or a fresh jalapeno*, serrano, or sweet red frying pepper*, diced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Preparation
1. Heat oven to 425F.
2. Using a knife, slit tops of roles into halves or quarters, about one-third of the way through.
3. Dice onion and saute in butter or olive oil until soft.
4. Turn heat off underneath pan and add cheese, pepper and cumin. Gently mix with spoon until combined.
5. Spoon mixture into slit areas of rolls. After all of the rolls have received a fair share of the mixture, spoon the rest over the tops.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until browned.
Grated Carrot Salad
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 Tablespoon minced shallot*
1 teaspoon honey
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ cup olive oil*
1¼ pound carrots*, peeled and shredded
1 cup chopped fresh parsley*
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, tarragon, shallot, honey, and cayenne. Let sit for 10 minutes. Whisk in the oil until emulsified, then add the carrots and parsley. Stir until evenly coated. Season with cayenne pepper. Serve or refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
